High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

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audiodrome
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High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by audiodrome »

Up until last month I had two Rickenbackers with 1990's high gain (11k) reissue toasters: a 1991 360V64/6 and a 2000 360/12. I had never been happy with the sound of my 12-string (muddy and lifeless), so I recently switched out the old toasters with new 7.4k scatter-wound toasters. The difference is amazing. This guitar now sounds "alive" - bright and jangly! This is the way a vintage-style Rick should sound.

I've been hesitant to change the pickups on my 360V64/6 Rick because the 11k toasters that are in there now actually give this guitar a nice loud, beefy, jangly tone, which is great for aggressive rhythm and lead playing. Originally, I was afraid that if I put in the 7.4k toasters, it would sound kind of wimpy and lifeless, but now that I've heard the new and improved 12-string, I can't help but wonder what my 6-string would sound like with the new 7.4k toasters. It might just be the elusive sound I've been looking for all along (Big Star and the Raspberries come to mind)!

Has anyone compared a guitar before and after the pickup swap so they can comment on the differences first hand? I'm really tempted to get another set of 7.4k toasters (they're very hard to come by), but I don't want to shell out that kind of money until I hear enough glowing testimonies - thanks!
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kiramdear
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by kiramdear »

Just curious, Paul, are your scatterwounds from a maker other than RIC? Just asking 'cause replacement options are limited for ricks.
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berth
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by berth »

Why not swap your own pickups?
audiodrome
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by audiodrome »

berth wrote:Why not swap your own pickups?
As a last resort I might do that, but right now, it seems like too much of a hassle. I don't personally work on the electronic aspects of my guitars (I'm too neurotic and I'm always afraid I'm going to screw something up), so I would have to give it to my guitar tech to swap them out, and then switch them back, etc. It will end up costing me $150 just to do the test! I was hoping someone may have already done this comparison before and save me the trouble.
kiramdear wrote:Just curious, Paul, are your scatterwounds from a maker other than RIC? Just asking 'cause replacement options are limited for ricks.
No they're new Rickenbacker "7.4k" scatter-wound toasters. I wasn't aware that anyone else made them? I thought all of their parts were very tightly controlled.
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grazioso
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by grazioso »

i tried them side by side and went back to older 12k toasters..i liked the old 12k sound better. if you swap the magnets in the neck pickup for shorter ones it will sound more even in the middle position. 7.4k is somewhat less noisy but it is not a big difference. 11or 12k are not high gain pickups, they have alnico magnets. high gain pickups have ceramic bar magnet on the bottom.
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collin
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by collin »

For some reason, I think the 7.4K toasters sound much better on 12 strings, and 11k toasters sound better on 6 strings. Maybe the lower output helps the clarity of all the notes in a 12 string, I dunno?
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beatlefreak
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by beatlefreak »

Part of the difference between the two might be attributed to pickup height (Yes, I know the two are the same height package). When you took off the 11k's and put on the 7.4k's, did you adjust the pickup distance to the strings exactly the same? Did you experiment with different heights with the 11k's?
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chronictown
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by chronictown »

collin wrote:For some reason, I think the 7.4K toasters sound much better on 12 strings, and 11k toasters sound better on 6 strings. Maybe the lower output helps the clarity of all the notes in a 12 string, I dunno?
+1

IMO the scatterwounds sound incredible on a 12-string, but perhaps a little thin on a 6-string. Sixers sound fuller and punchier with either high gains or pre-scat toasters.
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paologregorio
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by paologregorio »

Hmm, ask Kenny Howes what he thinks of the lower output toasters vs 12 K on a six string; he has a couple of six string OS models, though I think those might have an output that's even lower than 7.4K. I remember he was asking for some hot toasters on this forum not too long ago, so He probably knows the difference audibly. I only have the hot toasters on my guitars, at least for now, so I couldn't say with any authority.

I can tell you that my 12 K toasters sound great on my six strings, and I even have a couple of toasters with 14 and 15K custom overwound coils (thanks Sergio!) in the bridge positions on two of my guitars. They all rip! Sergio said I wouldn't be able to tell much difference between the 12K and the 14K , and he's right, the output is not that much more, but there is a significant difference, I'm sure between 7.4K and 12K!
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by jcreasy »

Kenny Howes doesn't know what he is talking about. He's a booger.

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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by btomlinson »

Can you tell me what toasters I have? I have a 2007 AFG. If I wanted to try the other toaster, where would I get them?

Thanks
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jps
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by jps »

btomlinson wrote:Can you tell me what toasters I have? I have a 2007 AFG. If I wanted to try the other toaster, where would I get them?

Thanks
If you have small circles on both ends of the black bars on the top of the toaster, then they are the current scatterwound toasters, which they should be given the '07 vintage of your instrument.
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kennyhowes
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by kennyhowes »

jcreasy wrote:Kenny Howes doesn't know what he is talking about. He's a booger.
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by admin »

Nonetheless, that polka dot shirt rules. :)
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Re: High gain (11k) toasters vs. 7.4k toasters

Post by laplacian »

Anyone using 7.4 in neck and 12k in bridge? that would seem to be the logical combination.
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