As a big fan of modding, don’t do it!!! It’s not a good platform to mod, because of the inherent issues like the bad neck, fretboard, and frets. If the tuners or pickups were the biggest issues with the bass, I’d go for mods. Those aren’t difficult to replace. But, those neck issues are much more difficult to work through.
Do it! Classic Amplification Rickenbacker pickups ($185+$145), Hipshot Rickenbacker bridge ($175), 4 x Hipshot HB5 tuners ($132), Graphtec Tusq nut ($14), 4 x CTS pots (~$28), Pickofthericks 3-way switch ($25), Pickofthericks Ric-o-sound output jacks ($30), Pickguardian 4003 pickguard (~$60), what could possibly go wrong with sinking $800 worth of parts into a $200 Fackenbacker? I say go big or go home, or more likely use it as firewood :-D
Damn straight! You can have the best, most expensive, hand-crafted boutique bass on the planet, but if you don't have the technique and skill to play it... it'll sound like ass no matter what, On the opposite of that, if you have the cheapest bass you could get, give it a bit of a set-up and you have a good technique... it'll sound half decent regardless.
So true. Much like Tiger Woods being able to beat me at golf with the cheapy clubs he picked up from the local church junk sale, everyone is always focusing on gear, yet the reality is gear only enhances musical ability, it doesn't create it. If you can't play it doesn't matter if it's a Fender Strat or a Torch (Fender knock-off), it will still sound like rubbish. I used to see this time and again at the golf courses, people blaming their clubs when they just couldn't play for sh$t!
That's exactly what I did with mine, sadly there's phisucally no way I can get my hands on a real one to directly compare... But it dose sound really nice :)
@@bradyj4576 Thanks man ! yeah I'm really happy with the way it turned out :) did you see the 1st black one or the newer autumn glow burst neck through one ? because the neck through one just turned out perfect haha !
I’m so glad you made a video over these. I’ve GASSED over a Rickenbacker for a long time but don’t have the cash to get one. I considered one of these chickenbackers but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. Glad I never did! Great video!!!
playing the real thing is so fucking amazing, i too nearly ended up buyin one of these but i never did and glad i never did, but once you play the real thing the experience never leaves you
if you get a real one, check that the neck hasn't started to pull away from the body wings. two of mine started to bend this way, even though they'd only had light strings on. also the tailpiece starts to lift away from the body, & can fail completely. but don't get a real one. look for a mid-late 70s ibanez copy. way better instrument.
Rickenbackers are my favourite basses today even nore then my Ibanez SR5005, but the 2K$ price tag is a bit much. I bought a 1980 Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglow but damn its got an amazing tone.
It is the odd rick conception which make that, the routing render the end of the neck very instable ( that's the reason of the strait neck set up, the bass get natural a back angle at the fretboard end). An other thing that bother me ln ricks is that it can't work with no truss rod tension on the neck. It is as beautifull as it has bad construction choices, less these days with less thicker fretboard, the right amount of glue on critical parts like... the fretboard. Bit thèse are fabulous basses with very good quality wiring design and tone!
@@coskunguclu8591 he protects their designs, he doesn't want fakes out there and sue anyone who makes them. I don't have an issue with it. If Fender and Gibson could, they would but they never protected their patents so they always lose when they try. Ric has always been about quality over quantity, 100% American made and always a real Rickenbacker.
@@joekennick71 I agree, they used to do the 610 with no binding and dots and the 420 with a single pickup. Now their most affordable is the 620 which isn't affordable at all.
I as a first time bass player, this is definitely A good start-up for myself. It’s got the look, the sound (pretty good to me, but that’s just me), I don’t really care, but once I get more experience I’ll definitely consider getting the real deal to make up for the Fakenbacker. Other than that, I am still very happy I got myself a guitar in the first place.
The reason the bridge pickup is so quiet is because when you took the cover of you didn't raise it high enough. I have one of these and that same thing happened to me and the bridge pickup sounds amazing, better than a real Rick, I've played both and it's incredible
@@patrickhunter probably a dodgy connection at the bobbin or the 3 way switch, check if the pickup makes sound by tapping the pole pieces with a screwdriver, just because you re soldered it doesn't mean the rest of the electronics are perfect mate. Probably a way easier fix then you realise
@@patrickhunter just to be sure, reconnect it directly to the output jack and check for volume there, if not you'll have to take apart the pickup assembly like you've done before, which could be why it broke if you werent gentle enough when taking it out, if it doesn't work when connected directly it's likely a fault at the bobbin. Hope this helps as I'm a big fan of these basses as when they work they are, in my opinion, good enough to gig with and 99% of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference
If only there was a sub brand that could make licensed copies of rickenbacker designs and go through qc to make sure everything works and plays right 🤔
John Hall has always said that would "dilute the brand". B.S. !!! Squier hasn't hurt Fender .... Epiphone doesn't hurt Gibson .... The Ignition Series doesn't hurt Hofner .... Fact is, John Hall only wants to sell $3000 guitars, not $300 ones, greed, pure and simple. So us casual pickers go elsewhere, eff him.
@@news603redux what a load of rubbish. they start the cheap brand nearby with 'original hardware' (eg mexico or japan) and then they realise even that is getting too expensive then it is off to korea/china/indonesia. WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THE MEX/JPN made instruments? in the gutter, with the terrible sub brand name!
I would buy it hands down because I refuse to take my authentic on the road with my bands. I would do all the modding as well, don’t get me wrong lol but I love that 4003 style
You left out quite a bit... (covered in my review of these basses several years ago!) They are 34 in scale, not 33 1/4 scale like a real Ric. Which if you are used to a real one, is quite noticeable, that and the extra frets make them very "necky". The fake Toaster pickup is actually a humbucker (real ones aren't) They are most often out of phase - neck to bridge, which is fixable. The bodies are usually Chinese Elm, unless you pay quite a bit more for a custom one. One of the biggest problems is the incorrect radius of the bridge for the fingerboard used !!! This is also fixable with 1/16 in shims under the "D" and "A" saddles. A major fail is the mismatch of that neck pickup with the fanout of the fingerboard. The fingerboard is more like a Fender in how it widens as you go up the neck, and by the time you have the strings passing over the neck pickup, they are actually leaving the magnetic field of the pole bars - Chronic weak E and G string compared to the A and D.
