Fakenbackers

“Rickenbacker” copies.

The names Fakenbacker, Rickenfaker, Chickenbacker, and now even Chinabackers all relate to knock-off and counterfeit guitars made to resemble the classic Rickenbackers used by the Beatles and others.

Having been a Beatle fan since the Sullivan show, I have always dreamed of owning a set of Beatle guitars. I already had an old 67 Hofner bass and a ’66 “SG” Standard but I wanted to get my hands on a Gretsch Country Gentleman and a Rickenbacker like the ones Lennon used. The Gretsch Country Gentleman or Country Classic can be found at reasonable prices because Gretsch moved production to Japan. They also issued a lesser expensive line made in Korea. Rickenbackers are still only made in the states and a lot of the process is still done by hand. Production is also relatively low. Used Rickenbacker prices have gone up & up. Whereas you used to find a used one in the $1000 range, now expect to pay $3500 or more. Since I began my search I discovered that they have been and still exist several clones and knock-offs. No one to my knowledge has yet compiled a list. This is what I have found out so far. I try to constantly update what I find.

Les Paul & Stratocaster guitar models are the most copied guitars ever. This is due to their long-established popularity. Rickenbacker copies are very rare. Other than John Lennon, George Harrison, Tom Petty, how many Rick players can you name? Another reason is that Rickenbacker vigorously fights to keep copies out of the USA and updates its patents on the design. Doing this, they have kept jobs in America and quality control. They even go as far as trying to prevent people from selling their used copies on eBay.This seems to have been eased in the past few years Rickenbacker is also the only manufacturer that I know who refuses to let retailers advertise their pricing. I have big trust issues with companies that do not want to display their prices openly.

The 320, 325 models are ¾ sized and after playing Gibson and Fender guitars for many years, the Rickenbacker ¾ feels a bit flimsy but the tone variety is amazing. The prices are relatively high, but if you factor in inflation, the price is about the same as what a good guitar cost 30-40 years ago. The difference today is that we have many more guitars competing for the same dollar.

Although there were some questionable copies made in the ’60s the best were made in the ’80s and ’90s, the so-called lawsuit years. These days the Chinese have gone all-out making copies.

Seen below were some of the older copies from Korea.

Unsung Silver Star Jet 512 Rickenbacker copy — Unsung Silver Star Jet 512

In the late 90s, I found some live recordings done by 1964 The Tribute. These guys sounded so much like the real Beatles that my love for the Beatles was rekindled. I set out on a quest to see if I could get a Rickenbacker new or used for a reasonable price. At the turn of the millennium, you could still find a 325 or a 320 for around $1000.00. I missed the boat. While doing more searching I discovered that there were or had been quite a few copies out there and more in my budget range. Furthermore, some of these copies were excellent guitars. They showed up in Great Britain, Australia and eastern Europe with such brand names as Jet, Eagle, Rockinbetter, and Rebelrocker. Most of these appear to have disappeared from the market. Currently (2021) The Chinese seem to be the only source for Rick copies. Some Chinese manufacturers are probably trying to avoid lawsuits, so they make Rick copies with exaggerated shapes. Some Chinese copies use Tune-o-Matic type bridges, Gretsch-like pick-ups, and other stranger parts.

chinese ricken copy gretsch like pickups — Chinese ricken copy Gretsch like pups

Strange chinese rick guitar with other parts — Chinese rick with other parts

Here we have probably the weirdest copy that I have ever seen. A Rick body, Gretsch-like pups, Fender Jaguar tailpiece. I might have missed something else. At least the bridge looks slightly “Rickish”. Very strange indeed. I wonder if it was a joke..

Why so many brand names?

Custom branding of products has always existed in the electronic industry. Manufacturers in the Far East will offer distributors products that can be branded with the buyer’s own brand name. Because of this, you’ll see numerous similar guitars with different brand names. I somehow doubt that 4-5 factories are churning out these marginal models. The general opinion is that these copies looked and sounded very good. That is why Rickenbacker is so committed to keeping them out of the USA.

