Vintage Toaster Pickup Characteristics

[sixtwentytwelve]

Does anyone know the date range(s) during which original toasters were produced with circular mold marks visible at each end of the black plastic "toaster slots"? I have seen the mold marks on toasters that can be dated with confidence to 1959 and 1963, and I have also seen a pair of 1965 toasters with no mold marks. Did the circular mold marks disappear once and for all by 1965, or did they reappear at some later date?

[leftybass]

From my own observations, these marks were more or less phased out by late summer 1964.

IIRC, they did not reappear until it was done on purpose for the C-Series Rickenbackers.

[collin]

+1

They were pretty much phased put be very early '64.

My two '64 Rics are from May and Oct of that year, and neither have the dots.

I'd safely say '58-'63, but there is no such thing as a definitive date on changes when it comes to Rics.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

especially if you're a second, third fourth,etc., owner...you cannot guarantee a pickup was not changed out at some point. a dot pickup could show up anytime on an instrument.

[analogpackrat]

My December '64 375 NS has no dots.

[sixtwentytwelve]

Thanks very much for the information -- while it is always possible that Ric parts have been swapped out, older "undisturbed" instruments provide pretty good clues to what the factory was doing at different points in time. With that in mind, it might be very useful to create a place on the Forum where key pieces of information about different Ric components (e.g., pickup evolution/appearance, bridge evolution, TRC evolution, etc.) and models drawn from prior e-mail threads could be collated and harmonized in one place with photos and, where appropriate, linked to instrument serial nos. for use as a reference. Draft entries could be posted and revised by a designated editor based on feedback as better information is developed. The entries could also be used a vehicle for identifying production standards and anomalies.

[jdogric12]

I had a CC with and a DI without.

[scotty]

I had a CC with and a DI without.

did it hurt?

[dynabill]

My '57 850 Combo has them.