"Not that great, not that good". Sounds like a real Rickenbacker then. Tried a brand new, flat black finished real Rick recently, and was amused to see they'd not even bothered to finish the inside of the lower horn properly. It was rough, as though they'd not sanded it after being initially cut on the CNC machine. I decided to stick to my 1979 Greco copy.
That's a real shame. I've seen a few that have slipped QC. My Rick has perfect QC and has no issues overall. But I won't deny that Rickenbackers QC is hit or miss
I have a 1976 Univox Rick copy, and actually love it. Although the neck has a bow in it and I'm really nervous about trying to fix something with double truss rods.
I’ve listened to this vid a few times now, and I’ve wanted to disagree with you - but I really cannot. On the subject of copies, I had a Musicman Sterling copy produced by....I forget....maybe something like ‘Olep’? That sounds right to me. Anyway, anyone in possession of one of those, I dare you to take a blindfold test and tell me you can tell the difference between the real thang and the copy. Some companies out there really have their thing together when it comes to producing half-decent, like-for-like reproductions of these iconic instruments.
@@thebigchecka That would be OLP ... I own 2 ... converted them to active with 3 band eq using seymour duncan preamp kits and baseline pickups.. they are great build-wise!
There is a very high possibility the bridge pickup is a 1:1 copy of an old rick pickup. Those had very low output too. Lemmy put a Thunderbird pickup in the neck for a good reason.
I think that's the right answer to be honest. They're for kids to buy their first look-alike to the real thing! I know it's hard to drop $2,500 on a decent guitar, but there's a hell of a lot of difference.
Hey man, just wanna give you props for doing these demos, you play in a similar style as me with a pick and the tone all the way open. Too many people demoing basses are guitarists who just palm mute
A $250 bass you might get one year of use out of. People complain about Rickenbackers being expensive, but keep throwing money at shitty Chinese counterfeit instruments.
I concur with your assessment. I have one and what improved it a lot was replacing the stock strings with really good ones. I put on Rotosound Swingbass 66s and the thing came to life. Cheap fix and it works. I also oiled the fretboard with Old English dark oil polish and let it soak in for a few days because the fretboard was very dry and it looks very nice. I waxed and machine buffed the painted neck and that improved it immensely.
I thought about getting one of those, and then I checked one out that a friend had. I played it a bit - it's hard to find a lefty Rick - and frankly I hated the neck. Slow, unplayable. And with both pickups roaring (the toaster and a pseudoMM) it was loud AF. The only advantage it had over a Rick was the bridge - Ricky bridges are garbage. Doing intonation is a disaster. Tuning and intonating his fakenbacker was actually easier. There are other major problems that aren't as obvious, some of them structural. As you noted the wood isn't mahogany. I have no idea what it is. Pine? Who knows... But that's a big issue, for sure. The other structural problem is, it's a set neck. So, the neck is crap as you know, and will eventually warp, especially if you use high tension strings like Rotos. The truss rod will have to work, and if it doesn't the guitar is only good for kindling. Once you scrape the paint off. Sure, you can steam the neck off, but good luck finding a replacement neck for one of these, and steaming a neck off one of these would cost more than the guitar is worth or even costs. The pick ups are hash. The neck toaster pickup is OK, for sure - it almost sounds rickish-like-esque. The bridge PU is crap. My friend replaced it with some huge Musicman type pickup. Thing freakin' roared, but didn't sound like a Rick of course. As you noted, the routing is amateurishly bad, so one can attack one of these with abandon - you can't make it worse. One thing he noticed was that the fret ends started sticking out after only a year. Seriously. He didn't want to get tetanus, so he got that fixed. He played it for a year after that, but after 2 years, the Rotosound roundwounds he put on it ate the frets up. So, now it's pretty much a dead bass. His verdict? Fun while it lasted, but never again.
Turn the volume down on the bridge pickup just a little and it will actually probably get louder. Cheap knobs will sometimes short out the signal when it's all the way open.
I think it sounds good for the price, a student would be happy with the sound. You spent 8:40 so far talking about the look and what not. How was the setup, the neck feel, fit and finish? I can't knock it from what I'm hearing.
I once owned a 1972 4001 jetglow; I loved the way it sounded,loved the way it looked but the way it felt; not so much. I once needed tech support for it so I called the factory in Santa Ana and talked to a super nice guy ( I think his name was Dave) he was very helpful with my questions. Rickenbacker is a class act company all the way!!! If I ever get to where I can afford another one, I'll have them build me a 4003 contoured with no binding, it probalbly won't look as good as their standard bass but it would be a lot more comfortable to hold and play. Every bass player on the planet knows that a Rickenbacker is the Harley - Davidson of bass guitars; nothing sounds quite like a Ricky !!!
That rear pup assembly is actually much better than a ric. Low pup height and being out of phase might be the problem. Hipshot Bridge, single coil P bass pickup - JBE 50s or Seymour Duncan single P will do the trick an it ll screw directly to the fiberboard assembly. New pots and wires and that thing should be good to go. Oh, a setup and shielding. Thats a fun project.
I traded a broken Epiphone Casino for a Chinese copy Ric several years ago thinking it would be a good project bass. I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans, had a new nut fabricated, replaced all pots and the switch, Ric strings, and replaced the bridge with an Allparts. The bass would not intonate correctly until we moved the bridge closer to the bridge pickup. After all that, it’s just an okay bass. It has a good sound when played through my effects - maybe that’s the Seymour Duncans though. Still didn’t spend as much as a real Ric though. I enjoy your videos. Thanks.
