prowla Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1484178041' post='3213410'] Your '73 is pretty much my dream Rick - all the vintage bells & whistles (it's even a 21 fretter!) and that age-darkened Fireglo. Gorgeous. [/quote] Cheers! (Actually I added in the extra fret in the rather crudely edited picture where I chopped the headstock off...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 [quote name='prowla' timestamp='1484208293' post='3213464'] Cheers! (Actually I added in the extra fret in the rather crudely edited picture where I chopped the headstock off...) [/quote] Never spotted that! Guess I could put up with just the 20, at a push... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1484232950' post='3213790'] Never spotted that! Guess I could put up with just the 20, at a push... [/quote] That's my super master skills with Windows Paint! (The earlier picture I posted shows it as it is.) I think it is a shortcoming of the Ricky and they missed the opportunity to add more when they shifted the neck pickup back in the 4003 & Laredo. If I were to get a headless, I'd have as many frets as would fit there. The other thing about a headless is that I might not have it [i]look[/i] like a Ricky, so long as it [i]sounded[/i] like one, so I could maybe have a completely custom body, but it would probably have to be the same woods and through neck (with dual rods) and Ricky pickups in the correct positions. Graphite and brass hardware probably wouldn't work. I guess I'm taking a different angle on the faker there - most people seem to want something which looks like a Ricky, even if it sounds not quite right and plays different; I want the sound and the feel. On the flipside I am still planning to pick up the Japanese faker on the weekend, though we've just had winter arrive, so I'll have to see how the weather goes - it's a two and a half hour drive, so I need a clear run really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Right - I'm now a paid-up member of the 'fakers club! I have a Diamond (nee. Aria) 'faker. It does need a bit of work on it:[list] [*]The treble pickup is pooped - the coil has come away from the base and the wires have snapped. I have a genuine one which I could put in, if I choose to. [*]It's not got a jack socket and the chap I bought it off has made a rather cack-handed attempt to cut out a second hole. I'll tidy that up and acquire a double-jack plate. [*]The wiring harness has no wires, so I'll need to re-wire it. No problem, as I was going to do that anyway along with twin jacks. [*]One of the knobs is missing. Easy enough to get. [*]The original truss rod cover has gone and it's got one with the "R" word on it instead. It's a bit of a shame not having the original and I'm not to struck on putting fakes of the real brand on. [*]The seller replaced the stock machines with Schaller ones, but chucked the originals. I'd have liked to have had the originals, just to keep, anyway. They have wider posts than the genuine ones. [*]No scratchplate & pickup bezel screws and no treble pickup mounting bolts & springs. (Easy enough to get.) [/list] The good stuff:[list] [*]The neck really feels like the genuine one; spookily so, even though it is a bolt-on. [*]It's got its bridge and dampers. [*]The Schallers are quality machines. [*]It's got the correct MIJ neck plate. [/list] So, I've got to acquire some parts to get it going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Sounds like a good, straightforward project. Have you joined the Rickenfakers FB group? Plenty of people there who can help with the likes of replacement pickups & custom trcs. Everything else sounds easy enough though. Shame the original tuners are gone - never seen a set of these turn up. Oh - one rod or two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 It's got one rod. Yes, I was a bit aghast that the machines were gone, but the Schaller ones are Ricky-authentic and if I get a D-tuner it should be a 1:1 replacement. Turns out the headstock logo is just a computer printout on paper stuck to the back of a clear truss rod cover (the back of it had something else printed on it!), so I'll probably put that right. The bridge was a bit weird, looked like it was bent so that the tail-end raised off the instrument; I'm not sure if it can be rescued. I've put my spare Hipshot on though, which was the aim anyway. I've ordered a twin jack plate, so that should be a few days. On a second play, the neck is more curved than my Ricky's, bit it has a good feel to it. I'll have to search around for a treble pickup; there is a set of three Bartolinis on ebay (neck, treble and string damper!), but I might have to exercise restraint. I have got a spare Ricky neck pickup, but it's the 4-pole one from early 70s (I thought it was a toaster but remembered wrong). I also compared the treble pickup surround to a real Ricky and the Ricky's has more rounded corners, but the screw holes are identical. The body has a couple of dings, but I may just leave them. Hopefully yes, a relatively straightforward project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Well, I've got strings on it now; it's vaguely Ricky sounding unplugged. I've not got the electrics in place, so it's body, neck, Hipshot bridge, Schaller machines and Dean Markley SR2000 strings. It turns out that, due to a miscaclulation on my side, I've got a pair of genuine Ricky 4001 '78 pickups, so they'll go on it. I've got some pots & stuff due in the post, still need the switching mono socket (they are needlessly pricey), so will wire something up there. I'll make things up so I can easily swap things around. The previous owner had decided to route it for twin jack sockets, rather than just the one, so I'm getting a Mono/Stereo-Sound jack plate from the bay. I had ordered a cheapie flat one, but then I saw the other one, so I grabbed it. I might get a scratchplate which I can butcher (I have a post-'74 one, but its' neck pickup hole is in the wrong place). Once that's done, it should be complete. I had been intending to get a genuine Ricky body (black) and shift all of the parts over, but I might look at getting a custom one of my own design; the through-neck would have to be to Ricky spec though, so really only the wings and headstock to play with; perhaps taking the original wave design and giving it more attitude. Once that's done, I guess I'll either (a) try and revert the Diamond back to stock/complementary parts, ( pass it on in parts for someone else's project, or (c) start over again! Oh, I also need some pickguard screws - they're smaller than Fenders and not so easy to get hold of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Forum memo to self - if you put "a", "b" and "c" in brackets you get