I'll post the neck pickup on on the forums in case anyone is looking for one. Thanks for the insight.8mileshigher wrote:Hi fiveightandten --- did you ever try posting an ad for that super-hot High Gain in the Marketplace - For Sale section of the RRF ? ?
There just might be Ric owners, on the Forum, who are in bands that play that type of music, that someone might just be looking for a deep low end, gainy sound. I wouldn't unwind that pickup until you've exhausted the chance that someone out there might really be looking for that type of sound. Lots of us end up buying and selling different pick-ups on the RRF for setting up our different Rics, for specific sounds. And there have been several types of High Gains issued over the decades, that have different tones.
I think the bridge took me about an hour and a half. I say "at least an hour", as I could see someone getting it done quicker if they were faster. I just used a pen, and wore a pair of nitrile gloves to protect my fingers and had at it. Surprisingly, I didn't break the wire at all while unwinding it. It's definitely quite fragile though.iiipopes wrote:You got it done in an hour? That's fast. Almost too fast. Plan on two hours to get the neck pickup to match. Don't take off any more than you did on the bridge pickup - it will sound thin. As a matter of fact, consider leaving a little bit more on, since the neck pickup needs a little more wire on the bobbin to give a little higher inductance and more mids with a hair less treble to get a good round tone to better contrast the bridge pickup. Use the 5th knob to balance, especially if you retain the .0047 inline capacitor to the bridge pickup.
Interesting you say the neck needs to be hotter. I was always told that the bridge needs to be a bit hotter to balance correctly. The string vibrates less near the bridge, so it takes a higher output pickup to match the neck. The neck, which sees a more energetic section of the string, needs less output. Is that not correct?
In any case, i'll see if there is anyone looking for a 15.7K high gain before unwinding it. Though i'm quite happy with the outcome of the bridge. I was ready to sell the guitar. But it's actually usable now, so i'll be keeping it. I have 3 Les Pauls. The 620 definitely doesn't sound thin, even with the bridge wound down. It has as much low end as my 10 lb Les Paul Standard (1992, same era).
Thanks again for the help.