I bought an Amoon bass on ebay a few months ago for $89 complete with shipping. How bad is it? The neck was not seated in the neck pocket exactly perpendicular to the pickups. So if they had centered the bridge correctly, the strings would not have been lined up with the neck. By a lot. So this is how they build their instruments. Slap the neck on, then put a string on it with the bridge not screwed down. Move the bridge until the string is aligned with the neck. Screw down the bridge. Do not worry for one second the the strings are not centered above the pickups. So I have a bass to play with and work on making right. First thing I have done is remove the frets and installed veneer in the fret slots. It was my first try and it went pretty well for first try. The veneer broke off below the fret-board in one spot. I probably will just leave that. But soon, I will buy a new body (probably from Guitar fetish) and put the parts all back together with a different body. I will have to drill out the screw holes in the neck and glue hardwood dowels into them as they will likely not align with a different body. I know that sounds iffy, but I have done it before and it works. I think I will most likely sand 'Amoon' off the neck too as they really don't deserve to have their name on a musical instrument. IMO.
I’ll be honest and say that it sounds pretty good, it may be a knockoff but I’ve always loved Rickenbackers. They feel and sound great and they’ve always been one of my dream basses
@@InjectBleach No, I was just surprised at how good this one sounded (I also do own a Rickenbacker now and bought it during the summer of 2020, and it's been my main bass since)
@@jakubshouseofrock7109 I used to have the B-550 5 string and I currently have a JA-60 jazzmaster type guitar. The 5 string was pretty cool but I didn't have much of a use for it after a while, and the jazzmaster needed some work and hardware upgrades but it's a cool little guitar. It's crazy what they can make for so little money!
@@Just-Michael nice ! iv'e got one of their Les Paul type ones and one of their PRS type ones, both play beautifully, the QC from them and the fretwork is really impressive for the price
I have a cool video idea: Take that chickenbacker bass Put a mudbucker in the neck, seymour Duncan hot stack in the bridge position, and a single coil under the bridge plate Replace the hardware with legit ric parts or some other brand like hipshot or gotoh. Boom, Chinese cliff burton bass
I bought one a few years back. Same issues. I replaced the pots and wiring with a vintage set made by a guy on ebay called aceonbass1. Rheemed the output jack, and added the rick-o-sound mono stereo jack. Can now hear both pickups good.Had to fret level, and tap down a couple fret ends. I then replace the musicmaster pickup with a better one from ebay as well. Other than it being head heavy, plays as well as any Squire, or Epiphone, but at almost twice the price of those two.
I had one of these in Wine red and after a setup it was sick. Sounded and played like an Epiphone EB-3 SG bass. It was my main till I sold it to help fund my fender p-bass
I have a 1970's Japanese Rickenbacker copy that I love. Not as nice as an actual Ric, but it gets me 70% of the way there and it only cost $400. Great for studio work. They're hard to find though because Rickenbacker pulls the listings. The guy I purchased mine from had it on Reverb and got a cease and desist letter from Rickenbacker to take the ad down.
Every time I see a video like this I'm constantly reminded of the fact that tone is in the hands, not the gear, because I cannot tell how shite this instrument is. You make it sound impeccable.
I have a neck through Chickenbacker bass myself. Your assessment is pretty much spot-on. The bridge is absolutely horrendous. It took me way too long a time to get it set up halfway decent. The bridge pickup was a challenge as well. The holes on the pickup itself where the screws would go in to raise it were bigger than the screws themselves, so I had to put a piece of cardboard underneath the pickup just to get it to a height where I could hear it as well as the neck pickup. But THEN the pickups go out of phase when both are engaged, and that sounds like garbage. Overall though it's okay for a project bass where you slowly upgrade the parts, which is what I eventually intend on doing.
There was a UK based company called Retrovibe that made Ricky copies with stingray style pickups, till they got hit with a cease and desist. Sounded nothing like a proper Ricky but it had the aesthetics. They actually ended up getting bought out by Chowny, the company that made Davie504’s signature bass/purple hollowbody.
Personally it's crap I wouldn't do shit to it, but you're already in this deep, you might as well try to upgrade its parts and show it off. I'd definitely watch.
Regarding the complaint about the bridge pickup volume, are you sure you adjusted it properly after removing the bridge over? As the bolts that hold the cover on also control pickup height.
Working hard and saving then being able to find a real Rickenbacker is far more satisfying than finding and modding a cheap/fake one. I dreamt of having a Ric since i was 14 years old. Never thought I'd be able to find one. Let alone afford one. At 24, I came across one and bought it on a wimb. One of the happiest most satisfying achievements of my life.
I know right ! I've have a couple off these basses, and the stock pickups on them are surprisingly good to my ear, allot of it depends on setting the right pickup height though... the neck pickup is a really good little humbucker with a nice thick warm growly sound, while the bridge is an alnico music man type thing with big pole pieces, it's got a great clear and aggressive sound.. I still swapped them out for Rickenbacker High Gain pickups because I wanted to mod my bass to be as close to the real deal as possible, but there was honestly nothing wrong with the stock pickups at all, though the bass did need re-wiring as it was wired so that the pickups would be out of phase on the middle position, making it sound tinny,,, but that should be an easy fix...
Well, in all my years playing guitar and bass, I would say I never came across horrible bass tuners, and I played a lot of cheap basses. It tends to be a bigger problem on guitars, at least from my experience.
In 1978 my father picked up a Rickenbacker copy from Greco Guitars on a visit to Japan. I have played it ever since and it compares favorably to the actual Rickenbacker.
My old bassist had an original and it sounded like it fell down several flights of stairs. It ruined them for me. I'd much rather get a kick ass knock off like this.🍻
Put some new pickups in, upgrade the electronics, change out the bridge and you’d probably have something you can use for gigs. I did the same thing to a subpar silvertone p bass copy and it’s something special
As a lefty, trying to find ANY lefty handed bass can be tricky, much less a Rick thats affordable, SO getting a "Chickenbacker" and modifying it to my needs was a good option
It sounds ok, in the neck posi! Not Rick like, but ok. That bridge p/up, is either faulty or its volume pot is faulty! I'd replace the pot and see how it goes. But if the neck is really bad, no point doing a lot with it! That body is basswood!
wrong. Its complete junk. You want it because of what it looks like. I have had 60 basses in my 65 yrs and that ric is complete junk dont waste time on it.
2:59 😂 exactly what I feel! I looked at these and nearly bought one a few years ago. Ended up buying a second hand Rockinbetter, supposedly made in the Tokai factory. Its not bad, my £60 Vintage Jazz copy plays better though. Think yours sounds pretty good.
