kodiakblair Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 I had no plans on buying a bass today but hey a look on gumtree never hurts. Well today a Retrovibe RV4 was for sale at £80. Emails and texts were sent before I even worked out how I would get there,no car ATM. 3 hours of buses and trains later I'm in a car park in Blairgowrie thinking " damn I should minded the Amplug at the very least " Too late by then Young fella turns up,I open the case,yes hard case inc in the £80,everything intact and no real chips or scratches.Deal done and another 3 hours public transport. The lad said he was selling due to a Fender Jazz coming his way but I think the reason was the RV4. Never have I seen a bass so in need of a simple set up. A boot lace was tied before the nut to stop the strings popping out the nut string height a mile high try 7mm at 17th saddles maxed up Truss rod cover had never been off and a good 1/4 turn settled things,I'll see how it is in the morning but bloody hell £80. I feel like I won a watch [attachment=195783:Retrovibe RV4 (1).jpg][attachment=195784:Retrovibe RV4 (2).jpg]
kodiakblair Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 Thank you very much. Turned out to be a good day,just back from the shop with 12p Danish pastries
Marc S Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 Just picked up a fantastic faker Had one of these as a lad A Shaftesbury 4001 - Sold it in the 80's and instantly regretted it! Have been looking for one for the past 7 years finally found one (when I had stopped looking!) It was local, reasonably priced, so I snapped it up At rehearsal, through my full rig I was blown away by how good this bass sounded Really comfortable to play too, and this was while in need of a setup & new strings I owned the "real thing" recently, and this just blows that out of the water
Skybone Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 Got home from our hols to find a new Ric bridge pickup ring sat waiting for me to fit to No.2 Rockinbetter.
Annoying Twit Posted August 3, 2015 Posted August 3, 2015 Rose Morris (the shop) has a Shaftesbury branded bass on display, not for sale. Apart from the next pickup being different (a lot can happen in three decades) it looks damn identical to my Cimar.
chriswareham Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 Looks suspiciously like a faker: [attachment=199691:lemminions.jpg]
basshead56 Posted September 30, 2015 Posted September 30, 2015 [attachment=201797:rickyfaker.jpg] Anyone know much about these Aria's? One inbound...
Bassassin Posted September 30, 2015 Posted September 30, 2015 [quote name='basshead56' timestamp='1443650890' post='2876689'] [attachment=201797:rickyfaker.jpg] Anyone know much about these Aria's? One inbound... [/quote] Old (late 60s/early70s), made by Matsumoku, not very common at all, and them ain't the original tuners. Jon.
basshead56 Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1443653122' post='2876707'] Old (late 60s/early70s), made by Matsumoku, not very common at all, and them ain't the original tuners. Jon. [/quote] Cheers Jon. Have you seen one before then?
Bassassin Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 Not in real life but a few pics have turned up, including a very old Aria catalogue I saw somewhere. What I put above though is literally all I know about them. You might find one or two other owners on the [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/55074615631/"]Vintage Japanese Guitars[/url] ot the [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/78514186083/"]Rickenfakers[/url] FB pages, but they likely won't be able to add much info! I'm sure they'd like to see some pics though. J.
Skybone Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Faker query..... Has anyone ever fitted a D-Tuner to their Faker? After my last band sort of faded away after one of the (founding) guitarists left, I advertised for something, and was approached by a local covers band. They do a couple of songs in drop D, and instead of either taking a 2nd bass or frantically tuning/re-tuning between songs, I remembered the good old Hipshot D-Tuner. Just wondering which version was fitted, sizes etc, etc. Obviously, I need to check measurements on mine, but just throwing the query out there.
ezbass Posted November 12, 2015 Posted November 12, 2015 This just popped up in my FB sidebar http://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/guitars/pit-bull-guitars-rc-4-electric-bass-guitar-kit/
Bassassin Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 Wonderful, that, another one of David Konig's one-off Retrovibes. If he'd gone with full-width inlays to match the checked binding I probably would've bought it myself... Jon.
