Rickenbaker Bass Clone?

[tanner]

Hey there. I'm a new bassist I was wondering if there are any close clones of the ricky bass or a good sounding repo of the fender jazz.

 

cheers guys

luke

[Moody Johnny]

There are no clones of Rickenbacker in existence. They are VERY protective about it.

 

However the Fender Jazz has been cloned a lot and with good results. This whole forum will order you to immediately get an SX Jazz. I'm using a Tokai Jazz, which is not perfect but it has the famous classic warm Jazz Bass sound with nice diversity. It has been said that Fenders made today do not sound like they used to (unless they are very expensive hand-built ones).

[tanner]

hey man

 

those sx's look nice i don't think they're available here in the uk

 

darnit

 

cheers though

[bholder]

 

Originally posted by Moody Johnny There are no clones of Rickenbacker in existence. They are VERY protective about it. ...

 

 

There were several Japanese Ric clones in the 70s and 80s, so-called "lawsuit era" copies. They got shut down, of course, but one occasionally pops up on eBay. Some of them are quite accurate at cloning the Ric look, but I don't know that I've ever heard that they really captured "the Ric sound".

 

On the SX question, Rondo doesn't ship to Europe, but there's a dealer now in Spain that might, has somewhat of a different product line. I can't find the link at the moment, someone posted it here several weeks back, you should be able to search for it...

[Don MC]

Originally posted by Moody Johnny There are no clones of Rickenbacker in existence. They are VERY protective about it.

 

Oh Yeah? And how do you explain this Ibanez?

 

 

They were made during a brief period in the 1970's. That's all I know about 'em.

[bholder]

So how's the IbbyRic sound compared to a real Ric? Is it neck-through, set neck, or bolt on?

[Moody Johnny]

Oops... I stand corrected.

[Texas Noise Factory]

Originally posted by bholder So how's the IbbyRic sound compared to a real Ric? Is it neck-through, set neck, or bolt on?

 

They made different versions. I've sen bolt-on copies, and neck through copies. The neck through versions are pretty spot on copies. Rickenwaffen would say that they don't sound as good as a Ric. I owned one of the bolt-on copies made by Hondo a few years ago. If you asked me whether or not my current 4003 sounds any different from how I remember the Hondo Ric copy I had sounded, I'd be hard pressed to say that they sounded that different. (I know... heresey! ) Mine even had the stereo sound capability. Suffice to say, even the copies are pretty good basses... They just aren't truly Rics.

[Adrenochrome]

 

Hey, my Japanese made Shaftsbury from the 70s is VERY close to the Rick sound. It is neck-through and plays, looks and sounds very similar. They are occasionally for sale used in the UK.

[Gaui]

 

Originally posted by bholder On the SX question, Rondo doesn't ship to Europe,

 

 

Yes, they do, but you have to pay around 70$ in shipping.

[isaac42]

 

Originally posted by Moody Johnny However the Fender Jazz has been cloned a lot and with good results. This whole forum will order you to immediately get an SX Jazz. I'm using a Tokai Jazz, which is not perfect but it has the famous classic warm Jazz Bass sound with nice diversity. It has been said that Fenders made today do not sound like they used to (unless they are very expensive hand-built ones).

I won't.

 

Of course, I won't tell you not to, either.

[Thumper]

 

Originally posted by bholder So how's the IbbyRic sound compared to a real Ric? Is it neck-through, set neck, or bolt on?

 

 

I borrowed a Penco Rick clone for a while in the late '70s. As I recall, it didn't sound too bad compared to the 4003 I had at the time.

[bholder]

 

Originally posted by tanner hey man those sx's look nice i don't think they're available here in the uk darnit cheers though

 

 

http://www.sxguitar.com/ is back up, I think they're in Spain, you may be able to get something from them at a reasonable price. They have a different selection than Rondo Music, too. Here's one model I can personally recommend - I wish I could order the seafoam green one myself (already have the silver):

 

http://www.sxguitar.com/sx_bass_collection.htm

[Thornton Davis]

Probably the best RIC 4001 clone ever made is the Greco version.

Neck through, tapered neck profile, excellent hardware fit and finish. They were made in Japan during the 80's.

 

Here's a couple of pics, to show you what I mean.

 

 

 

They occassionally come up on Ebay and generally sell in the $650.00 - $850.00 range depending on condition.

 

TD

 

[james on bass]

My first bass was a Ric copy. Very accurate to the original except with a bolt-on neck.