This question is directed at Mark Arnquist, or anyone else out there who has experience working with the original horseshoe pickup as it appeared on the 4000 and 4001 basses from '57-68/69. I have heard stories about these pickups losing their charge, which I'm told is the reason that Rickenbacker went to the understring unit with the metal cover. Chris Squire apparently uses his original '64 rick with the original pickups and gets a great sound, but is his bass the exception or the rule? If I had the chance to buy a '67 4001 with horseshoe should I get it IF I am looking to play it, not just collect an old Rick?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Original Horseshoe Pickup
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
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squirebass
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 1565
- Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2000 11:05 pm
Original Horseshoe Pickup
"This is the big one, Elizabeth, I'm coming to join ya, honey!"
The cobalt magnets are actually fairly good.
The problem lioes in that some are unstable and whenthey loose their charge are difficult to recharge.
I am no magnet expert but the experience that I have had with this pickup is really good.
The McCartney pickup was replaced only after several attempts to recharge failed.
At this point a group of guy in the factory had a meeting.This is what was talked about and decided.
If we can't fix the 'dead' ?
We can't just give him something off the rack.
He is too important to just give what we had.
Many of the staff felt we were making something that was less than what we should have been,so we voted on what to make.
The first option was to make a split coil pickup .This was due to the favor put upon the Fender Precision Bass pickup.We rejected this as it would sound too different and would not have the classic Rick tone.
Arlo in the part dept came up with a coil that was the same but different.
He made a coil that was the same dimensions as was standard but with widder pole pieces and he wound it to about 9K.
The standard screw /button tops were not used.
Instead a similar looking screw with a widder shaft was bought and I remember when he cane back from the supplier with them .we all got together to talk it over .
I don't remember Arlo's last name but I do remember that his actual first name wa Howard and he was a tall dark haired man.We all just called him Arlo.He looked nothing like Arlo guthrie and in fact was not really a fan of his music.....
Richard Valesquez assembled the bobbin and Arlo wound it .
I got the job of re-installing all of the hardware and making a replacement pickguard.
We took a tracing of the hole pattern and I drilled them and went over to the wood shop to cut it out .
Greg Renois cut out the outline for me and gave it back to me.
I took it over to the finishing building and finished the edges.
I hope that he likes what we came up with .
As to the original pickups .
Well if it still works -great!
The new ones are pretty good ,but they are not the same .They are like apples and oranges .
they do a good job .
As to the units that came about after the horseshoes ...well I always thought the plastic cover was cheesey,but it was there to replicate the same type of look .That it does .
BUt they in no way sound the same.
The problem lioes in that some are unstable and whenthey loose their charge are difficult to recharge.
I am no magnet expert but the experience that I have had with this pickup is really good.
The McCartney pickup was replaced only after several attempts to recharge failed.
At this point a group of guy in the factory had a meeting.This is what was talked about and decided.
If we can't fix the 'dead' ?
We can't just give him something off the rack.
He is too important to just give what we had.
Many of the staff felt we were making something that was less than what we should have been,so we voted on what to make.
The first option was to make a split coil pickup .This was due to the favor put upon the Fender Precision Bass pickup.We rejected this as it would sound too different and would not have the classic Rick tone.
Arlo in the part dept came up with a coil that was the same but different.
He made a coil that was the same dimensions as was standard but with widder pole pieces and he wound it to about 9K.
The standard screw /button tops were not used.
Instead a similar looking screw with a widder shaft was bought and I remember when he cane back from the supplier with them .we all got together to talk it over .
I don't remember Arlo's last name but I do remember that his actual first name wa Howard and he was a tall dark haired man.We all just called him Arlo.He looked nothing like Arlo guthrie and in fact was not really a fan of his music.....
Richard Valesquez assembled the bobbin and Arlo wound it .
I got the job of re-installing all of the hardware and making a replacement pickguard.
We took a tracing of the hole pattern and I drilled them and went over to the wood shop to cut it out .
Greg Renois cut out the outline for me and gave it back to me.
I took it over to the finishing building and finished the edges.
I hope that he likes what we came up with .
As to the original pickups .
Well if it still works -great!
The new ones are pretty good ,but they are not the same .They are like apples and oranges .
they do a good job .
As to the units that came about after the horseshoes ...well I always thought the plastic cover was cheesey,but it was there to replicate the same type of look .That it does .
BUt they in no way sound the same.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
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squirebass
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 1565
- Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2000 11:05 pm
Thanks for the info Mark...
Your posting was just the thing I was hoping you'd give us info on. If you'd write a book I sure would buy it!
So what about that neck pickup? In about late '74 the neck pickup was moved a little closer to the bridge pickup(i.e. farther away from the neck), what was that all about? Thanks for all the interesting info...
Your posting was just the thing I was hoping you'd give us info on. If you'd write a book I sure would buy it!
