westone ric 4003 copy?!

is was on ebay usa a couple of hours ago...did someone see it?

it has been relisted...it has the old logo, too. however, I have my doubts about this one...link

I know Electra made Rickenfakers, but Westone? I dunno, this seems weird, but it's certainly not impossible.

With the exception of the maple fretboard and logo placement, this bass looks very similar to the Electra Corsair 2288. I'm not sure what to think.

I can't comment much on the instrument itself (which looks fantastic by the way!) but I am looking at the logo and wondering if it's even correct?
Hard to tell for sure, but the font style doesn't look right somehow.

In fact the whole look of the headstock is strange for a Ricky clone. Normally you'd see something on that big white shark tooth TRC, not on the wood itself. Doesn't make sense to me to make a faithful repro then screw up with such an obvious look and feel item as this, particularly if it was indeed made in the "70's" when there were lots of clones about.

Stranger things have happened with Mats instruments I suppose, but it looks almost like a deliberate attempt to avoid the Ric Police from shutting this seller down.

It's gone again and not available in the 'completed listings'.

What struck me about it was the obvious build quality - multi-ply neck through construction, maple body (very Westone-like), really unique looking pickups, etc. I don't know if the Westone logo was legit or not, but it looks like Uncle Mat to me.

Can someone explain to me why old Rickenfakers get deleted from eBay? I mean, it's not like Rickenbacker could stop them from being made back in the 70s, and the build quality is excellent, so on what grounds are they being removed?

Dunno fer certain but I'm guessing Rickenbacker is aggressively protecting what it sees as infringement on its proprietary designs, no matter when they were made. Legally it's their prerogative as owners of the patents, similar to software developers (Microsoft, etc). But they can't undo what's been built so they instead minimize the exposure that these "inferior" clones get. I guess they figure it diminishes the value of the real thing and takes away some of the Ricky "mystique".

Of course, if the ad or the clone itself contains any descriptive wording remotely referring to a play on the words "Rick...", or "...acker" it's a guaranteed pull from eBay.

Gibson's (Norlin) infamously, and inaccurately referred to "lawsuit" era, focused on a single company and specifically the "open book" or "moustache" headstock design. Many Gibson clones were made copying these original designs and are still available today, unmolested, in the resale arena. Hasn't appeared to have hurt Gibson (or Fender for that matter). Seems to me it just made the guitars more popular, and people want the real thing, so beats me why Rickenbacker goes down this path.

I've been led to believe that it's not Rickenbacker doing it but their obsessive fan club. That 4003 copy is just as good as the real thing for a quarter of the price? NO GET IT AWAY. Rickenbacker has no legal right to have the instruments pulled from auction (none. Seriously). I don't know why eBay goes along with it.

Cause it's a bloody Chinese fake !!!!

H.

There is no way on gods green earth that this could have been a Chinese fake!

It's a shame the pics have been pulled, the quality of the construction was way above anything that I've ever seen shipped from China, even today. Most of the old fakes stick to cheap bolt on method or if they are a decent factory, a glued neck.

A neck through construction of the quality this guitar had would be way to risky for unskilled workers in a copycat factory to make, without trained craftsmen who know what to do, it would more often than not end up in the bin!

A quality instrument, who ever made it.

DAN.

I will repeat that it was pretty much identical to the Electra 2288 Corsair.

It's gone now and I never saw it but in reference to the Electra 'copies'; they are very well regarded indeed; worth having. But a Westone one, well, not impossible I guess, but unlikely - all of the Matsumoku Westones were original designs, AKAIK....

I've been on holiday in Rotorua, NZ's thermal wonderland, and while there found a Spectrum FX in a pawnshop for NZ$550 - £250 or US$395 - and the owner wouldn't even start negotiating, so I walked,.... reluctantly as the guitar while being a bit scruffy was complete right down to the stringlocks and allen keys, although appallingly set up!

Bugger...

Bugger indeed! The inner guitarist wants, what the inner guitarist wants (or something like that).

Meantime I'm kicking myself for not grabbing copies of this bass. I had a feeling it might disappear and it's hard to discuss its origins when you can't even see the bloody thing!
All I can do is reiterate that:
1) this was a beautifully executed piece of work;
2) it had a "suspicious" headstock branding;
3) eBay needs to have its nut adjusted for this kind of sh!te. And possibly given a hard G-string wedgie!