Al Heeley Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) Well here it is, the start of a new build project, another home built 4001 clone, the RickenBaker - see it's for Owen Baker, our singer's son. See what we did there with the name? Hah. The plan is a natural maple finish, white binding, pickups and bridge to be determined - maybe hipshot bridge if we have trouble sourcing a ric-type (which we are...). Here's the initial full-scale plan drawn up. Next the wood sourcing and shopping for hardware. Fun fun fun Edited January 5, 2009 by Al Heeley Quote
Bassassin Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 Excellent - can't wait to see how this one turns out. And I'd go for Hipshot all the way, excellent quality bridges, far superior to the "proper" Rick unit - and probably about half the price if you import. You'll have to watch yourself though, Al - or you'll be getting "cease & desist" letters from Big Bad Johnny Hall dropping through your door... :ph34r: Jon. Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 5, 2009 Author Posted January 5, 2009 I think the Rickenbacker musical empire is safe from my garage-based whittlings! Hell, the name's not even the same. Quote
tombboy Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) Why not call it the OwenBaker... for that extra personal touch! Edited January 6, 2009 by tombboy Quote
Musky Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='371501' date='Jan 5 2009, 10:50 PM']I think the Rickenbacker musical empire is safe from my garage-based whittlings! Hell, the name's not even the same.[/quote] The name on the headstock has never been a problem for John Hall - he's trademarked all the Ricks distinctive features. However the clue to his legal rights lie in the name - TRADEmark. And of course you're creating this as a gift, so there's no trade involved One small point if you're looking for authenticity though - the pickguard should approach the edge much closer by the jack socket. Quote
Bassassin Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='371540' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:10 AM']The name on the headstock has never been a problem for John Hall - he's trademarked all the Ricks distinctive features. However the clue to his legal rights lie in the name - TRADEmark. And of course you're creating this as a gift, so there's no trade involved .[/quote] Well, I'd recommend [b]not[/b] going on RickResource or the official Rick board looking for approval & compliments, like a lad who'd built himself a rather sexy 4005 copy did! He was told in no uncertain terms to smash it & burn it - a course of action soundly endorsed & recommended by Kommandant Hall himself, who was of the opinion it would inevitably end up being sold as a genuine Rickenbacker anyway. Jon. Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 6, 2009 Author Posted January 6, 2009 [quote name='Bassassin' post='372340' date='Jan 6 2009, 07:28 PM']Well, I'd recommend [b]not[/b] going on RickResource or the official Rick board looking for approval & compliments, like a lad who'd built himself a rather sexy 4005 copy did! He was told in no uncertain terms to smash it & burn it - a course of action soundly endorsed & recommended by Kommandant Hall himself, who was of the opinion it would inevitably end up being sold as a genuine Rickenbacker anyway. Jon.[/quote] Heh! It borders on paranoia there, I know I did some initial research thru the threads there a year ago. Some guy got trashed and flamed for just asking the dimensions of a 4001. If he'd only bothered looking on the next pages where the bass models and specs are, all the info he needed was already up on the website. Why are they such a paranoid bunch? How many strat/Tele/Les Paul/P-bass/Jazz-bass/PRS copy body/neck/headstock shapes are out there in legitimate guitar building businesses without the original owners getting all uptight about this homage to a great design classic? Quote
Bassassin Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='372415' date='Jan 6 2009, 08:52 PM']Why are they such a paranoid bunch? How many strat/Tele/Les Paul/P-bass/Jazz-bass/PRS copy body/neck/headstock shapes are out there in legitimate guitar building businesses without the original owners getting all uptight about this homage to a great design classic?[/quote] Apparently, it seems Rickenbacker legally protected & registered their designs while Fender & Gibson etc did not. It appears that US trademark law requires the owner of a trademark - in this instance RIC's designs - to actively pursue & challenge any & every visible incidence of infringement - from mass-produced Chinese knockoffs, to 35 year-old Jap copies, to (theoretically!) a guy knocking one up in his shed! If they don't, they lose the right to exclusively use the designs, which pass into the public domain. Fender & Gibson failed to do this, (with the exception of Gibson's "open book" headstock shape, which was the basis of the whole 70s "lawsuit" thing) and therefore anyone can make a Fender or Gibson copy with impunity. This is the reason why Fender & Gibson started licensing their designs for production outside the US & introduced budget ranges - it was the only way they could compete with the copy/replica market, & it's debatable whether either company would still exist had they not. RIC has managed to evade the copyists (probably helped by the fact Ricks have never been anything like as popular) and remains a tiny, family-owned business, with no intention of outsourcing/expanding, and a commitment to staying that way without compromising their product. Which means that while their antics may be an irritation to Jap copy enthusiasts (like me) & other people who'd like a Rick but can't afford a real one, it seems it's a necessity for RIC if they wish to continue in their current form. In real terms you don't have anything to worry about - about all RIC can do is pull Ebay listings, I don't think they can take legal action outside the US. There are quite a few Rick copies in current & ongoing production - most notably the John Birch RB 4001 which has been around since the early 1970s and is still available new today. Jon. Quote
