Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I purchased this truss rod cover that was advertised as genuine and from a 2019 4003. It arrived today. Since I am only interested in genuine Rickenbacker parts, I need to know if this is real or fake.

While the purchase is so recent, I want to reach out to PayPal with accurate information if this part is not genuine. I was hoping members here could give me a definitive answer before I contact the seller.

My strong suspicion now that I’ve received it is that it is not real. But actually I don’t know.

What makes you think it is a fake?

If you expand the photos, especially the one with the partial Rickenbacker script, it looks to be hand painted - something you might expect with a fake.

The trc material also has a kind of soft feel to it.

Inside the top section of the capital R and in the letter a, as well as the last r, which isn’t actually shown, there is a small raised bit of plastic. I wondered right away when I saw those if this was genuine.

I have a 360/12 c63 and a 325v59 and this trc doesn’t feel anything like the c63 trc. Didn’t expect it to be the same as the 325.

I don’t want to accuse the seller of selling a fake if it isn’t or perhaps he wouldn't have known, which seems unlikely.

I just want to be absolutely sure.

Looks bogus to me, plus there was a guy in Italy selling a load of fake raised-letter TRCs on Ebay for awhile.

Ironically it's easier to fake the raised letter TRC than properly replicate the font on the screenprinted Plexi TRC, so the raised letter TRCs are always suspect, unless the seller is obviously parting out the rest of the guitar too.

OK, I am no expert when it comes to Ric TRCs even though I did make my own for personal use. Came out fine, can fool anybody from a distance:



Now that's not raised lettering nor does it have MADE IN USA on it. I don't care. I made it for myself and it did the job nicely:




Yours? Now one thing I notice about yours that I find odd (but maybe it is the way things were done) is that the very sides of the letters seem to have been painted black. Normally, isn't it just the face of the letters? I also note that the black paint looks rather thick, put on far too heavy. Look at the last r. A blob of paint at the top between the vertical and the projecting part of the letter does not look right.

Can't say for sure if it's a fake (really have to hold it and really scrutinize it), but if it's real, it's a shoddy piece of work.

This is the ad that listed the trc I would like to verify.

The seller was in the UK. I paid the £99 and the seller covered the shipping cost. I actually have more time than I initially thought to make a claim if this turns out to not be genuine.

I’m not a guitarist but have a collection of The Beatles’ touring guitars. They were acquired for a musical presentation I produced a number of years ago.

I’m very aware of the controversy surrounding fake truss rod covers. It makes it quite difficult when a person is willing to spend the amount of money that the a genuine Rickenbacker trc would command and, on an in depth forum such as this, seasoned, veteran players would have opposing views as to its authenticity. It highlights what a problem fakes can create in the Rickenbacker world.

I’m still hoping a member here can definitively say it is genuine... or not.
I was thinking that on Monday I would perhaps contact Rickenbacker to see what they think. If anyone answers the phone.

sw1 wrote:I’m still hoping a member here can definitively say it is genuine... or not.

Without having it in one's hand to verify its authenticity, anyone who claims definitively that it's one or the other could be held accountable by you, depending on what the TRC actually is. You do understand this, right?

I was a member of the RickResource forum quite a while ago. That is why I decided to post here about this trc.

This forum has many members who are Rickenbacker experts and it was simply my thought that the likelihood of finding out if this item was authentic was to post here.

I mentioned earlier that I am not a guitarist. I felt that, if the trc is fake, it would be readily apparent to knowledgable Rickenbacker owners. It seems that is not quite as easy as I thought but so far the feedback has been helpful.

I have no interest whatsoever in holding anyone accountable for their opinion. If a reasonable number of people chime in, and most of them are of a particular view regarding this trc, I would be happy to accept that view.

The only place I can think of to get a final word would be Rickenbacker. I called twice before I purchased this trc but all you can do is leave a message and I wasn’t confident anyone would actually return my call. Now that I have the item I was going to try again on Monday and follow up via email.

If I had a truss rod cover like yours, I'd be happy to offer an opinion, hopefully leading to a consensus. But I don't.

This is the best I can offer: search results, "how to identify a fake rickenbacker bass truss rod cover":

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp ... CAk&uact=5

This included YouTube link looks promising:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al21yNCqExs


PS.... Well, not what I hoped for. But this guy provides his facebook link; drop him a line, or search for an email address if you loath facebook.

PPS - Here's a pretty good photo of a genuine TRC....

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1778473814

sw1 wrote:I was a member of the RickResource forum quite a while ago.

You joined Aug 9, 2020. Most here would not consider that quite a while.

Well, let’s say a very short time ago.

The point was simply that I knew about this forum because I had been a member and I knew that there were very, very knowledgable people here.

For the record, nobody in this thread so far has indicated that this TRC is legit, or that they even feel it’s legit. For me, that would be enough to take action.

Some interesting / informative information...

viewtopic.php?t=388559


(PS - ...Is there information that is not informative?)

2 cents: After poking around the internet, it seems to me--but I can't be sure--that your TRC may well be a fake. I thought I had identified a couple of tell-tale contrasting discrepancies, but I could not corroborate on/with/between other photos of supposedly authentic TRCs. (There are plenty of photos of fake TRCs -- maybe seeing if your TRC precisely aligns with those would lend a clue...?

Anyway, at this point I would just take your new TRC to a guitar shop that had bass models in stock and just make an actual in-hand comparison. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to engage a knowledgeable employee. If they do trade-ins, there has to be some fundamental knowledge about this stuff in order not to be hoodwinked by a fake trade-in.

The feedback that this post generated was certainly enlightening. Rickenbacker truss rod covers must be second only to counterfeit bank notes.

As interesting as this interaction was, I had intended to contact Rickenbacker to see what they would say. Early today, I did just that.

I felt that if anyone would know, they would. Their reply came this afternoon, still morning in California.

Customer service looked over the material I sent and concluded:

Everything indicates it is an authentic TRC. Nothing looks to be of any concern.

Nothing of what I thought were obvious signs that something may be wrong were actually wrong.
So, if something has to be reason to keep the item and not return it, this is it.

That's good news! It's good to hear that RIC HQ responded to your inquiry. (It's been about two years since I emailed them a question; still waiting for a reply... ) I think you're correct about the TRCs -- questions about the authenticity of whole guitars get prompt and definitive answers, but there seems to be "something" about TRCs....