Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Might not have the RIC seal of approval, but I like it!

This one is gonna divide the flock!

emac.

Fortune Guitars, eh?

Faster than a speeding bullet!!

The cease and desist letter, I mean.

Ugly.

BTW that is a 3000 series neck.

Legally, I doubt they can get away with something like that as more than a "one off" instrument and, usually, I'm a big fan of John Hall's approach to trademark protection. Still, this is a design that RIC cannot or will not make and the instrument is NOT being represented as a Rickenbacker product. If a customer cannot get this any other way, I'm not sure that they should be stopped from acquiring it this way.

For example, I would love to have one of the Combo 600s (in Teal or JetGlo) but they're not available and aren't likely to be coming back but they shouldn't be made by someone else because they were available from RIC at one time. I have to accept that but, what if I wanted a bass that was designed after the most perfect guitar design ever (620/660). RIC doesn't make it now and hasn't made it in the past (for distribution anyway). That bass only exists in my imagination. If I could get one elsewhere and can't get one from RIC, and never could get one from them, I'm not sure I would say no just because of the trademark issues. I hate having to do the right thing when I don't know what it is!

All of that being said, and if John Hall reads these forums anymore, if they ever make a bass designed after a 620/660 and I don't require a second mortgage to get it, you'll sell at least one.

(and if you're only going to make one, could I get JetGlo or BurgandyGlo, no binding?)

Interesting...

So, what do we have here? A 330 body with a 3000 series neck and Rick bass bridge/tailpiece?

And if that's the case, I wonder if there's any issue with taking parts from various different Ricks and putting them together into a different configuration...

cjj wrote:Interesting...

So, what do we have here? A 330 body with a 3000 series neck and Rick bass bridge/tailpiece?

And if that's the case, I wonder if there's any issue with taking parts from various different Ricks and putting them together into a different configuration...

It's not a 330 body... no ramp! Dale just made the body, I'm sure.

I don't think there's any copyright issue with doing anything you want with real Rics. If you want to put a 480 neck on a '59 Capri, that's your business!

If he could do something just original enough to be legal but also drawing on his experience at the RIC factory I think that would be great. I am not going to weigh in on this particular instrument.

Real nice, but even the TRC shape is trademark infringing, let alone other aspects of the bass....

Like

antipodean wrote:Real nice, but even the TRC shape is trademark infringing, let alone other aspects of the bass....

and it says Rickenbacker too...

Just a guess here that everything is Rickenbacker except the body? Dunno...Is making a body and placing it with otherwise Ric parts infringing? I am confident we will find out.

hmmm...Maybe because it's a lefty, it doesn't matter... - ok, that was NOT nice


(disclaimer, I am left handed just made the mistake of learning right handed)

marc61 wrote:
hmmm...Maybe because it's a lefty, it doesn't matter... - ok, that was NOT nice