Pickup questions

bruceglaser · Post by **bruceglaser** » Wed Jan 30, 2002 8:06 am

Mark,

I have a 620LH with the black trim option. I have several questions regarding a mod I'd like to make.

1. Are pickups handed? Are the magnets on the bass side strings different ( weaker ) than the treble side strings? Does it matter which direction a pickup is installed?

2. Can a humbucking pickup assembly # 00065 fit in the Hi-Gain pickup cover? They have different part numbers, but appear to be the same part visually ( at least on the schematic diagram ). They do not offer the humbucker's with black covers, only gold and chrome.

3. Does the 620 body have to be routed to accept the humbuckers? On Ric's schematic, there are two long posts coming off the bottom of the pickup. I have never seen a Rick humbucker out of a guitar so I don't know what these posts are or if their diagram is accurate. It certainly appears that routing would be required.

I had called Ric customer service awhile ago, they could not give me concrete answers to these questions, they "thought" it would be possible. Any insight from you will be appreciated.

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Thu Jan 31, 2002 5:33 am

pickups in a Rick are NOT left or right .They do not have staggered poles to compensate for string size and volume .This is one reason for the louder low E string on the guitars with toasters .

Staggering poles is one way to equalize the volumes of strings , Fender did this for years with their pickups .The one major problem that they had with this is ...the pattern used was set for a set of strings that used a wound G /3rd string ....who uses that type of set on a Strat ,Tele,Jazzmaster or especially a Jaguar?

With a plain G/3rd , the volume is noticably louder than the D/4th string ,and because of the proximity of the magnet to the string it also has a warbling effect (I show this audibly in my Warner Brothers Video).

As to the humbucking questions .

I hate to tell you but I have NEVER installed or held one of these pickups .
As they are not marketed by Rick in ads , not too many people ask me for them .This was the case when I worked in retail for a large dealer of Ricks .I know of no one in Western Washington who stocks them .I have seen the Toasters however in store room cases.
As the Suzanna Hoffs guitar came with one of these pickups in the bridge position , that used a high gain cover in chrome .I do not see any reason why you could not change the cover out .

Now I have to wonder who it was that you spoke to and how long had they worked in Service ? Must have been some one new and the 'head' of service must have been out to lunch or in the bathroom.I can't imagine not being able to answer this question....it is fairly simple .

Does it need to be routed , I doubt it .The screw pattern is identical , and the newer guitars come with a fairly large cavity , at least compaired to 20 years ago .

Next time ask for Tommy , he is THE answer man there .

rickplayer · Post by **rickplayer** » Thu Jan 31, 2002 6:17 am

I put RIC humbuckers in my 330 and it just dropped in. No routing or modifications. I don't know if the 620 is the same, but it appeared that it was no problem. Also, you could remove the covers and have them coated black by someone locally when you recieve the pickups. But, most of the front of the pickup is already black. Now that I think about it the high gain cover was very similar, but I couldn't swear that it would fit.

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Thu Jan 31, 2002 8:16 pm

So how'd you like the sound of the Ric humbuckers Jon?

rickplayer · Post by **rickplayer** » Fri Feb 01, 2002 6:34 am

I liked it a lot! I was playing in a cover band and needed a little more versatility out of my guitar. I loved the 330, but the high gains didn't cut it on the louder, more distorted songs. I used it on all covers except some of the trickier songs with lots of movement on the neck. RICs are not fast guitars. Some might argue, but I was able to get a great classic RIC sound, and also keep up with more modern sounds. Keep in mind I used to A/B between a Marshall and a Fender twin. The humbuckers were quieter than the high gains. Hope this helps. PS, they look good too.

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Fri Feb 01, 2002 7:00 am

Sounds good. But, my friend, if you think Rics aren't a fast guitar, you should let me (or one of our other friends here) set it up as such. Mine are all incredibly fast!

(As a matter of fact, I acquired one of mine from a fellow who chose to sell it because it was too fast for him!) It takes a little work, but it can be done.

bruceglaser · Post by **bruceglaser** » Fri Feb 01, 2002 10:08 am

I posted a thank you for all the information yesterday, but I don't see it so here it is again. Thanks. I'm going to try Tommy at Ric Customer Service about the pickup cover swap.

aladams · Post by **aladams** » Sat Feb 02, 2002 6:31 pm

My RIC Humbuckers "ROCK OUT" @ 16.6k OHMS!!!! Not many custom buckers even do that!!! Makes my 330 sound like a ES-335 on steroids!!! Not your classic RIC jangly sound, but back off on the vol.cont.and its really, really nice! AL A.

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Sun Feb 03, 2002 5:43 pm

I concur.

firefly · Post by **firefly** » Tue Feb 05, 2002 12:51 pm

Has anyone tried using the coil tap
and dropping the humbuckers down to
a single coil yet ??? I'm curious
as to the difference in sound between
humbuckers that have been split, and
toaster tops.....

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Tue Feb 05, 2002 1:33 pm

Me too, thinking about doing one of them crazy push-pull-pot things.

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Wed Feb 06, 2002 8:09 pm

you can get switching pots that might fit ...or you can get rotory switches and they could go in the 5th knob location , reinstall the knob and it looks stock !

Or yank out the 5th knob and install a switch that has a 3/8" threaded shaft with a chrome bat (this is the handle of the switch ) ALCO makes these switches .

You could wire this switch- series (humbucker) or single coil .............or,
series , parallel

that gives you both coils and leaves your volume intact .Better than the single coil volume drop out if you ask me .It treats the coils as one , at least to your ear .

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Sat Feb 01, 2003 7:22 pm

Re-opening this post as well (see other threads regarding HB-1 coil-splits), regarding the split-coil possibilities of the HB-1. Maybe I should just wire my guitar like the John Kay. So many options...what to do...