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Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:59 pm
by admin
Brett: It can be done, of course. :)

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:12 pm
by ric330
Hey Brett,
I was after getting a vintage look with the more modern output on my 360. The taller pole pieces can be adjusted even closer to the strings for more strength so to speak.
I found doing the conversion to old look but HiGian wind was the ticket for me. Nothing wrong with the way that Rickenbacker had designed the HiGains, in fact they are quite nice I just wanted mine to look old.
As far as the Headstock is concerned, the side Walnut wings of the later model Ricks can be cut but would require some refinish work. Of course this would be easier on a MG or JG. the FG would require some experienced finisher to blend the color as the old finish would probably be slightly yellowed.

Another key point is the placement of the tuners on the headstock. Either of these headstocks could be trimmed if you really wanted to but notice that this 80's headstock tuner placement is closer to the center of the headstock compared to the 90's headstock:

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Than look at the back of the headstocks of 80's vs. 90's:

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When did they changed the placement, I don't know but most Guitar manufacturers change things as production changes.
They all look great, they are just different.
Here's 2007 with Schaller tuners which is certainly narrower:

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Here's a 60's headstock:

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Here's my 2007 360 JG with vintage tuner conversion on the narrower headstock.jpg

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It was quite a bit of work to make the front of the headstock conversion undetectable but well worth it to me because I love the way the vintage Rickenbacker headstcok looks.

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:14 am
by btomlinson
Kevin,

It all looks really nice. I don't think I would do anything to the headstock but I do like the idea of the vintage tuners. My 660 has them and I love them.

Great work. Thanks

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:13 pm
by whojamfan
Thanks for the how too on the pole pieces. Provided I don't blow it, it should turn out well :D

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:00 pm
by ric340JG
ric330 wrote:There is a post about that in the Rickenbackers Wanted section. "Allen Screws w/o mushroom heads for the newest Higains?"

If the polepieces aren't threaded you can drive them out carefully with a center punch and a grooved piece of wood. Then cut the heads off and drive them back in.
This method requires you to take out the pickup from the wiring harness so you are able to work on them.

Otherwise if the pole pieces have an Allen head mushroon type head you can just screw them out and replace with allen head studs or
use your originals doing the steps above. Cut head off, cut slot in the headless polepiece and screw them back in.
Are you saying here that this modification can be done even with the older high gain polepieces ?

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:02 pm
by paologregorio
It's been done, but be careful! I ruined a set of hi gains doing this-the bobbin came apart when I removed the button tops. Probably best to do one button top at a time, replace it in the bobbin, and then do the next one.

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:02 pm
by ric330
Yeah, that's safest way to do it.

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:07 pm
by rickendelic
Maybe, the Ric Boutique could make pins available that retro in so we can do the conversion and put them back if we like.

They sell the covers,... why not the pins? I'd buy 'em. :D

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:16 pm
by ric330
That sounds like a great idea.
What I should do is go down to hardware store put some allen head screws in there and see if the pickup sounds any different than cut-off the original pole piece material from the pickup.

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:28 pm
by rickendelic
and with that, I now feel,.. that only perhaps in a small way,... I may have earned my small, humble, place here,...... unless you were joking :)

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:29 pm
by xcoyle
Love the mod on the hi-gains.

On to a question: I have been keeping my eye open for those Grovers with a star on them for years, but have never seen a set come up on Ebay. Were they made just for Rickenbacker?

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:42 pm
by ric330
rickendelic wrote:and with that, I now feel,.. that only perhaps in a small way,... I may have earned my small, humble, place here,...... unless you were joking :)
I was serious, actually. The reason I cut off the original pole pieces is that I was so impressed with the way that the pickups sounded in my BF Deluxe Reverb that when I did the mod I wanted to retain as much of the original parts that make up the High Gain pickup. Well after the mod they sounded so close I can't tell the difference.
I did raise the bridge and neck pickups up about 1/16+ after the mod to compensate for difference due to the crown heads being cut off. It worked well I'm happy and just wanted to pass on the results to others interested.

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:01 pm
by rickendelic
I think the mod is great, I even saved the link to my favorites for later, I was seriously up last night thinking about it when it dawned on me about Ric making available a retro pin. What triggered it in my mind was when you had the bit in the instructions about making a slot for screwing the part back up in. I just thought, "They could have that available, they make one with a cap,... they could make one without easily enough, right?"

you gotta let us know how it goes, if it sounds different or not with the allen head screws. :D

(p.s. i saved the link to the tuner conversion as well, many thanks)

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:37 pm
by ric330
Will do.
I'm going to be doing another toaster top conversion next week - I'll give the off the shelf screws a shot and listen and tell you what I find - although this project will be using the originals cut off and slotted as I did before, ultimately.

Re: Toaster covers on HiGains W/ adj. pole pieces

Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 7:35 pm
by rickendelic
somebody's selling modded pu's on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rickenbacker-High-G ... 7C294%3A50