Toasted Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Bassassin - thanks for the info. It's all really interesting. Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 7, 2009 Author Posted January 7, 2009 Making really good progress on the tricky parts sourcing. Bridge arrived today, and I've got a couple of pups sorteed. The little white dots are the fretboard markers, they are made from 8mm brass pipe drilled into a small block of sycamore, then small slices cut fromt he wood-filled end with a hacksaw. Once sanded down and levelled they will make pretty fretboard inlays, a little brass ring inlaid with blonde wood. Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 8, 2009 Author Posted January 8, 2009 (edited) I borrowed one of those nail buffing pads off my wife - you know the sort you can get in Boots or your high street chemists - a rectangle of foam rubber about 5 inches long with emery on one face, then sucessively finer pads of abrasive on the other 3 long faces, ending in a polish pad. They are really great for buffing up little details like these brass/wood instert dot markers and because they deform a little they take rough edges off very gently. If ever you want to do some very fine gentle buffing or sanding these pads are absolutely great. Once the dots get set into the fretboard they will be rough sanded flush then I will buff them to a nice polished gloss with the nail buff pad before sealing them. Also got a jig made tonight for the router, for shaping the fingerboard radius when it arrives. Hopefully Saturday I'll have time to go out and buy all the wood. then we can really get going. Edited January 8, 2009 by Al Heeley Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 10, 2009 Author Posted January 10, 2009 Got me some wood Found a very nice straight grained and beautifully blonde maple for the cap, and European walnut with a nice grain for the body. The neck is a Maple/Cherry/Maple sandwich. Quote
TDM Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 This is looking really good. Where do you get your wood from? Do you buy rough sawn stuff and plane/chop it up yourself? Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 10, 2009 Author Posted January 10, 2009 I go up to Jogn Boddy's specialist timber warehouse in Boroughbridge - a bit of a hike but a vast selection of hardwoods cut and planed to different sizes. Takes a bit of rummaging round to find the right size/thickness pieces but thats all part of the fun. They had in some gorgeous thick slabs of Wenge today, well worth a trip if you're in the area. Quote
Mikey R Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='374552' date='Jan 8 2009, 10:39 PM']Also got a jig made tonight for the router, for shaping the fingerboard radius when it arrives. Hopefully Saturday I'll have time to go out and buy all the wood. then we can really get going.[/quote] Hey Al,could you post details of your jig? Is it a compound radius? [quote name='Al Heeley' post='376284' date='Jan 10 2009, 05:25 PM']I go up to Jogn Boddy's specialist timber warehouse in Boroughbridge - a bit of a hike but a vast selection of hardwoods cut and planed to different sizes. Takes a bit of rummaging round to find the right size/thickness pieces but thats all part of the fun. They had in some gorgeous thick slabs of Wenge today, well worth a trip if you're in the area.[/quote] I like John Boddys, its not so far from here. Do you get all your stuff from the shop or do you venture into the yard? Theres always loads of good timber in the shop, and not just the offcuts, but Im wondering if Im missing anything from the yard? Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 10, 2009 Author Posted January 10, 2009 Hey Mike, Here's the link to the radius jig I copied: [url="http://home.mindspring.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://home.mindspring.com/~adhamilton/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/neck_jig_3.jpg&target=tlx_new"]Radius Jig[/url] Boddys is a great place - yard shuts at 1 on Saturdays, shop + hardwood warehouse stays open till 4 but jeez it was cold in there today. I've always got all my wood from the shop. Quote
Bassmanc Posted January 11, 2009 Posted January 11, 2009 (edited) Very interesting series of threads - top job on those I've seen so far! A couple of comments, one of my first basses was a Pearl Rick 4001 copy and it was so accurate, apart from the bolt on neck, that once I'd glues the neck in place, made a new neck heel, painted her black and added an original Rickenbacker headstock logo, the Bass Centre in London thought it was a vintage original! So I'm not so sure about the comments on Rickenbacker protecting their designs at all. I'm also curious to know how you keep your woods dry? I've made some homemade furniture in the past and had trouble with joints swelling over time, which I have put down to my domestic inability to manage the moisture content of the wood. This (and a fundamental lack of talent) has stopped me from ever making my own instruments (even though I worked as a labourer at Fylde Guitars for around 4 years!) Edited January 11, 2009 by Bassmanc Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 13, 2009 Author Posted January 13, 2009 I don't go to any specific efforts to keep wood dry. Only when it starts raining I go work inside. I buy hardwood timber I hope has been seasoned properly from John Boddy specialist warehouse, nothing green, then I build a guitar in my garage or in the kitchen (if the wife's out). I do this purely for my own pleasure, not a money making venture, and of the 10 or so guitars I've built so far, I've not had any problems with joints swelling or warping, so I guess I may have been lucky. Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 13, 2009 Author Posted January 13, 2009 Here's the inevitable early mock-up shot. Note: Body wings are laminated but not trimmed to correct size yet, which is why the lower one looks so big and the bass looks off-centred. CF rods set into the neck, next the neck will be routed for the truss rod. Once that is fixed we can start cutting out all the wood on the underside and shaping the neck. Neck pup is Kent Armstrong Toaster. Waiting on arrival of SD bridge pickup. Quote
Mikey R Posted January 13, 2009 Posted January 13, 2009 Stupid question: Is that the same toaster pickup as the guitar? [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Replacement_%22Toaster%22_Pickup_Front_SRK1F"]http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Replaceme...kup_Front_SRK1F[/url] Or does Kent make a bass version? Quote
Al Heeley Posted January 13, 2009 Author Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) Well it was sold as a Ric-bass replacement neck pickup, but I understand that the real Ric basses use same toaster pickup as their higher voiced 6 string sisters. If you take an original ric bass toaster pup apart you will find 6 magnet pole pieces. So I would say, to answer your question, quite probably. Edited January 13, 2009 by Al Heeley Quote
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