The All New RickenFaker Thread

[leftyyorky]

Hi, thought I would add a little to this thread.
Back in 1976 I wanted a Rickenbacker but a lefty was £520! and the nek/headstock was upside down. I bought a lefty Ibanez faker which wasnt entirely accurate, the neck was completely lefty and was bolt on. The pickups were humbuckers I believe, but it sounded great and looked cool as hell, (which is more than can be said for my dress sense, see pic taken in 1980)
I sold the bass in late 80s only to quickly buy it back. In 1996 I part exed it for a Yamaha bb1100s which I still have. Last year I took the plunge and bought a Mapleglo 4003 from 2000, which still has upside down fretmarkers 😠
Seriously though I love the Rickenbacker but the faker will always have a place in my heart and memory as it was my first half decent bass and served me well for years.

[Fisheth]

I know next to nothing about these, so I'll be taking a great interest in this thread.

Nice job, didn't know we had a thread like this on here.

[prowla]

I'd just like to say that I am no longer a bona-fide member of the Rickenfaker club - I sold mine yesterday.

Who knows - might rejoin again someday, depending upon what crops up...

[Skybone]

Nice dungaree's Lefty!

So, has anyone tried any of the replacement pickups in their Faker's?

I'm considering some different pickups for one of the triumvirate, but can't decide which ones to try. Not too sure about the Seymour Duncan's, previous experience of SD's, I haven't been very impressed with the sound quality of them. The Gemini Waverider/Tsunami pickups look pretty darn good. The JBE's are just too expensive.

Any others I don't know about?

[prowla]

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1495576389' post='3305079']
Nice dungaree's Lefty!

So, has anyone tried any of the replacement pickups in their Faker's?

I'm considering some different pickups for one of the triumvirate, but can't decide which ones to try. Not too sure about the Seymour Duncan's, previous experience of SD's, I haven't been very impressed with the sound quality of them. The Gemini Waverider/Tsunami pickups look pretty darn good. The JBE's are just too expensive.

Any others I don't know about?
[/quote]
I've got an SD treble pickup in a real Ric; I was playing the club scene in the 80s and the stock one was just too noisy.
I quite like it.
(But I do have the stock one to put back if/when I choose to.)

[Skybone]

I've heard a lot of less than complimentary things said about the SD Ric pickups, and my past experience of SD's leaves me not wanting to experience them further. Though, I must admit that a noise free bass would be nice!

[prowla]

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1495692946' post='3305837']
I've heard a lot of less than complimentary things said about the SD Ric pickups, and my past experience of SD's leaves me not wanting to experience them further. Though, I must admit that a noise free bass would be nice!
[/quote]
Well, visually I think the SD neck pickup looks hideous, but the dual-rail treble one sort of mirrors the toaster.

Sonically, the bass still sounds like a Ric.

[TrevorR]

[quote name='el borracho' timestamp='1495305998' post='3302898']


I know it doesn't start with a W but you mention Westbury - Shaftsbury maybe?
[/quote]

That's quite possible. The mind is trying to dredge up mental images from over 35 years ago...

[prowla]

Westminster.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1496085875' post='3308691']
Westminster.
[/quote]

Now that's a possibility I didn't think of - Westminster was a Japanese domestic brand but small quantities could've been imported privately. I thnk that's how Grecos got sold outside Japan.

[Skybone]

Wasn't Westminster a Matsumoku brand?

[12stringbassist]

These are my Rickenbacker-style basses. And Rickenbacker basses.
NOT FOR SALE.

[prowla]

There's a John Birch on ebay at the moment.
(Well a couple of very expensive pickups with a free bass attached...)

[Skybone]

Nice.

Though at this juncture, it would be a nice reminder to everyone that the Sale, Advertising, Trade and other such exchange of Rickenbackers and RickenFakers is prohibited on the BassChat.

I would suggest that the eBay link is removed ASAP.

Thanks.

Edited June 3, 2017 by Skybone

[Happy Jack]

Understood. But this is a link to a specialist after-market pickup, not to a bass.

There comes a point where due caution becomes sheer paranoia.

If John Hall wants to come after me, I'm ready. And laughing at him, especially since I just bought a gorgeous 1970s Ibanez Rickenfaker.

I've actually had two very expensive and totally genuine Rickenbackers. Neither of them were as nice as the Ibanez.

Mods, feel free to open a dialogue if you disagree with me.

[prowla]

I think that in this case the ebay link is a discussion point rather than somebody here offering it for sale.

(At the moment I have 3 Rics and no fakers!)

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1496438138' post='3311523']
Wasn't Westminster a Matsumoku brand?
[/quote]

I think so - the few Westminsters I've seen have been Mats, and I've read that it was a Matsumoku domestic market house-brand. Might turn out not to be, though!

[Happy Jack]

So I'm playing Walton WMC last night. I'm on a boomy wooden stage, despite my Gramma pad, running my Mike Lull Thunderbird through a Matamp into a Barefaced 610 (can't remember its name, Alex keeps changing them ) and I've ended up with the treble on max and the bass rolled right off. The TBird now sounds acceptable.

Then it's time to try out my new (well, newly-purchased) Ibanez Rickenfaker. But of course I leave the controls unchanged. Silvie's camera has compressed the f***out of the outrageous bass tone but this will give you a glimpse of it.

It's much clearer after 2:20 when I flicked the selector switch from Both to Bridge.

http://youtu.be/JHK_cOeegRk

Can a Rickenfaker give you a genuine 'clank'?

Oh yes, big time.

[prowla]

Sounds like a Ric should!

[Skybone]

Nice.

Is that a GT200 you're running? Great amps, great company.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Skybone

[Silvia Bluejay]

Nope - "Matamp into a Barefaced 610" as Jack says in his post.
I must say I'm almost glad that the compression software in the camera equalised the band's sound a bit: what we in the audience could hear during that song was mostly the bass - so much so that, at the end of that set, I was asked whether I could hear that strange noise coming from the stage and what it could possibly be...

That's after we had spent some time setting the Rickenfaker up. (When Jack played it for the first time at home I immediately yelled at him to stop hitting the E and A strings against the damn pickups! Cue a bit of pickup lowering and string balancing.)

[prowla]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1496651529' post='3312884']
Nope - "Matamp into a Barefaced 610" as Jack says in his post.
I must say I'm almost glad that the compression software in the camera equalised the band's sound a bit: what we in the audience could hear during that song was mostly the bass - so much so that, at the end of that set, I was asked whether I could hear that strange noise coming from the stage and what it could possibly be...

That's after we had spent some time setting the Rickenfaker up. (When Jack played it for the first time at home I immediately yelled at him to stop hitting the E and A strings against the damn pickups! Cue a bit of pickup lowering and string balancing.)
[/quote]
I bought a real Ric which had been set up like that!

(And its strings were dead as a dodo, so it sounded like a rubber band.)

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1496651529' post='3312884']
When Jack played it for the first time at home I immediately yelled at him to stop hitting the E and A strings against the damn pickups!
[/quote]

Poor feller. I'm's not's sure's it's right's that's the women's-folk are around's when a mans settin' up hiz bass.

[Silvia Bluejay]

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1496681142' post='3313188']
Poor feller. I'm's not's sure's it's right's that's the women's-folk are around's when a mans settin' up hiz bass.
[/quote]

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1496644005' post='3312821']
Is that a GT200 you're running? Great amps, great company.
[/quote]

'Tis the 100 rather than the 200, and it was a 'custom build' with assistance from tayste2000. Matamp had a complete chassis without a box, and (after some persuasion) they agreed to build for me the lightest Matamp head in captivity.