The-Ox Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) Hey guys what are yer thoughts on this one? Cheers Taran Edited December 4, 2015 by The-Ox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Looks nice, as far as I know Bruce Foxton used one of these in his early days with The Jam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Why do you ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 If you are looking to buy a Faker, it is a good choice of make and a neck tru. I have two Aria and a Greco and have tried all sorts of others. You can tell there is a difference, even between the two Aria I have and the Greco is different again - perhaps my favourite. The only way you will know it's for you, is to have a go and have a good look around it. Some have issues with the bridge/pick-ups/truss rods etc. Jon (Bassassin) is your man. . . . what he doesn't know. . . . . Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Apart from mine being labelled a Cimar, yours is identical to mine, I believe. IMHO mine sounds good and does the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Just to condense everything into the same thread, c/p from the Fakers topic: [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1449012511' post='2920162'] Yes. One of the best MIJ-era Fakers. [/quote] [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1449018036' post='2920200'] 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... [/quote] From the pics this one looks pretty tidy and original. Apart from the stuff you'd want to check is OK on any 40-odd year-old bass (fret condition, truss rod function, electronics etc), look for cracking & delaminarion of body wings at the neck/body junction - this happens on Matsumoku copies and real Rick 4001s, never seen it on a Shafty but check anyway. It's caused by overly deep routing for the neck pickup, and is understood to be why Rickenbacker eventually moved the neck pickup position on later 4001s & 4003s. As far as I know the same bass as the Shaftesbury was also sold as Cimar (as AT says) El Maya, CMI, JHS and various other brands. These Fakers are a bit of a mystery because as yet it's not clear which factory made them, but they are high quality instruments, many of which have survived the last 4 decades well. The truss rod thing is no big deal - dual rods on a properly-built 4-string bass are really a solution in search of a problem. The original Rick 4000 series design dates back to the 1950s, and up until the 4003 was introduced in the early 80s, had a very crude truss system - basically two strips of metal rather than properly-designed adjustable truss rods. For this reason old Rick necks can be incredibly temperamental. Modern Ricks have standard rods, and really only retain two for tradition's sake, and fortunately all MIJ copies had conventional & reliable truss rods and do not have the same problems as old Rickenbackers. One problem Fakers can share with real Ricks is tail-lift - and even brand-new, 2-grand Ricks can suffer from this. The tailpiece is a hollow, soft alloy casting and over time, string tension can cause the back end to bend up, which can eventually mean the strings no longer seat on the saddles. However, while I'd say 99% of Ricks & MIJ Fakers have this to a degree, severe cases are uncommon, and a slight lift on a 40-year old bass is unlikely to get worse. If push comes to shove, replacement copy tailpieces are £40-odd from Thomann, or a lot of people go for a Hipshot replacement bridge, which IMO is a massive improvement on the original in every way. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1449014724' post='2920191'] Hey guys what are yer thoughts on this one? Cheers Taran [/quote] That looks uncannily like my old one, even down to the chip in the finish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 also, any of you guys got any thoughts on the Cheyenne series? Are they superior to the 4000 series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsmokebass Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I'd rather the real deal, personally hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) Same here, don't think my wallet does though! Hahaah You know much about the cheyenne? Edited December 3, 2015 by The-Ox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsmokebass Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1449101237' post='2920848'] Same here, don't think my wallet does though! Hahaah You know much about the cheyenne? [/quote] These days with the marketplace not allowing sales of Rickenbackers or fakes, it's an expensive item to purchase at the best of times. :-/ No idea about the Cheyenne but it costs more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Didn't Hooky play a Shaftesbury in Joy Division? From what know, the Shaftesbury's were on a par with the Ibanez/Cimar/CMI/etc copies, as Bassassin says. If it's in good overall nick and you can afford it, get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 I think he did yeah! just explained in my other thread I was in the middle of rehearsals so couldnt get it, but there was literally last minute drama on that faker, two bids within the last 40 seconds, one coming 3 seconds before the auction ended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 [quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1449236085' post='2921826'] Didn't Hooky play a Shaftesbury in Joy Division? From what know, the Shaftesbury's were on a par with the Ibanez/Cimar/CMI/etc copies, as Bassassin says. If it's in good overall nick and you can afford it, get it. [/quote] Hooky played a Hondo copy in JD. He has said himself how bad it was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 [quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1449236085' post='2921826'] Didn't Hooky play a Shaftesbury in Joy Division? [/quote] Not the one I owned, you could throw a canvas over the strings and sleep on the fretboard as a tent! It was sprayed metallic purple and the action was measured in centimeters not millimeters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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