I DID purchase a Chinese Rickenbacker 325 & a Chinese Rickenbacker 350. They both were decent guitars - after a bid of modding. I still use the 350 as a stage guitar. It now has custom wound pickups & SOME GENUINE RIC parts that I special ordered. Since then I bit the bullet & bought a real Rickenbacker 325 - and there is no comparison in the two.
I love the ways Ricky's sound, look, and feel. Time stamp 6:50 "This bridge is God-awful." Yep, they nailed that! Even Rickenbacker bass bridges are horrible! Will Rickenbacker ever fix the brigde hardware issues? Why on earth mix non-compatible metals? You're just asking for corrosion and metal to metal fusion issues. And the cheap plastic chrome plated PUP cover? That was always the 1st thing to go on my Ricks. I've owned two..a 72 Maple Glo 4001 and a "74 Arctic White 4001 (it was more cigarette yellow, actually) and I miss them despite the horrible bridge design (ever try to set up the intonation?). Yes they are still very expensive basses but I would not consider buying a knock-off..the sound will never be there.
![The $200 Rickenbacker Killer??? - Harley Benton RB-414 [Demo]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ii5XW8hqHKg/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TH] 2024 PMGC League | กลุ่มสีเหลืองวันที่ 1 | PUBG MOBILE Global Championship](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I_FdxGT3WV4/mqdefault.jpg)
What'd y'all think about this Fakenbacker?! Should I even bother upgrading it? Follow me on Instagram and let me know! instagram.com/patrickhunter
As a big fan of modding, don’t do it!!!
It’s not a good platform to mod, because of the inherent issues like the bad neck, fretboard, and frets.
If the tuners or pickups were the biggest issues with the bass, I’d go for mods. Those aren’t difficult to replace. But, those neck issues are much more difficult to work through.
Do it! Classic Amplification Rickenbacker pickups ($185+$145), Hipshot Rickenbacker bridge ($175), 4 x Hipshot HB5 tuners ($132), Graphtec Tusq nut ($14), 4 x CTS pots (~$28), Pickofthericks 3-way switch ($25), Pickofthericks Ric-o-sound output jacks ($30), Pickguardian 4003 pickguard (~$60), what could possibly go wrong with sinking $800 worth of parts into a $200 Fackenbacker? I say go big or go home, or more likely use it as firewood :-D
I think that, if anything changed, Rickenbacker patented almost everything about their instruments so those things are illegal, don't support them
I bought one 2 years ago and your right,they are rubbish,and you cant adjust the intonation either so dont waste your money.Buy a squire jazz instead.
Patrick Hunter I’d be interested in seeing if modded, but instead of trying to make it anything like a legit Rick, just go all out crazy with it.
100% LEGIT. Still think you should have gotten pink so we could be matching super best friends 🙃🙃
Seconded
I DONE GOOFED
Agufish oh hai Hunter
It just doesn’t sound like a Rickenbacker. Sounds almost like a PJ.
lol right?! I really do want to try and get a hold of a good set of Rickenbacker pups to see if it's capable of that classic 4001/4003 tone
Patrick Hunter yeah that’d be cool, you should write “bickenracker” on the headstock haha
It may not sound like a Ric, but I thought it sounded pretty good, actually.
@@Lat3xE4teR I think he should have Ricken Electric Bass Store Top Quality Black Backer 4003 Bass engraved where the logo would be.
Sounds like a pj with no low end all mids. Perhaps a string change would help? Pick up swap and electronics and see what could be done.
Turning it into a copy of Cliff Burton's Rick might be interesting, with the guitar pickup and the mudbucker.
Hey man, just bought one and that’s what I’m doing!! I’ll let you know how it goes :)
@@prisonoffleshh Ali Express?
Christian Marroquin yea man!!
I wouldn’t do the guitar pickup because I think that mod was what put it out of commission
@@prisonoffleshh How did it turn out?
In the hands of a good player anything sounds at least decent.
This is the only corrent answer.
There’s an adam Neely video about this, that everyone should watch (called “does gear matter” I think)
For sure!
Damn straight! You can have the best, most expensive, hand-crafted boutique bass on the planet, but if you don't have the technique and skill to play it... it'll sound like ass no matter what, On the opposite of that, if you have the cheapest bass you could get, give it a bit of a set-up and you have a good technique... it'll sound half decent regardless.
So true. Much like Tiger Woods being able to beat me at golf with the cheapy clubs he picked up from the local church junk sale, everyone is always focusing on gear, yet the reality is gear only enhances musical ability, it doesn't create it. If you can't play it doesn't matter if it's a Fender Strat or a Torch (Fender knock-off), it will still sound like rubbish. I used to see this time and again at the golf courses, people blaming their clubs when they just couldn't play for sh$t!
I'd say upgrade it with real Rick pickups and hardware. It would be interesting to see how it stacks up against a real rick
When the bass is cheaper than the upgrades 😂😂
I was thinking just get one and give it the Cliff Burton treatment without the risk of destroying an authentic Rick
That's exactly what I did with mine, sadly there's phisucally no way I can get my hands on a real one to directly compare... But it dose sound really nice :)
@@jakubshouseofrock7109 hey yeah i saw those videos a while back. You did a great job on it man. Good seein ya here.
@@bradyj4576 Thanks man ! yeah I'm really happy with the way it turned out :) did you see the 1st black one or the newer autumn glow burst neck through one ? because the neck through one just turned out perfect haha !
Fun fact, Peter Hook loved his Ric copy because it didn't really sound like a Ric
The almighty hondo ii, which in hook's own words wasn't even much in the way of a good bass
Indeed but Hondo was at least a good Japanese copy.
You look like Leddy Gee with that bass...
No, no he doesn't. Not one bit.
I think you mean Kemmy Lilmeister
Hahahahaha
Nice piece of firewood methinks you got there, bootybacker for real 😝 it will make better toothpicks than funk
@@davidhollowelljr949 No, I think he means Sqris Chire.
I actually thought it sounded good.
