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Ever fancied a Ric but didn't have the cash.............? Well you'll have to save up *NOW SOLD*

Beedster

By Beedster,
in Basses For Sale

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='Stuee' timestamp='1347485785' post='1801629']
There really should be pics on this topic... any chance please? :)
[/quote]

Although there's a Facebook link to Clarky playing it in this thread http://basschat.co.uk/topic/178649-gherson-rckenfaker-gone/page__st__20__p__1703273__hl__gherson__fromsearch__1#entry1703273

C

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Ashborygirl Rising Star

Ashborygirl

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[quote name='Stacker' timestamp='1334173327' post='1612130']
Best wishes with the sale, mate. If [i]Mister[/i] John Hall had just sat back for a minute or two before he pressed 'send', he would have saved his firm a good few customers. He needs a lesson in manners, that man.
[/quote]

When I met him on a flight last year he was charming, urbane and considerate. Very giving of his time, knowlegable & passionate about maintaining his father's legacy.

His position on copies may not suit everyone but, as I understand the law in America, to maintain a legitimate copyright claim a company must be able demonstrate that it challenges inappropriate referrences to its product. If it can't do that then it risks it's trademarks becoming classed as generic terms, free for anyone to use.

Whatever the rights & wrongs of the copyright issue, as a person, I found him very affable.

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='Ashborygirl' timestamp='1347536408' post='1802064']
When I met him on a flight last year he was charming, urbane and considerate. Very giving of his time, knowlegable & passionate about maintaining his father's legacy.

His position on copies may not suit everyone but, as I understand the law in America, to maintain a legitimate copyright claim a company must be able demonstrate that it challenges inappropriate referrences to its product. If it can't do that then it risks it's trademarks becoming classed as generic terms, free for anyone to use.

Whatever the rights & wrongs of the copyright issue, as a person, I found him very affable.
[/quote]

I have to say that I've always had a sneaking admiration for his stance and his belief in the quality of what he does. I don't think his negative reputation is helped by the somewhat rabid fanboys who populate his forums and the often misinformed - or perhaps unbalanced would be a better word - interpretation of his actions as in some way unreasonable. I'm not saying that he couldn't have gone about things in a more PR conscious way, but as I doubt I'd have done much better I can't really speak. There is also something rather warming about the argument that he sees it as a legacy, which reminds me a little of Anthony Hopkins character in Meet Joe Black. I also suspect that a major part of his mission in attempting to bring a halt to the public sale of old Fakers is to discourage the building of new ones?

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mcnach Grand Master

mcnach

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1347563277' post='1802558']
And having gone off topic a little, there's still a bass for sale here! I'm tempted to go the ebay route and try to be discrete/clever but I suspect it might backfire?

C
[/quote]

yeah, eBay will probably pull down the ad. Gumtree may work 'though.

Having just read the crazy thread about that whose basses shall not be named, I felt compelled to alter my signature and add a line to it. ;)

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1347568295' post='1802650']
yeah, eBay will probably pull down the ad. Gumtree may work 'though.

Having just read the crazy thread about that whose basses shall not be named, I felt compelled to alter my signature and add a line to it. ;)
[/quote]

As I understand it, Fender used to be quite aggressive in protecting their brand until they realised there's more money to be made licensing after-market parts and presumably copies, so I don't think JH should be painted in quite such negative terms.

Anyway, I'm still stuck with the problem of selling this bass via ebay so might take the approach of selling the component parts (which themselves are worth around the asking price) and sending them attached to a curiously shaped piece of wood? All suggestions welcome :rolleyes:

C

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mcnach Grand Master

mcnach

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1347627889' post='1803254']
As I understand it, Fender used to be quite aggressive in protecting their brand until they realised there's more money to be made licensing after-market parts and presumably copies, so I don't think JH should be painted in quite such negative terms.

Anyway, I'm still stuck with the problem of selling this bass via ebay so might take the approach of selling the component parts (which themselves are worth around the asking price) and sending them attached to a curiously shaped piece of wood? All suggestions welcome :rolleyes:

C
[/quote]


Of course I have no problem with someone protecting their products!
But going after private ads about 30 year old copies, especially when making it clear it's a copy, and the logo also states it clearly, seems rather exaggerated to me.

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1347631331' post='1803328']
Of course I have no problem with someone protecting their products!
But going after private ads about 30 year old copies, especially when making it clear it's a copy, and the logo also states it clearly, seems rather exaggerated to me.
[/quote]

It does seem extreme for sure, but I guess he has his reasons?

Anyway, still a very nice example of a bass not actually made by the company in question for sale here :D

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KevB Mentor

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1347627889' post='1803254']
As I understand it, Fender used to be quite aggressive in protecting their brand until they realised there's more money to be made licensing after-market parts and presumably copies, so I don't think JH should be painted in quite such negative terms.