strange looking bullet points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Recommend Gibson-size screws if you don't mind waiting for them to cross the pond: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-NEW-STAINLESS-STEEL-to-REPLACE-GIBSON-PICKGUARD-SCREWS-SG-FIREBIRD-MELODY-M-/172455716047"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-NEW-STAINLESS-STEEL-to-REPLACE-GIBSON-PICKGUARD-SCREWS-SG-FIREBIRD-MELODY-M-/172455716047[/url] Not exactly the same as the MIJ originals but pretty close & way better than trying to use massive Fender-type ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1484688075' post='3217593'] Recommend Gibson-size screws if you don't mind waiting for them to cross the pond: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-NEW-STAINLESS-STEEL-to-REPLACE-GIBSON-PICKGUARD-SCREWS-SG-FIREBIRD-MELODY-M-/172455716047"]http://www.ebay.co.u...M-/172455716047[/url] Not exactly the same as the MIJ originals but pretty close & way better than trying to use massive Fender-type ones! [/quote] Thanks - I hate it when the postage is nearly as much as the item! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Looks like that's as good as it gets - plenty of places in the States will sell you 20 of these for £3 and then want £15-odd to post them to you. There are probably cheaper suppliers in China - but you wouldn't get them until April! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I did a search on "gibson screws" and found some UK packs of 12 for a lot less, so I've ordered some... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 I've now got pickups wired up, but yet to put in place. I have to tidy up the 2nd Jack socket hole the previous owner drilled/gouged out; I've got a couple of double jack plates to choose from to put on; one is a generic/flat one and one is a Mono/Stereo-Sound one which cost a bit more - unfortunately they're not the same size, though. I'm probably going to put all off my top-end parts onto this to try it out, but then shift them back to the stock ones at some point or I decide to move it on (my two genuine Ricky pickups cost more than the bass and the Hipshot bridge is probably half again!). Actually, I've figured out what I want to do aim-wise; I have drawn a sketch of a bass which Rickenbacker never made but would be recognisable... I want to get one made which looks like a prototype which never made it into production but just could be a Ricky (couldn't it?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Well, I'm soldiering away with a hand file on the jack socket; maybe I should've got my Dremel out... However, I've also been a bit distracted by buying another (non-Ricky) bass on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 I got the Dremel out this evening and it's much neater now; the Mono/Stereo-Sound twin jack plate is on. Pretty much ready to put the rest on it and make it into a complete guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Pictures :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Q Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Has anyone ever tried one of the "rocktile" fakers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Don't know if anyone on here has. Someone on the FB group was talking about the pickups (didn't like the J unit) but hasn't - as far as I know - talked about its build & playability etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) So, I have a working bass! At the moment it's got some of the good bits on it, to get it up and running, including Schaller machines, a genuine Ricky treble pickup & surround and a Hipshot bridge; they're really destined for my next project (and are worth more than the instrument!), so I've got to get my copy treble pickup re-wired and find a straight bridge (as the original that came with it looks like a ski-slope!). I got the mono/stereo jack socket conversion done. I also plan to have a play with the electrics; I've got a couple of 330k (vol) pots & 500k (tone), a new Switchcraft switch to make them up. I also plan to put in a vintage/modern push/pull treble tone control (hence the 500k tone pots, as 330k onbes are silly money). I posted some more pics on the FB page. (I'm not happy with the "R" word on the TRC, cos it isn't one!, so I'll be changing that!) Edited January 27, 2017 by prowla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Q Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1485444114' post='3224018'] Don't know if anyone on here has. Someone on the FB group was talking about the pickups (didn't like the J unit) but hasn't - as far as I know - talked about its build & playability etc. [/quote] Thanks man, i'll take a look on the facebook group Prowla- that's awesome. very well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 [quote name='Dan_Q' timestamp='1485525731' post='3224639'] Thanks man, i'll take a look on the facebook group Prowla- that's awesome. very well done [/quote]Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 [quote name='prowla' timestamp='1485475947' post='3224336'] (I'm not happy with the "R" word on the TRC, cos it isn't one!, so I'll be changing that!) [/quote] I sold the fake one from my Hondo on ebay, fully explained as being a fake. It went for 75 quid somehow. I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I'm in need of a bridge baseplate, if anybody spots one (I am chatting with someone on the FB page). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 [quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1485529720' post='3224691'] I sold the fake one from my Hondo on ebay, fully explained as being a fake. It went for 75 quid somehow. I highly recommend it. [/quote] Mine is clear plastic with a laser printed paper stuck on the back; I think I'm going to try and soak it off and print another for it. Incidentally, I've just had an idea: I wonder if it's possible to get holographic logos made; the ones which have one image if you look from one angle and a different one from another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 [quote name='prowla' timestamp='1485638248' post='3225560'] Mine is clear plastic with a laser printed paper stuck on the back; I think I'm going to try and soak it off and print another for it. Incidentally, I've just had an idea: I wonder if it's possible to get holographic logos made; the ones which have one image if you look from one angle and a different one from another. [/quote] Mine wasn't much more impressive. I was shocked at how much it went for, without complaint. Jon - Bassasin - made me a new one from clear plastic and laser-printed paper for much less (you can see it in my avatar). Holographic sounds fun though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts