Kay K20B Bass

[Bigjobs]

Hello everybody,
I picked this up in London not too long ago, looks like a Rickenbacker, but is a Kay.
Seems like that someone has replaced the bridge at some point, packed out the nut and the pick up seats have cracked.
Apart from that she works and plays OK, electrics seem to be in good order.
Has anyone seen these before?
I was intent on selling it but have been told by Rickenbacker that it violates their trademark?
Has anyone come across this before?

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[Lozz196]

Coo, that brings back memories, I used to have one of those in the 80s.

[FelixGubbins]

Same here, had one of these as my first bass back on 1980. Cost £49 iirc.

[Bassassin]

These are pretty common, Taiwanese-made, early 70s, realistically more of a kitschy hipster wall-hanging than a musical instrument.

Yours has been fitted with what might be a genuine Rickenbacker tailpiece - although the 70s copy parts were pretty much identical - which is probably (ironically) a massive improvement over the original bridge.

These basses do violate Rickenbacker's trademarks so selling them is tricky - they are actually prohibited from sale on BC, athough talking about them is fine.

Ebay sales get pulled, as do Gumtree. Your best bet is the Facebook group devoted to "Rickenfakers" - although you can expect a bit of gentle ribbing about your Kay.

Jon.