Hey it sounds pretty good actually
I’m so glad you made a video over these. I’ve GASSED over a Rickenbacker for a long time but don’t have the cash to get one. I considered one of these chickenbackers but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. Glad I never did! Great video!!!
playing the real thing is so fucking amazing, i too nearly ended up buyin one of these but i never did and glad i never did, but once you play the real thing the experience never leaves you
if you get a real one, check that the neck hasn't started to pull away from the body wings. two of mine started to bend this way, even though they'd only had light strings on. also the tailpiece starts to lift away from the body, & can fail completely.
but don't get a real one. look for a mid-late 70s ibanez copy. way better instrument.
Rickenbackers are my favourite basses today even nore then my Ibanez SR5005, but the 2K$ price tag is a bit much. I bought a 1980 Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglow but damn its got an amazing tone.
It is the odd rick conception which make that, the routing render the end of the neck very instable ( that's the reason of the strait neck set up, the bass get natural a back angle at the fretboard end). An other thing that bother me ln ricks is that it can't work with no truss rod tension on the neck. It is as beautifull as it has bad construction choices, less these days with less thicker fretboard, the right amount of glue on critical parts like... the fretboard. Bit thèse are fabulous basses with very good quality wiring design and tone!
Maybe replace the bridge pup with a generic single coil and run a .0047 uf capacitor on it so it gets the ric tone
Given the conduct of Rickenbacker and their CEO, I have trouble feeling sorry for the company over the fake issue.
What did the CEO do?
@@coskunguclu8591 he protects their designs, he doesn't want fakes out there and sue anyone who makes them. I don't have an issue with it. If Fender and Gibson could, they would but they never protected their patents so they always lose when they try. Ric has always been about quality over quantity, 100% American made and always a real Rickenbacker.
@@dcbowling80I get that, but honestly they should put out some budget and mid-range instruments. It’s an untapped market for them
That’s why most people get the fakes afaik
@@joekennick71 I agree, they used to do the 610 with no binding and dots and the 420 with a single pickup. Now their most affordable is the 620 which isn't affordable at all.
I as a first time bass player, this is definitely A good start-up for myself. It’s got the look, the sound (pretty good to me, but that’s just me), I don’t really care, but once I get more experience I’ll definitely consider getting the real deal to make up for the Fakenbacker. Other than that, I am still very happy I got myself a guitar in the first place.
Would make a fine, if expensive, prop for someone's Scott Pilgrim cosplay.
A+ was thinking the same thing
Cover that shit in gray duct tape lmao
The reason the bridge pickup is so quiet is because when you took the cover of you didn't raise it high enough. I have one of these and that same thing happened to me and the bridge pickup sounds amazing, better than a real Rick, I've played both and it's incredible
Yeah, this dude complains too much. Plus rewiring a bass is so easy
lol trust me, I raised the pickup and got only a tiny bit of increase in volume
Yeah that dude sucks! Did you miss the part where I said I resoldered it and got no difference in sound?
@@patrickhunter probably a dodgy connection at the bobbin or the 3 way switch, check if the pickup makes sound by tapping the pole pieces with a screwdriver, just because you re soldered it doesn't mean the rest of the electronics are perfect mate. Probably a way easier fix then you realise
@@patrickhunter just to be sure, reconnect it directly to the output jack and check for volume there, if not you'll have to take apart the pickup assembly like you've done before, which could be why it broke if you werent gentle enough when taking it out, if it doesn't work when connected directly it's likely a fault at the bobbin. Hope this helps as I'm a big fan of these basses as when they work they are, in my opinion, good enough to gig with and 99% of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference
I like the inlays says the guy who hates Jackson who uses the same inlays
I like jackson basses but they look better on rickys
If only there was a sub brand that could make licensed copies of rickenbacker designs and go through qc to make sure everything works and plays right 🤔
John Hall has always said that would "dilute the brand". B.S. !!! Squier hasn't hurt Fender .... Epiphone doesn't hurt Gibson .... The Ignition Series doesn't hurt Hofner .... Fact is, John Hall only wants to sell $3000 guitars, not $300 ones, greed, pure and simple. So us casual pickers go elsewhere, eff him.
I really wish !!
@@news603redux you mean Gibson doesn't hurt Epiphone, because Gibsons Nowadays are overpriced pieces of junk for the price compared to a Epiphone
@@news603redux what a load of rubbish. they start the cheap brand nearby with 'original hardware' (eg mexico or japan) and then they realise even that is getting too expensive then it is off to korea/china/indonesia.
WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THE MEX/JPN made instruments? in the gutter, with the terrible sub brand name!
I personally think it sounds pretty good
It’s a Trickenbacker!
I would buy it hands down because I refuse to take my authentic on the road with my bands. I would do all the modding as well, don’t get me wrong lol but I love that 4003 style
You left out quite a bit...
(covered in my review of these basses several years ago!)
They are 34 in scale, not 33 1/4 scale like a real Ric.
Which if you are used to a real one, is quite noticeable,
that and the extra frets make them very "necky".
The fake Toaster pickup is actually a humbucker (real ones aren't)
They are most often out of phase - neck to bridge, which is fixable.
The bodies are usually Chinese Elm, unless you pay quite a bit more
for a custom one.
One of the biggest problems is the incorrect radius of the bridge for the
fingerboard used !!! This is also fixable with 1/16 in shims under the "D"
and "A" saddles.
A major fail is the mismatch of that neck pickup with the fanout of the fingerboard.
The fingerboard is more like a Fender in how it widens as you go up the neck, and
by the time you have the strings passing over the neck pickup, they are actually leaving
the magnetic field of the pole bars - Chronic weak E and G string compared to the
A and D.
Great info and spot on from my experience.
Thanks now I know how to make super good clones
"Not that great, not that good". Sounds like a real Rickenbacker then. Tried a brand new, flat black finished real Rick recently, and was amused to see they'd not even bothered to finish the inside of the lower horn properly. It was rough, as though they'd not sanded it after being initially cut on the CNC machine. I decided to stick to my 1979 Greco copy.
That's a real shame. I've seen a few that have slipped QC. My Rick has perfect QC and has no issues overall. But I won't deny that Rickenbackers QC is hit or miss
I have a 1976 Univox Rick copy, and actually love it. Although the neck has a bow in it and I'm really nervous about trying to fix something with double truss rods.
the tripple harmonic at 0:48 was impressive as hell
That is some great playing, I didn't ever think of doing harmonics on a bass. I could listen to this guy all night.
