Thoughts: Rickenfakers

I find it amusing and a little sad how worked up people get over "Rickenfakers" (copies of Rickenbacker guitars, particularly the basses).

There seems to be this notion that Rickenbackers are somehow sacred and "fake"* instruments which, to most people (including me), look perfectly fine are described as hideous and 'sacreligious'. Hell, I even saw one thread on a forum where someone described seeing what appeared to be a Rickenbacker in a shop only to find out it was a "fake" as an "emotional rollercoaster". I think someone needs to get out more. You never hear people going on about "hideous fake" Les Pauls. Nobody gets their knickers in a twist when they see a Stratocaster that turns out to be made by someone other than Fender.

Rickenbacker don't seem to have worked out that the reason why these "fakes" continue to exist is that their instruments look really cool but are far too expensive for most people to afford. I'd be prepared to bet folding money that if Rickenbacker introduced mass-produced budget versions of their instruments they'd make an absolute killing on them. I'd certainly buy one.
Hell, the Japanese companies that made the first Rickenfakers did so as a compliment! In Japan copying the work of another is seen as a mark of respect, not an attempt to rip off the original. If only the capitalist West realised that a bit more.



*This is one of the biggest issues I have with all this. To me it's only "fake" if it is being sold as genuine when it's not. These instruments aren't, most of them are quite unashamed of their non-genuineness.

Music Post: Sleep

Fender Jag-Stang

It's going to be a while until I'm able to work on this one, but I thought I might as well post it anway.

Many years ago I bought a Fender Jag-Stang... I was young, obsessed with Nirvana and somehow had the money for it. The thing is, it plays really nicely but sounds like bollocks. The pickups are pretty poor and the electronics are rather wonky. Plus the floating trem is just rubbish. I plan on completely gutting this, immobilising the trem, stripping and refinishing the body and neck (stopping along the way to sort out any dents) and getting a new scratchplate.

Here's a picture of the guitar as it was before I dismantled it the other week. A picture of the guitar in bits will follow soon.

It Starts...

So here it is. A blog I'm intending will be used to mostly follow various guitar rebuilding projects; learning experiences, personal builds and possibly even stuff intended for resale. It will also contain thoughts on music (mostly doom and prog but I'll try to include other stuff as well) and the odd YouTube video of a band I like when no other content is forthcoming.


With any luck this will be at least a small success. :)