Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Early years of Rickenbacker Guitars prior to and including 1972

Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4

User avatar
billydlight
Member
Posts: 480
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:46 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by billydlight »

I disagree. I think the flat poles sound great!
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by jps »

billydlight wrote:I disagree. I think the flat poles sound great!
+10000000000000!
User avatar
mrsparkle
New member
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 7:00 pm

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by mrsparkle »

apossibleworld wrote:Interesting. What I'm really curious about is the change that occurred in the mid 60s, when they made the poles shorter on the underside of the neck pickup, so that they don't have to route the body in a weak point. That's why some of the earlier 60s guitars have bad neck angles, because of that structural weakness -- they've collapsed over time. And yet the earlier pickups supposedly sound better, which is what the original post was asking about. Anybody know exactly when that change occurred?
I can tell you that my '67 360 has a short-pole neck pickup, and a long-pole on the bridge. From day one I thought this was the norm, reasoning that the longer magnets on the bridge PU were intended to help equalize the volume between the bridge and neck PUs. Not until these very helpful online forums came to be did I learn that this was yet another "Rickanomaly". Is there no end to these inconsistencies from Santa Ana? A part of me hopes there isn't - keeps things interesting!

jh
apossibleworld
New member
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:25 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by apossibleworld »

billydlight wrote:I disagree. I think the flat poles sound great!
I never said otherwise! They're all classic sounds.
User avatar
wints
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 6482
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2001 11:21 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by wints »

More reading and possibly insight here...


viewtopic.php?p=391452#p391452
viewtopic.php?p=446537#p446537
chucksimms
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 604
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2001 1:16 pm

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by chucksimms »

Thanks for posting those links. I did a search and didn't get those. Very informative.
User avatar
wints
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 6482
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2001 11:21 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by wints »

:D
User avatar
sys700
Member
Posts: 290
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:47 am
Contact:

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by sys700 »

Between May and August of 66.
1964 FireGlo 330S (domestic 1997 w/trapeze)
1966 FireGlo 335
1966 FireGlo 330/12
1966 FireGlo 330/12 (Paul W. 360/12OS conversion)
1968 FireGlo 360F
1972 FireGlo 4001
1973 FireGlo 4001
dnaist
New member
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 2:32 pm

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by dnaist »

Someone earlier in this thread cited a guitar with 2 long pole pups in June '66. My 360/12 was built August '66 and has a short pole neck pup. That narrows it down a bit more.
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by jps »

jps wrote:
billydlight wrote:I disagree. I think the flat poles sound great!
+10000000000000!
I am going to reiterate this:

Short pole toasters sound amazing in the neck position on basses. :D
User avatar
iiipopes
Intermediate Member
Posts: 1428
Joined: Tue May 22, 2007 5:02 pm

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by iiipopes »

sys700 wrote:I recently sold a late 66 short pole pickup 12-string for this very reason. The long pole pickups sound more aggressive and louder.
(sigh) And the short pole tone with the same number of windings is exactly what I like in a neck pickup, also, in both guitar and bass.
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by jps »

Here is a recording of a short pole toaster wound to 3.598 KΩ, in the neck position on a 4004L.
1230.MP3
Bass Noodle No. 1230 Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2016 All rights reserved.
(2.1 MiB) Downloaded 202 times
Stock RIC strings, played with a pick, not too aggressively. 4004L SPC > Strymon Flint > Radial ProD2 > Marantz PMD661.
crstory
Junior Member
Posts: 140
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:13 am

Re: Vintage Pickups: Long pole? Short pole? None?

Post by crstory »

Very nice recording. Sounds great!
"A Promise never Broken is a strange thing, Indeed." Kevn Kinney
Post Reply

Return to “Rickenbacker Guitars: Vintage Years - Before 1973”