From user reviews and lots of research, it would appear that Tokai, Aria, Greco, Fernandes, and Jay Turser made some of the better ones. Tokai may still be making these but they appear no longer branded Tokai. You can imagine that when researching a product considered illegal and counterfeit, getting accurate information is extremely hard. Tokai, Aria, and Greco were all involved in legal battles in the 1980s with Fender and Gibson amongst others. Apparently, the copies made back then are considered by many to be better than the originals. The prices for these babies are going steadily upwards.
We have also seen the Rickenbacker copies with such brand and model names as Wolf, Fernandes, Encore Series 10, Silver-Star, Tokai, Galveston, Jet, Eagle, Tanglewood, Hutchins, Riff, Michael Delsey Designs, Indie, Greco, Aria Pro II, Dillion, Degas, Agile, Jay Turser, Norwegian Wood, Rockinbetter, Rebelrocker, Aspen, Bradley, and others. Some of the cheaper models had bolt-on necks, unlike the originals. From what I’ve seen, Greco made some of the best-looking ones.

In the 1980s better copies were coming out of Japan. The Japanese had a knack for copying and they started to come out with more unique models. The majors started to realize that they would miss a major chunk of the guitar market if they could not lower their costs. Fender started making the Squire line in Japan and now China and Indonesia. Then Fender Japan appeared. Gibson made fine guitars in Japan Under the Orville name. Some of these older models are in high demand. Within a few years, we started to see Mexican & Korean ones.
Rickenbacker has rarely gone this route. They did make a student line in the early sixties, marketed under the names Ryder and Electro. They were similar to the 425 models. They also authorized Chandler guitars to use a rick-looking design.

With limited production, the cost of a real Rickenbacker remains high. Now there are people out there who buy fakes and augment them with real Ric parts. So some unscrupulous people may try to trick you. Be forewarned. There are several ways to tell the difference is that Rickenbacker’s necks are set, not screwed on although the better copies also have set necks. The fret-boards on the real Rickenbacker’s are a red cedar-looking colour. See below. Then there are the tailpieces.
Many fakes often have a strange squiggly design as seen here below or the tilted R. The current Chinese manufacturers seem to have taken a liking to the R type. Here are some of the older ones.

Rebel Rocker-Rockin' Better R tail — Rebel rocker-Rockin’ Better

Most older copies did not have the Rickenbacker coloured fret boards as seen below. the Chinese are now making copies with the correct coloured fret-board.

Real Rickenbacker Toaster Pick-ups have rubber grommets on the bottom. I have yet to see a clone with grommets.

While researching copies with the URK300 part number, I found the source. The UN-Sung Musical Instrument in Inchon Korea manufactures guitars for Gibson, Epiphone, etc, and marketing the models URK300, URK500, and URK512 under the Silver Star line.

The URK512 and the Tokai Rebelrockers are copies of the Rick 330-12 and not the 360-12. It seems that only Fernandes and Greco copied the 360-12 with the triangular inlays and the neck attached closer to the edge of the body.

To see the differences between the 330 and the 360, please consult my Beatles Fab gear page Beatles-fab-gear page.

Far East manufacturers will brand their guitars with whatever name the importer wants. That’s why we have the same Guitar with numerous brand names yet most use the same part number. In Russia, they were branded “ JET”, in Scandinavia “ Eagle”. The Russian one sold for around $ 400.00 US while the Swedes paid double for the same guitar.

Lately, there is a slew of Chinese forgeries and by forgeries, I mean guitars being sold as the real thing, complete with fake nameplates, serial numbers, and documentation. Some of these Chinese retailers will use real Rickenbacker pictures or pictures they downloaded from eBay claiming these are their products. Lately, they refer to these copies as “Ricken, Rick, Rickenback or Riken” guitars. Sellers on Aliexpress currently use ” Rickenback” as the keyword. They also produce counterfeit Gibson, Fenders, PRS, Gretsch. They will white-out the head-stocks to hide the Rickenbacker name. Many times they use descriptions that make no sense as they have no idea of what they have written. An example could be a description saying 12 string guitar with a picture of a 6 string and something like “hardly used”. BE AWARE!!. You can see these models at Aliexpress. and D.H. Gate websites. There are other sites where they claim they will custom make your Rickenbacker copies along with other models and makes.

Here are some pages from older Korean and Japanese catalogues boldly displaying the Rickenbacker clones.

