ID a Japanese Rick Copy

[NancyJohnson]

4 hours ago, fergs40 said:

My first bass was a Hondo II bolt-on Ric copy, and I also experienced the neck pulling forward as described. Luckily the guitarist’s dad was ‘handy with wood’ and sorted it with some suitably impressive wood screws.

 

The bass then took its revenge by turning the impressive tail-lift into a full-on crack behind the saddles, leading to the end of the bridge parting company with the bass without warning - had it not been restrained by the strings, the high speed lump of metal might have killed somebody as it flew through the air.

 

Thankfully the guitarist’s dad was on hand with some more heavy duty wood screws and on we went…

 

I often think those starting out these days are more blessed than they know by the existence of Harley Benton and their ilk.

 

When I think about the stuff that was available to us late 70s kids, it does make it all the easier to pillory people going on about nut widths, weight, pickups etc. when everything back then weighed that of a small child, never stayed in tune, had action a half inch off the fingerboard and pickups that hardly had any output.

 

I think we were lucky that we all seemed to know someone that had a dad with rudimentary carpentry and wiring skills to keep us in business.

 

 

[Maude]

Mine had a bit of tail lift, not too bad but it was only heading one way and I like heavy strings, so I figured if the tailpiece is essentially knackered then butchering it won't matter. 

I drilled two holes through the rear flat bit, counter sunk them, then put in two big stainless steel screws. This pulled it back down flush to the body and has stayed that way for five years with heavy strings on. 

Might not look the best but I've a feeling RIC started doing the same with the new redesigned tailpiece. 

 

BTW, the tailpiece is straight, it's the angle of the photo makes it look wonky. 

 

 

[prowla]

1 hour ago, Maude said:

Mine had a bit of tail lift, not too bad but it was only heading one way and I like heavy strings, so I figured if the tailpiece is essentially knackered then butchering it won't matter. 

I drilled two holes through the rear flat bit, counter sunk them, then put in two big stainless steel screws. This pulled it back down flush to the body and has stayed that way for five years with heavy strings on. 

Might not look the best but I've a feeling RIC started doing the same with the new redesigned tailpiece. 

 

BTW, the tailpiece is straight, it's the angle of the photo makes it look wonky. 

 

 

 

RIC did that mod for a short time (though the screws were further towards the edges).

The new V2 unit is a different thing; it has a separate string anchor block which screws to the body and the chromed end of the tailpiece is just a hollow cover which sits over it.

However, I've got one on a Ric and am going to revert it, as the saddles won't adjust low enough to get the action where it should be.

So far, every alternative bridge I've tried on a Ric has had its own issues (Badass, Hipshot, Allparts, V2), so I've gone back to the original one.

 

Edited Friday at 08:34 by prowla

[Paul S]

13 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

When I think about the stuff that was available to us late 70s kids, it does make it all the easier to pillory people going on about nut widths, weight, pickups etc. when everything back then weighed that of a small child, never stayed in tune, had action a half inch off the fingerboard and pickups that hardly had any output.

 

 

😂 It's like a scab you can't stop picking, isn't it!  😂

[NancyJohnson]

2 hours ago, Paul S said:

 

😂 It's like a scab you can't stop picking, isn't it!  😂

 

Yup, delicious.

[WHUFC BASS]

On 14/01/2025 at 10:46, Bassassin said:

A word of warning about the bolt-neck on these. On mine, and on at least one other version (a 'Northern' branded Kasuga for the Canadian market, with maple-leaf inlays!) the neck tenon's glued into the pocket as well as screwed. If necessary it may be possible to remove it but will take a lot of care.

 

This is further complicated by the detail that the Maxon neck pickup is an accurate copy of the toasters used in 60s/70s Ricks, in that it's actually a guitar pickup with 6 poles. In order to mitigate weakening the neck joint, the tenon is drilled for each individual pole, making it potentially fragile if you're attempting to dismantle it.

 

 

This is that Northern Kasuga - look at the little maple leaves!

 

Anyhoo, mine has actually had a repair at the neck joint at some point, either the result of a 'normal' accident or a bodged neck-removal attempt. Fortunately it's rock-solid and the bass is ridiculously playable, action as low as you want without fret buzz.

 

Mine's pretty convincing-sounding - I've never had a 'real' one to compare it to but it's not hard to coax a late '70s Geddy Lee growl out of it. Worth mentioning that the circuitry's accurate to the original 70s basses, and they have the .0047 treble cap fitted. I bypassed mine which gave it a bit more depth & guts.

 

 

Interesting,mine is as follows

[Geek99]

If up and down are confusing as to which pickups are enabled why don’t they rotate the switch 90o so it flicks forwards and backwards? 

[Bassassin]

13 hours ago, WHUFC BASS said:

 

Interesting,mine is as follows

Look like someone's already removed the neck & used screws rather than glue when refitting it. Which is sensible. I've had a couple of bolt on guitars which were like that from the factory.

 

No idea why it's black, though!

[prowla]

1 hour ago, Bassassin said:

Look like someone's already removed the neck & used screws rather than glue when refitting it. Which is sensible. I've had a couple of bolt on guitars which were like that from the factory.

 

No idea why it's black, though!

Is it screening paint?

(Albeit only part-done!)