For a fake rick, it sounds pretty good.
Chief, Get inside, Gear up. We're taking this jam session to the surface
I’ve listened to this vid a few times now, and I’ve wanted to disagree with you - but I really cannot.
On the subject of copies, I had a Musicman Sterling copy produced by....I forget....maybe something like ‘Olep’? That sounds right to me.
Anyway, anyone in possession of one of those, I dare you to take a blindfold test and tell me you can tell the difference between the real thang and the copy.
Some companies out there really have their thing together when it comes to producing half-decent, like-for-like reproductions of these iconic instruments.
I just want to get one so I can do a Cliff Burton pick up setup. Even if the pick ups are exactly the ones he used just the same type.
@@thebigchecka That would be OLP ... I own 2 ... converted them to active with 3 band eq using seymour duncan preamp kits and baseline pickups.. they are great build-wise!
@@thebigchecka OLP? I remember that being a thing.
There is a very high possibility the bridge pickup is a 1:1 copy of an old rick pickup. Those had very low output too. Lemmy put a Thunderbird pickup in the neck for a good reason.
Chris Squire also said that the bridge pickup in his 60s Rick was never good, the output was shit
@@DannyBoi2112 true
This would be GREAT for a kid just starting to play bass. All his friends would be super jealous!
you got better, cheaper, starting basses, from Harley Benton, Ibanez or what I suggest for starters a Yamaha.
Pretty sure even rogue makes a better beginner bass for 120
Get rid of those friends. No room for jealous in Music.
i think they’d be more jealous if he had a bass that was actually built well
I think that's the right answer to be honest. They're for kids to buy their first look-alike to the real thing! I know it's hard to drop $2,500 on a decent guitar, but there's a hell of a lot of difference.
It’s you man . You play great. It’s just a bass but you breath life into that wood and metal!
Hey man, just wanna give you props for doing these demos, you play in a similar style as me with a pick and the tone all the way open. Too many people demoing basses are guitarists who just palm mute
Sounds amazing when you’re playing it
Dude, for $250 it is good.
i mean, you can definitly get better for $250
Not at all
A $250 bass you might get one year of use out of. People complain about Rickenbackers being expensive, but keep throwing money at shitty Chinese counterfeit instruments.
@@Meddled What are you on about? I have a $250 guitar that I've been using for years and love
@@endi3386 2 of my most played came directly out of the trash.
I concur with your assessment. I have one and what improved it a lot was replacing the stock strings with really good ones. I put on Rotosound Swingbass 66s and the thing came to life. Cheap fix and it works. I also oiled the fretboard with Old English dark oil polish and let it soak in for a few days because the fretboard was very dry and it looks very nice. I waxed and machine buffed the painted neck and that improved it immensely.
I think this would be a fun bass to modify … heck you can't make it worse
This guy works for Rickenbacker!
Yes! Maybe you could also do something like the high intergrity mod with it :)
I thought about getting one of those, and then I checked one out that a friend had. I played it a bit - it's hard to find a lefty Rick - and frankly I hated the neck. Slow, unplayable. And with both pickups roaring (the toaster and a pseudoMM) it was loud AF. The only advantage it had over a Rick was the bridge - Ricky bridges are garbage. Doing intonation is a disaster. Tuning and intonating his fakenbacker was actually easier.
There are other major problems that aren't as obvious, some of them structural. As you noted the wood isn't mahogany. I have no idea what it is. Pine? Who knows... But that's a big issue, for sure. The other structural problem is, it's a set neck. So, the neck is crap as you know, and will eventually warp, especially if you use high tension strings like Rotos. The truss rod will have to work, and if it doesn't the guitar is only good for kindling. Once you scrape the paint off. Sure, you can steam the neck off, but good luck finding a replacement neck for one of these, and steaming a neck off one of these would cost more than the guitar is worth or even costs.
The pick ups are hash. The neck toaster pickup is OK, for sure - it almost sounds rickish-like-esque. The bridge PU is crap. My friend replaced it with some huge Musicman type pickup. Thing freakin' roared, but didn't sound like a Rick of course. As you noted, the routing is amateurishly bad, so one can attack one of these with abandon - you can't make it worse. One thing he noticed was that the fret ends started sticking out after only a year. Seriously. He didn't want to get tetanus, so he got that fixed.
He played it for a year after that, but after 2 years, the Rotosound roundwounds he put on it ate the frets up. So, now it's pretty much a dead bass.
His verdict? Fun while it lasted, but never again.
Definitely not the worst sounding bass. I'd say try some mods on it!
Turn the volume down on the bridge pickup just a little and it will actually probably get louder. Cheap knobs will sometimes short out the signal when it's all the way open.
I think it sounds good for the price, a student would be happy with the sound. You spent 8:40 so far talking about the look and what not. How was the setup, the neck feel, fit and finish? I can't knock it from what I'm hearing.
Because it's a very good bass, and he was lost telling the truth!
As decent as it sounds it probably doesn't feel as good to play let alone plainly move around the neck with.
I once owned a 1972 4001 jetglow; I loved the way it sounded,loved the way it looked but the way it felt; not so much. I once needed tech support for it so I called the factory in Santa Ana and talked to a super nice guy ( I think his name was Dave) he was very helpful with my questions. Rickenbacker is a class act company all the way!!! If I ever get to where I can afford another one, I'll have them build me a 4003 contoured with no binding, it probalbly won't look as good as their standard bass but it would be a lot more comfortable to hold and play. Every bass player on the planet knows that a Rickenbacker is the Harley - Davidson of bass guitars; nothing sounds quite like a Ricky !!!
It’d be a cool project to put ACTUAL rickenbacker parts on it
why waste money.
vern hall bc it’s his money to waste not urs!!
That rear pup assembly is actually much better than a ric. Low pup height and being out of phase might be the problem.
Hipshot Bridge, single coil P bass pickup - JBE 50s or Seymour Duncan single P will do the trick an it ll screw directly to the fiberboard assembly.
New pots and wires and that thing should be good to go. Oh, a setup and shielding. Thats a fun project.