This one appeared in Ali-express a few years ago. Notice the Tune-o-Matic type bridge on this one. The pups are more rick-like.

Chinese rick copy with tune-o-matic style bridge

Here are some differences between the real ricks and some of the copies. Notice the placement of the necks and bridge pups.

In September 2018 I bought this Chinese “forgery”. They cost approximately $300 US with free shipping. The guitar was received with the strings loose. Upon tuning it to pitch the neck moved so much so that the paint cracked between the neck and body. The string height was extremely high. I was able to lower it but not as low as I had wished. This caused the intonation to be off. I did my best but the bridge is very flimsy and tight to adjust. The pick-guard was not sanded smooth. It still has plastic shards. The upper part of the pick-guard is not raised as in the real McCoy. Although this photo does not show it, the fret-board colour is extremely close to the original. I don’t think that anyone duplicated this colour since Fernandes RG-112 back in the ’80s. Put on a Rick-like tailpiece and one would have to be real close to see that this was a copy. The neck and pickup positions are extremely accurate. The bridge although lacking in quality has the look. The bridge saddles have not been cut deep enough. I’ve had the high E stings pop off the notch a few times.

After a few weeks, it appeared that the neck was moving. I brought it to my luthier to see what could be done. He removed the neck and said that the glue was not up to par. he remarked that it was still soft. He added a woodblock in the pick-up cavity as the neck did not have enough wood to be solidly attached. He then reset the neck angle so that the action is now much better. If you have a limited need for a guitar that has these looks then I would recommend it. Playing 3-4, 3 min songs every few months will be my needs so I think that I can manage. I plan to post a video soon demonstrating its abilities and shortcomings. I would love to have a real Rick but I cannot justify the cost of paying 10 times the price (or more) when I require 4-5 other guitars for a tribute show.
If you have no ability or knowledge of how to set up and maintain guitars or have access to a reasonably priced luthier, this guitar probably isn’t a good idea for you.

The Chinese ( as of 2024) are offering 325 and 360 copies with trapeze tail pieces .

I also found a proper Rickenbacker-style tailpiece for my 360-12 clone on eBay. Although it’s hard to see, I also raised the top pick-guard section with stand-offs to more resemble a real rick. The Lower part of the pick-guard extents too far, so I may eventually trim it. It was fairly easy to install that tailpiece. The Tailpiece cost me $53 US including shipping.
I may trim the bottom part of the pick-guard as it is a bit longer than the real one.

360 copy with enchancments — 360 copy with enchantments

Read the experiences of another buyer of a similar 12 string, Stuart Deacon Jr.

Here are just some of the brand names we have found on Rickenbacker copies.

I acquired an old Encore Series 10 Rick copy. It was originally a red colour with a screw-on neck. It was painted black and the neck appears to have been set. The screw holes were covered up. It also had a Kay tailpiece. I decided to “Lennonize” it. I bought a Chinese Bigsby copy ( under $20 us with free shipping) and a sheet of clear plexiglass. I traced the existing pick-guard and attempted to cut the plexiglass with a jigsaw. I did a terrible job but it could pass. I drilled the holes for the pots and switch. The wiring was so crazy I decided to re-do it completely. I spray-painted the plexiglass pick-guard gold on the underside. The truss rod cover was already clear plexiglass so I printed out a Rick-styled logo and shaded it gold. Here are the before and after shots. I believe that Lennon once used Hofner tea-cup knobs. On the 1st Sullivan show, they appear to have been Burns knobs. Burns was a British guitar maker. You can see a lot of early British invasion groups playing Burns guitars on YouTube.

Here are the before and after pictures.

I cut a new pick-guard from plexiglass and spray painted the under side gold. I installed a cheap Chinese Bigsby copy. John never used his Bigsby so why install a real one. I changed the knobs and later painted them silver.

Recently I tried out some Chinese knobs that are slightly closer to the Burns knobs. They cost under $10 US (shipping included) for a set of 4. They each come with an Allen key.

Rickenbacker Bass copies

Along with the guitars, the Rickenbacker bass model 4001 used by Paul McCartney has been the target of copies. He used this type in Beatle recording sessions and on stage with Wings.