So what about that neck pickup? In about late '74 the neck pickup was moved a little closer to the bridge pickup(i.e. farther away from the neck), what was that all about? Thanks for all the interesting info...
"This is the big one, Elizabeth, I'm coming to join ya, honey!"
In my own shop I have a Strat neck that has been a test instrument for years.It has a huge cavity that runs from the neck to the bridge and I use it to find the hot spots for pickups and to hear what a 'new' pickup sounds like.
It's great for the customers that don't know what they want.
And it's not exactly nice looking and thats why it became the test item.
The movement of the neck pickup was to 'find the hot spot'.
there are many of these on a neck and there are dead spots too.
Case in point.Get a stock Fender Telecaster...put the switch on the neck pickup and hit the 5th fret harmonic and then the octave.
It's dead ....isn't it?!?!?!?!?
well if you move it a little it 'wakes up'!!!!
This was the idea behind the pickup movement.
To be honest with you ,I have NEVER compared these two sounds side by side.
I'd like to get some input from someone other than the usual guys (Peter,DR/Don, Tomcat/Terry)
and for all you guys who are glued to the Alt.Guitar Rickenbacker....wake up and come on over here!!!!!!!
It's great for the customers that don't know what they want.
And it's not exactly nice looking and thats why it became the test item.
The movement of the neck pickup was to 'find the hot spot'.
there are many of these on a neck and there are dead spots too.
Case in point.Get a stock Fender Telecaster...put the switch on the neck pickup and hit the 5th fret harmonic and then the octave.
It's dead ....isn't it?!?!?!?!?
well if you move it a little it 'wakes up'!!!!
This was the idea behind the pickup movement.
To be honest with you ,I have NEVER compared these two sounds side by side.
I'd like to get some input from someone other than the usual guys (Peter,DR/Don, Tomcat/Terry)
and for all you guys who are glued to the Alt.Guitar Rickenbacker....wake up and come on over here!!!!!!!
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
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squirebass
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 1565
- Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2000 11:05 pm
Hey, I'll go for that, since all my Ricks have the neck pickup near the neck!!!
Here's another one...
What is the deal with the "skunk stripe". I don't THINK this one is on alt.guitar.rickenbacker FAQ.
Apparently it wasn't on any of the 50s and early 60s ricks but appeared sometime in the late 60s.
Then I beleive it disappeared around 80-81 and re-appeared, and is now no longer on the production instruments. What gives? Did it make production easier in some way?
Here's another one...
What is the deal with the "skunk stripe". I don't THINK this one is on alt.guitar.rickenbacker FAQ.
Apparently it wasn't on any of the 50s and early 60s ricks but appeared sometime in the late 60s.
Then I beleive it disappeared around 80-81 and re-appeared, and is now no longer on the production instruments. What gives? Did it make production easier in some way?
"This is the big one, Elizabeth, I'm coming to join ya, honey!"
I don't have the definitive answer to that ,but one facet of it could be this,
in the 1960's eatern maple was extremely plentiful and you could get just about any size of 'dimensional ' lumber that was needed/wanted.
the walnut wings on the headstocks may have gone away due to the cost of the materials.
I remember the walnut tree stealing in the early 1970's and hearing about crews that would go out in the dead of night and scoop up a huge walnut tree and drive away with it!
the price of walnut sky rocketed!!!!!
Perhaps to get around this ,and to get a better price on maple ,the solid neck was changed and the walnut on the six strings was changed to Shedua (a greenish/brown colored wood )that to the untrained eye ,appeared to be walnut.
Plus the basses now could have the same laminations as the guitars ,there by cutting the cost and training of the staff.
The method of cutting a tapered maple neck is more labor intensive and cosmetically ,that it a long piece of maple that must remain 'clear'.
I'm sure that making it originally was not a problem ,but to standardize the necks makes perfect sense.
This is only a guess as I was never told the 'real' reason ,nor did I ever ask.
in the 1960's eatern maple was extremely plentiful and you could get just about any size of 'dimensional ' lumber that was needed/wanted.
the walnut wings on the headstocks may have gone away due to the cost of the materials.
I remember the walnut tree stealing in the early 1970's and hearing about crews that would go out in the dead of night and scoop up a huge walnut tree and drive away with it!
the price of walnut sky rocketed!!!!!
Perhaps to get around this ,and to get a better price on maple ,the solid neck was changed and the walnut on the six strings was changed to Shedua (a greenish/brown colored wood )that to the untrained eye ,appeared to be walnut.
Plus the basses now could have the same laminations as the guitars ,there by cutting the cost and training of the staff.
The method of cutting a tapered maple neck is more labor intensive and cosmetically ,that it a long piece of maple that must remain 'clear'.
I'm sure that making it originally was not a problem ,but to standardize the necks makes perfect sense.
This is only a guess as I was never told the 'real' reason ,nor did I ever ask.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!