Please do an upgrade video. Would love to see what you do with it.
I would like to see an upgrade of this as well. But only with genuine Ric parts to see what that wood sound like compared to maple,
WOW!!!!!! no string rattle and fret buzz. Excellent.
It doesn't sound like a rick at all
Sounds pretty good for the price, just doesn't sound like a ric. Great video Patrick!
Sounds nothing like a Ric, but in a band context from 100 feet away, I probably wouldn't know the difference.
I traded a broken Epiphone Casino for a Chinese copy Ric several years ago thinking it would be a good project bass. I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans, had a new nut fabricated, replaced all pots and the switch, Ric strings, and replaced the bridge with an Allparts. The bass would not intonate correctly until we moved the bridge closer to the bridge pickup. After all that, it’s just an okay bass. It has a good sound when played through my effects - maybe that’s the Seymour Duncans though. Still didn’t spend as much as a real Ric though.
I enjoy your videos. Thanks.
seems like a fun gigging bass but I'd not record anything with it
I bought an Amoon bass on ebay a few months ago for $89 complete with shipping. How bad is it? The neck was not seated in the neck pocket exactly perpendicular to the pickups. So if they had centered the bridge correctly, the strings would not have been lined up with the neck. By a lot. So this is how they build their instruments. Slap the neck on, then put a string on it with the bridge not screwed down. Move the bridge until the string is aligned with the neck. Screw down the bridge. Do not worry for one second the the strings are not centered above the pickups. So I have a bass to play with and work on making right. First thing I have done is remove the frets and installed veneer in the fret slots. It was my first try and it went pretty well for first try. The veneer broke off below the fret-board in one spot. I probably will just leave that. But soon, I will buy a new body (probably from Guitar fetish) and put the parts all back together with a different body. I will have to drill out the screw holes in the neck and glue hardwood dowels into them as they will likely not align with a different body. I know that sounds iffy, but I have done it before and it works. I think I will most likely sand 'Amoon' off the neck too as they really don't deserve to have their name on a musical instrument. IMO.
I’ll be honest and say that it sounds pretty good, it may be a knockoff but I’ve always loved Rickenbackers. They feel and sound great and they’ve always been one of my dream basses
@@InjectBleach No, I was just surprised at how good this one sounded (I also do own a Rickenbacker now and bought it during the summer of 2020, and it's been my main bass since)
Big Thanks for testing it and your references 👌👌👌
It would be cool if Harley Benton came out with a Rickenbacker style bass. I'd have to buy one if they made a lefty.
that would be really cool, they make some great budget friendly instruments
@@jakubshouseofrock7109 I used to have the B-550 5 string and I currently have a JA-60 jazzmaster type guitar. The 5 string was pretty cool but I didn't have much of a use for it after a while, and the jazzmaster needed some work and hardware upgrades but it's a cool little guitar. It's crazy what they can make for so little money!
@@Just-Michael nice ! iv'e got one of their Les Paul type ones and one of their PRS type ones, both play beautifully, the QC from them and the fretwork is really impressive for the price
Harley benton has one now! I bought one and have been using it exclusively for a couple of weeks and plan to make a video about it.
This comment has aged pretty well
Id love to see new pickups/fretboard on this, I've always wanted a Rickenbacker and considered buying a Chinese fake and replacing the pickups.
Doesn’t sound like a ric but looks kickass
I have a cool video idea:
Take that chickenbacker bass
Put a mudbucker in the neck, seymour Duncan hot stack in the bridge position, and a single coil under the bridge plate
Replace the hardware with legit ric parts or some other brand like hipshot or gotoh.
Boom, Chinese cliff burton bass
sounds great still 🤷🏻♂️
Buy a second one and do what cliff burton did to his 4001 see if you can get some sick tones
I believe the neck succs too much, cliff loved the narrow string spacing
I bought one a few years back. Same issues. I replaced the pots and wiring with a vintage set made by a guy on ebay called aceonbass1. Rheemed the output jack, and added the rick-o-sound mono stereo jack. Can now hear both pickups good.Had to fret level, and tap down a couple fret ends. I then replace the musicmaster pickup with a better one from ebay as well. Other than it being head heavy, plays as well as any Squire, or Epiphone, but at almost twice the price of those two.
That 100-dollar Harley Benton still sounds better!
I had one of these in Wine red and after a setup it was sick. Sounded and played like an Epiphone EB-3 SG bass. It was my main till I sold it to help fund my fender p-bass
that's awesome ! yeah I good setup is 100% the most important thing with any instrument
Seven minutes in and I’m still waiting to hear why it’s bad. So far he has said that the ad lies about its materials. Okay
I have a 1970's Japanese Rickenbacker copy that I love. Not as nice as an actual Ric, but it gets me 70% of the way there and it only cost $400. Great for studio work. They're hard to find though because Rickenbacker pulls the listings. The guy I purchased mine from had it on Reverb and got a cease and desist letter from Rickenbacker to take the ad down.
I have another one, and I agree - it's really cool bass.
Every time I see a video like this I'm constantly reminded of the fact that tone is in the hands, not the gear, because I cannot tell how shite this instrument is. You make it sound impeccable.
I have a neck through Chickenbacker bass myself. Your assessment is pretty much spot-on. The bridge is absolutely horrendous. It took me way too long a time to get it set up halfway decent. The bridge pickup was a challenge as well. The holes on the pickup itself where the screws would go in to raise it were bigger than the screws themselves, so I had to put a piece of cardboard underneath the pickup just to get it to a height where I could hear it as well as the neck pickup. But THEN the pickups go out of phase when both are engaged, and that sounds like garbage.
Overall though it's okay for a project bass where you slowly upgrade the parts, which is what I eventually intend on doing.
Kinda sounds like a Thunderbird?
There was a UK based company called Retrovibe that made Ricky copies with stingray style pickups, till they got hit with a cease and desist. Sounded nothing like a proper Ricky but it had the aesthetics. They actually ended up getting bought out by Chowny, the company that made Davie504’s signature bass/purple hollowbody.
sounds pretty sick, not like a rickenbacker but suck nonetheless.
sick like i just threw up in my mouth sick.