Beedster Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 Excuse the Ric TRC, it;s coming off to be replaced by the original which i found yesterday [URL=http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/2015-10-24%2012.45.43_zpsbwxjlxnk.jpg.html][IMG]http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j199/Beedster/2015-10-24%2012.45.43_zpsbwxjlxnk.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
The-Ox Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 Is the general consensus on shaftesburys a good one? Sorry random question, I just need to know quickly! I'm talking more about the 4001/4003 models
Bassassin Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1448999370' post='2919990'] Is the general consensus on shaftesburys a good one? Sorry random question, I just need to know quickly! I'm talking more about the 4001/4003 models [/quote] Yes. One of the best MIJ-era Fakers.
The-Ox Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 Thanks! Any particular pros and cons you know of?
Bassassin Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 No cons that I know of. These have a very good reputation, and apart from the generic tuners & single truss rod, they're very accurate copies. More sturdily-built than some of their contemporaries (Matsumoku through-necks have a weak point where neck meets body) and probably better-made than 70s Ricks were. I have a bitsa Faker built around what I'm 99.9% sure (no trc to confirm) was a Shafty body/neck and it's rock-solid and an excellent player. Hardware & electronics were mix & match so I can't comment on the original's sound, but from what others say, they sound the part too. There are a fair few Shaftesbury owners on the[url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/78514186083/"] FB Fakers group[/url], so I'd suggest canvassing them for opinions. If you haven't already...
The-Ox Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 Thanks again! My main concern is whether I'll be able to get the range of tone that a real rick gets. Will it in essence be able to produce the same sounds? Also what does the single truss rod mean compared to the dual truss rod? Thanks!
chriswareham Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1449019974' post='2920205'] Thanks again! My main concern is whether I'll be able to get the range of tone that a real rick gets. Will it in essence be able to produce the same sounds? [/quote] The pickup placement is the same as a real Rick, so it should sound very similar - I have a Greco (Matsumoku built) copy of a similar age and it has the sound. If it has a capacitor on the treble pickup you'll get what's called the "vintage" tone that pre-1984 Ricks had. On modern 4003 Rick basses you can switch this capacitor in our out to get either the modern or vintage tone. I'd guess that being a 1970s Rick copy the Shaftesbury would have this capacitor. [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1449019974' post='2920205'] Also what does the single truss rod mean compared to the dual truss rod? [/quote] In theory, the twin truss rods of a real Rick (and some copies) would allow you to correct a twist in the neck. In practice they just make it more difficult for normal neck relief adjustments. Edited December 2, 2015 by chriswareham
The-Ox Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 thanks! Sounds like its worth a punt, glad you mentioned the vintage push-pull option, as thats what I liked best about the Ricks whats the main differences between a 4001 and a 4003?
Marc S Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) The through neck on my Shaftesbury is rock solid, as stable as heck, and IMO, rather beautiful with it's dark stripe No problem with any neck joints, as it's through construction. Originally, the Shaftesbury basses had some rather dodgy square-ish tuners. My recent acquisition has had these changed for a more authentic appearance, and I have to say, these are nice & solid and seem to hold tune well. I've not thought about fitting a D-tunner, though if you get the correct one, I can't see why it wouldn't work. My bass has a true vintage Rick tone, it's lovely. I keep saying this, but I'd put my Shaftesbury alongside a "real" Rick any day I had a 4003, and it was nowhere near as comfortbale to play as the Shaftesbury. Sadly, when I picked it up, the original truss rod cover was gone, and replaced with a Rick one - how I wish I had the original The replacement tuners though, are a good upgrade. If you get that Shaftesbury, I'd change those straight away Other than that, they're superb quality. I've played several Rockinbetters, and these are OK, but not as good IMO I only ever played one Greco Rick, and that was also very nice. Though the one I tried was rather beaten up It had had some minor woodworking / surgery, and although cosmetic, I didn't like the look of it too much, so didn't buy it Cheers Edited December 2, 2015 by Marc S
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