Anyway, I'm still stuck with the problem of selling this bass via ebay so might take the approach of selling the component parts (which themselves are worth around the asking price) and sending them attached to a curiously shaped piece of wood? All suggestions welcome :rolleyes:

C
[/quote]

Not sure about this. My take on it with Fender was that they realised they weren't in a position to successfully sue anyone because the actual shapes of bodies etc hadn't been copyrighted in sufficient detail. The whole 'lawsuit bass' name is in some ways a myth. So they might as well effectively make their own cheaper 'copies' in the first place and thus the licensing of products manufactured overseas came about. Sort of 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em' mentality. Ric went the whole opposite way with much tighter copyrights, retained exclusive manufacturing to one country and as such remain more of a cottage industry than the likes of Fender or Gibson.

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1348143461' post='1809910']
Not sure about this. My take on it with Fender was that they realised they weren't in a position to successfully sue anyone because the actual shapes of bodies etc hadn't been copyrighted in sufficient detail. The whole 'lawsuit bass' name is in some ways a myth. So they might as well effectively make their own cheaper 'copies' in the first place and thus the licensing of products manufactured overseas came about. Sort of 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em' mentality. Ric went the whole opposite way with much tighter copyrights, retained exclusive manufacturing to one country and as such remain more of a cottage industry than the likes of Fender or Gibson.
[/quote]

Hard to say one way or the other what is the actual issue, but a very well known UK-bsed luthier told me recently that he is able to use the Fender headstock shape as long as he doesn't sell the instrument in the US, in which case his lawyers would have some work to do. No idea why that would be given Sadowsky et al?

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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I've had a long think about this bass - especially given the move and the fact that the late-era Beatles band for which it was being used will very soon be a distant memory - and whilst I really think it's worth every penny of the £750 total it cost me to put it together, I'm going to offer it at £450. This is partly because my 4003FL is still my go-to bass, partly because I need to offload a lot of gear and rationalise my equipment needs ASAP (and I can't sell this on eBay), but mostly because having taken a stroll through the FS forums over the last couple of days, there are some real bargains on here (one of which i might have inadvertently bought :blush: ) and I think this bass probably needs to be an unequivocal bargain to sell, or at least to sell quickly. So, £450 it is. A local BCer has first dibs but I strongly suspect he spent all his cash yesterday, so assume it's a free agent.

If I were staying in the band and didn't already have one lovely Ric this wouldn't be going, but I'm not and I do so it is. If you've never tried a Ric and have always fancied giving it a go, you will [u]never[/u] find a cheaper opportunity.

Chris

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1348389206' post='1812901']
I've had a long think about this bass - especially given the move and the fact that the late-era Beatles band for which it was being used will very soon be a distant memory - and whilst I really think it's worth every penny of the £750 total it cost me to put it together, I'm going to offer it at £450. This is partly because my 4003FL is still my go-to bass, partly because I need to offload a lot of gear and rationalise my equipment needs ASAP (and I can't sell this on eBay), but mostly because having taken a stroll through the FS forums over the last couple of days, there are some real bargains on here (one of which i might have inadvertently bought :blush: ) and I think this bass probably needs to be an unequivocal bargain to sell, or at least to sell quickly. So, £450 it is. A local BCer has first dibs but I strongly suspect he spent all his cash yesterday, so assume it's a free agent.

If I were staying in the band and didn't already have one lovely Ric this wouldn't be going, but I'm not and I do so it is. If you've never tried a Ric and have always fancied giving it a go, you will [u]never[/u] find a cheaper opportunity.

Chris
[/quote]

I've also had a couple of people ask if i'll split it (esp the circuit, PUP and bridge), but that seems a real shame as it's a lovely player's bass. Having said that, if it doesn't go sharpish I might (and I'd probably raise more than £450 as well!)

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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In case the guy who was going to loan this bass doesn't actually show up to collect it, this is still FS at a bargain £450. I'd been playing this in a Macca style for a while (heavy tapes, high action, thumpy Beatles lines). I restrung it with TI Jazzers, dropped the action and played it in anger last night and it really does have a great core tone, very sweet for a Ric, in fact at times more Precision-like, but with far more bottom end. I did notice that - having played my 4003FL mostly recently - the neck is pretty thin by comparison (as Clarky commented somewhere above). In my too-ing and fro-ing about whether to keep or move this bass, that factor is probably the one that's going to decide that it's going as I've never really got on with thin necks (the main reason for my dislike of Jazzes). However, I guess this might just be what someone out there's looking for, a Ric-alike with a thin neck, and it's also relatively light for a Ric.

C

Chris

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Clarky Grand Master

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Here it is on a vid I put together to help sell it when I owned it - please ignore (a) the fact that I hadn't a clue what to play when I pressed the 'on' button on my PC ( b ) my ham-fisted plectrum playing (I've been playing exclusively finger style for the past year or so, so this was a bit fish out of water for me) and ( c ) my fat stomach in work shirt :blush:

Should give a good idea of its tonal properties. It also immensely playable with slippery TI Flats on

[attachment=120319:Movie on 2012-05-08 at 21.25.mov]

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