Thanks Patrick, suddenly my GLARRY moved way up the food chain.
Your playing is incredible as always.
Personally it's crap I wouldn't do shit to it, but you're already in this deep, you might as well try to upgrade its parts and show it off. I'd definitely watch.
This is a good comment. Thx for being you bro
@@alexanderheintz6834 Much appreciated lol
Regarding the complaint about the bridge pickup volume, are you sure you adjusted it properly after removing the bridge over? As the bolts that hold the cover on also control pickup height.
I prefer the term "chickenbacker" over "fakenbacker"
Rickenfaker?
@@joebodynobody764 Frankenbacker. No, I'm in the Chickenbacker coop aswell. I like that better.
Me too :) it's a name with class
Oh my gosh, I just found your channel a few days ago. That whisper pick up! Hysterical.
Wait, he is using a PICK, ILEGAL
I'm calling the police. He needs to SLAP.
I can't to the comments specifically to see if anyone said anything. Thank you. Maybe we shouldn't.... Pick on him 😂😂😂
I was hunting for this comment!!!
La Taberna de Wiz Not Epic!
He needs more SLAAAP! OMG
Working hard and saving then being able to find a real Rickenbacker is far more satisfying than finding and modding a cheap/fake one. I dreamt of having a Ric since i was 14 years old. Never thought I'd be able to find one. Let alone afford one. At 24, I came across one and bought it on a wimb. One of the happiest most satisfying achievements of my life.
>it's bad, it's not even good
It sounds decent, actually.
It sounded really great tbh
Right!? I love it when TH-camrs have this opinion when they just made it sound awesome! Always gives me a double-take moment. LOL
I know right ! I've have a couple off these basses, and the stock pickups on them are surprisingly good to my ear, allot of it depends on setting the right pickup height though...
the neck pickup is a really good little humbucker with a nice thick warm growly sound, while the bridge is an alnico music man type thing with big pole pieces, it's got a great clear and aggressive sound..
I still swapped them out for Rickenbacker High Gain pickups because I wanted to mod my bass to be as close to the real deal as possible, but there was honestly nothing wrong with the stock pickups at all, though the bass did need re-wiring as it was wired so that the pickups would be out of phase on the middle position, making it sound tinny,,, but that should be an easy fix...
Are they playable enough in the long term for anyone who's had the chance to own and play these aliexpress ricks?
Decent guitars/basses: "meh... you may want to get new tuners"
This crap bass: "Good tuners."
WHAT!? This makes no sense. LOL XD
Well, in all my years playing guitar and bass, I would say I never came across horrible bass tuners, and I played a lot of cheap basses. It tends to be a bigger problem on guitars, at least from my experience.
I used to have a Rickenbacker 4001, around 1980. Only cost about $300 at a pawn shop. I've been kicking myself ever since for selling it.
Everyone I know pronounces it Ricken Bocker
Nicholas McIntosh
The proper pronunciation is Rickenbacker - everyone thinks it’s a Germany name, it’s not... it’s Swiss...
In 1978 my father picked up a Rickenbacker copy from Greco Guitars on a visit to Japan. I have played it ever since and it compares favorably to the actual Rickenbacker.
See if you can turn it into a good rick copy.
I love how you play bass, like damn you go ham
boi
Thanks for a good review, it sounds pretty good the way you play it. The notes at the frets sounded ok and in tune, all in all a bit of fun!
Brazil wood !!!kkkkkkkkk no way ..... ou melhor; Nem fudendo !!!!!
My old bassist had an original and it sounded like it fell down several flights of stairs. It ruined them for me. I'd much rather get a kick ass knock off like this.🍻
Sounds not "that" bad ^^
Put some new pickups in, upgrade the electronics, change out the bridge and you’d probably have something you can use for gigs. I did the same thing to a subpar silvertone p bass copy and it’s something special
Rickenbacker's should be on the ugliest bass list
Bassplayer95 it’s a design that definitely needs to grow on you, I used to think the same thing.
Hey pat, awsome video! Would it be possible to get tabs for the first lick ? I‘m a beginner and this sounded really nice
As a lefty, trying to find ANY lefty handed bass can be tricky, much less a Rick thats affordable, SO getting a "Chickenbacker" and modifying it to my needs was a good option
It sounds ok, in the neck posi! Not Rick like, but ok. That bridge p/up, is either faulty or its volume pot is faulty! I'd replace the pot and see how it goes. But if the neck is really bad, no point doing a lot with it! That body is basswood!
Y'know... With some hotter pickups and a stereo preamp that sucker would make an awesome studio bass.
wrong. Its complete junk. You want it because of what it looks like. I have had 60 basses in my 65 yrs and that ric is complete junk dont waste time on it.
rickenbacker also owns the copyright to the bass shape as well
2:59 😂 exactly what I feel! I looked at these and nearly bought one a few years ago. Ended up buying a second hand Rockinbetter, supposedly made in the Tokai factory. Its not bad, my £60 Vintage Jazz copy plays better though. Think yours sounds pretty good.
Perfect for a Scott pilgrim cosplay where the bass tone actually matches the guitar he used
I DID purchase a Chinese Rickenbacker 325 & a Chinese Rickenbacker 350. They both were decent guitars - after a bid of modding. I still use the 350 as a stage guitar. It now has custom wound pickups & SOME GENUINE RIC parts that I special ordered. Since then I bit the bullet & bought a real Rickenbacker 325 - and there is no comparison in the two.
I love the ways Ricky's sound, look, and feel. Time stamp 6:50 "This bridge is God-awful." Yep, they nailed that! Even Rickenbacker bass bridges are horrible! Will Rickenbacker ever fix the brigde hardware issues? Why on earth mix non-compatible metals? You're just asking for corrosion and metal to metal fusion issues. And the cheap plastic chrome plated PUP cover? That was always the 1st thing to go on my Ricks. I've owned two..a 72 Maple Glo 4001 and a "74 Arctic White 4001 (it was more cigarette yellow, actually) and I miss them despite the horrible bridge design (ever try to set up the intonation?). Yes they are still very expensive basses but I would not consider buying a knock-off..the sound will never be there.
Definitely like to see a video on trying to upgrade this bass... go for it.