Anyone heard of this?

jellikit

I bought this bass last week and I've been trying it out the last few days. The build quality is excellent and the sound is spot on. The problem is I can't find any info on it. As far as I can make out, they're made by tokai who cant put their name on it due to copyright laws so they called it rockinbetter (crap name btw) Anyone came across them before? Apparently they make copies of ric guitars as well. Any info welcome

Creamy Goodness

tokai are a japanese company that make excellent copies of the gibson les paul. in fact some of them are even better than the real thing.

when it comes to copying rick basses though i haven't a clue as i'm a guitar man but if they put the same amout of work into copying the basses then you should be fine.

jellikit

Thanks Cremo, I had a tokai les paul a while back and it was a great copy . I'm trying to find out if they actually make these rockinbetters as well. Maybe someone knows a little bit about them?

Dord

Yup, its a Tokai alright!

Tokai used names that look similar to the manufacturers name. EG, their Les Paul copies carry the Love Rock name with the same scroll writing on the headstock.

Afaik the Rickenbacker copies aren't made anymore. Rickenbacker do not like people copying their instruments, so much so that they scour the 'net and get any eBay Rick copy auctions pulled. Its all about keeping the brand pure. They're one of the last big guitar companies that doesn't have overseas models.

Rustar

It's about time.
I think Rick releases guitars at the rate of about one a year. Plus, they won't give Guitar Center exclusive distribution rights in the U.S., so they won't sell much more than that. I've been to many of the stores on their local authorized sellers list and they're mom'n'pop stores. They'd sell hundreds a day if they let G.C. sell them.
The market is ripe for a good copy....keep us updated!

jellikit

Thanks guys, this is actually brand new, I thought maybe they were coming out as a ltd. edition or something. I bought it on ebay and I spoke to the guy selling it. He said he had a few of these but after I bought this one he hasn't advertised since. He has got a shop , so maybe he sold them over the counter.

jellikit

Thanks guys, this is actually brand new, I thought maybe they were coming out as a ltd. edition or something. I bought it on ebay and I spoke to the guy selling it. He said he had a few of these but after I bought this one he hasn't advertised since. He has got a shop , so maybe he sold them over the counter. Although as Joerobot says , maybe the ric police caught up with him

Dord

jellikit wrote:

Thanks guys, this is actually brand new, I thought maybe they were coming out as a ltd. edition or something. I bought it on ebay and I spoke to the guy selling it. He said he had a few of these but after I bought this one he hasn't advertised since. He has got a shop , so maybe he sold them over the counter. Although as Joerobot says , maybe the ric police caught up with him

oh...tut tut tut...new rickenbacker copies...

*waits for Rickenbacker to call to jellikits house*

jellikit

Damn! I didnt think of that. If I don't post post here in the next 24 hours call the cops

Clif

Hey, the Guitar Emporium in Belfast is selling these bad boys at 499 at the moment, was gonna buy one tomorrow, you says it's sweet aye, how much you get it for?

The guy in the shop told me that Toaki only barely got away with producing these things, but the model was so similar they had to stop before they got sued, so chances are this is the closest anyone will get to a Rick without forking out the big money.

I'm almost creaming over getting this, it play's almost as beautifully as the real deal.

Don1

Clif wrote:

how much you get it for?

Hmmm, me thinks "Clif" is a Rick spy!! :P

mc nuggets

Gettim lads


Nice bass BTW

jellikit

clif, this cost me £479. I got it from a music shop in Wales(via ebay) I cant think of the name at the moment. I have to say I'm happy with the quality of this bass. Being a bit of a novice bass player , I didnt fancy forking out big bucks for a real one and most of the other copies are about 30 years old so its probably hard to get one in good nick. If you get one of these let me know, I wouldn't mind hearing a second opinion