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I really want a Lollar replacement horseshoe which is built to the vintage specs. The problem is it's 600.00 smackers. But it's right on.
wints wrote:Back in the day, I had a handful of readings from the very few original horseshoe/bobbin pick ups from the 60's. I can't find the data now, but can recall them all being roughly in the 6.5-7.5K region. If there was an outsider, it was weaker, heading down towards the 6K figure, not stronger, as many suspected.
I'd guess that nearly all of the original horseshoes were pretty close to these numbers, the major difference in tone coming from the style of playing. Squire/Rutherford and McCartney/Gibb are poles apart (pun intended.) but spec wise all their basses were probably very similar....apart from one being a lefty of course!
Let me get this straight; You are paying many hundreds of $$$ for pickups and wiring harnesses while at the same time you don't like the TI JF strings on your V63 compared to the Pyramids on your 4003? Have you tried the simple, least expensive test, yet, as in changing the strings on the V63? It does not sound like you have from what you just wrote above. I take it you have tried various pickup heights to change the balance between the two pickups, right? The '98 4001V63 I used to own could get that mid '60s tone you are looking for; I used D'Addario Chromes in a Super Soft set and swapped the .060 D string for a .055 string, but that was not for a tone change, just a feel change in the strings for me. When I got the bass it, of course, did not have the .0047µF cap in line with the HS PU, but a few years later I did put one in, for the better IMO+E, YMMV. Try getting most of the tone with the toaster and just add in the HS PU as a seasoning, depending on what you are going for.Revbrodiddley wrote:Hi everyone. First time chiming in on this topic. Favorite bass sounds are the usual McCartney's Sgt. Pepper etc. sounds, but then also one I don't hear EVER: Roger Waters tone on Piper at the GAtes of Dawn and then other 60s rick sounds from the Who, the Kinks etc. So basically I'm wanting as close to a early/mid 60s RM1999 or 4001S as possible. I recently picked up a 4001v63 and was a little disappointed to find its tone VERY different from what I'm looking for, though cosmetically its outstanding and it plays beautifully! And yes, I feel justified in saying the BASS's tone is lacking and not my playing. For reference, I have a 4003 that sounds FAR and AWAY more like what I'm going for, with a 7.4k toaster in neck and a (seemingly) lower output hi gain in the bridge (weird i know!). My 4003 also has (tetrahedron) strings whereas my 4001v63 has TI's (to my ears these make a BIG difference as the TI's are the brightest, liveliest sounding flatwounds I've heard, while the (tetrahedrons) sound much more dead and thumpy like the Macca sound I'm going for).
With the 4001v63, both the toaster and the RIHS are super hi gain. So I've purchased a Dane harness, a 60s toaster measuring at 7.78k and now am on the hunt for the proper horseshoe solution. Most recently the string clearance issue was mentioned and is of some concern to me. The installation instructions (as much a disclaimer!) on the Lollar site gave me some insecurity in ordering that pickup even after convincing myself that the price was worth it. It seems to say there's a good chance the shoes won't line up perfectly due to the heat treating, one's playing style will have to take a more conservative turn due to the reduced string clearance, and it also dissuades from using the .0047 bass reducing cap that so many people say is essential for the vintage style, claiming this cap serves no purpose and will ruin the tone of the horseshoe pickup?!
So am I crazy or does it sort of seem like paying 600 bucks for a pickup that takes two steps forward...and also a step and a half backwards?
Dane's idea about rewinding or unwinding the reissue seems more economical and would also allow me to keep playing the way I've always played a rick bass at least...but does anyone else feel that a horseshoe with a treble cap is a bad combination?
Revbrodiddley wrote:...I've definitely experimented with pickup height but with the horseshoe particularly, there is very limited play as the lower the pickup goes, the less string clearance you have, so that at some point action must come down to compensate...which stands to negate the change in pickup height!...
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