Replaced my 4003's neck high gain with a toaster...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 10:03 am

Folks, I want to share my experience of replacing my 4003's neck hi-gain with a toaster:

I've just finished the pickup change and is impressed by the sound of the toaster, whose output level is not weaker than the higain-I'm glad that I took away the 4 corner screws, held the bottom ring to the chrome casing with duck tape along the pickup's 2 long edges,replaced the black rubber grommets with ultra thin plastic washers and raised the pickup to its maximum height. (A big thank you to Sergio and all my friends here who had warned me of the lower output level of the toaster.)

The old acoustic double bass sound characteristics of the neck position is till there but the notes and sounds contain more definition and bites. Pick/finger attacks are clear and pronounced. My low E string used to be hollow in the hi-gain, now it's fuller and punchier. Levels of the 4 strings are quite balanced.

Overall, the toaster is a brighter sounding pickup than the hi-gain. It has guts and is a lot more "in your face" too.

Output levels of the toaster and the bridge hi-gain are pretty matched. I don't think I need the .0047 cap for the bridge pickup for the time being.

And the look:

Boy the toaster looks so good!!!!!!!
It makes my 4003 a hot baby with class. (Imagine a hot elegant lady wearing Tiffany jewels and accessories.)
The visual result is so pleasing. I love it.

I also took the chrome frame of my old hi-gain and fitted it to my treble pickup. Whoa!...Makes the whole bridge pickup assembly chromy and shiny instead of a rectangular blackness surrounded by the chrome ring (I'd taken off the pickup's cover as I play with a pick most of the time)...Another pleasing bonus from the neck pickup swap!

She's a unique 4003FG now.
I'll connect a ground wire to the frame when I have time.

Yeah I'm happy with my new toaster.

Now pass the bread and butter please.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 10:34 am

Well, if your Hi Gain was softer than the toaster top, then it pretty well had to be defective. Of course, position is everything given that the fall-off is not a linear relationship, more like the inverse square of the distance. Maybe you found a way to get the toaster closer.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 12:14 pm

Paul, how about a picture for us to see?
And yes, the bass pickup cover you have fitted to the treble pickup is to be grounded, otherwise... NOISE!
Now, how about replacing the treble high-gain p.u. with a horseshoe p.u. and putting in the C3 capacitor to make your baby sound (and look) like a million dollars? It's about THE SOUND!

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 12:50 pm

JH wrote ... "the fall-off is not a linear relationship, more like the inverse square of the distance."

Dang! You beat me to it John.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 1:46 pm

"(I'd taken off the pickup's cover as I play with a pick most of the time)..."

That's funny, I leave it on, as I play with a pick all the time.

Nigel

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 2:38 pm

Nigel,

Indeed! I do also.

gregson1 · Post by **gregson1** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 3:26 pm

I've had a Toaster/Horseshoe combo in my 4003 for a couple of years, and I have to say that all that pickup chrome looks quite nice next to the Turquoise paint. I haven't done the Toaster installation modifications described by Paul, but I might just try that. I also don't have the capacitor--but I think I'll steer clear of that. I just roll the Toaster Volume off a tad until the overall volume increases a little, then turn down the Horseshoe Volume to taste. It's got a nice, trebly bite when played with a pick. I still have the original hi-gains, but there are no plans to ever put them back!

dminer · Post by **dminer** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 4:36 pm

Paul, I know your estatic over your new toaster replacement and the chrome cover over the bridge pup sounds like a great idea. Now you've got me thinking because like you, the guard gets in my way...mostly because I was raised on a pbass without the guard and old habits in playing position and feel are hard to break...it's easier for me to change the instrument. Double congrads and please do post a pic or send me one via email...cheers, DavidM

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 6:03 pm

Ric Pickups are marvelous things .... From the old 60's horseshoe and toasters to the 70's high gain to the modern high gain and reissue pickups ...

I love them all ...

but the combination ot the modern high in the bridge position and the toaster in the neck is a marvelous thing ... this is the stock setup on the s5 and s8 models ... The high gain is nasty, aggressive, dirty, thick and biting ... what a beautiful sound .... the toaster is smoother but still single coil, it has a good full range output, a little quiter than the high gain. These two pickups together give a ric an interesting tonal range to select from. I usually start with both pickups full open on volume and treble and then I back the neck volume off a little and the sound gets nastier ... when I run the bridge pickup solo it gets really nasty ... the low b really growls ....

Another pickup combination that sounds great is a 70's high gain in the bridge and a modern high gain in the neck ....

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 6:06 pm

Another thing on pickups ... my 1989 4003s5 bridge pickup sounds different than my 1990 4003s5 bridge pickup ... these two pickups look a little different as well ... the 1989 is a little more trebly than the 1990 ...

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 9:31 pm

Guys,
Pictures will be posted in less (hopefully) than a week as I'm busy in the studio mixing, for these couple of days.

Jeff, you said:"I usually start with both pickups full open on volume and treble and then I back the neck volume off a little and the sound gets nastier ... "

Yes that's very true.I also found that having the bridge pickup's volume knob backed off a little and the toaster cranked full yields quite a pleasing sound---warm and hi-fi while being gutsy.

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 12:38 am

Jeff, let me guess. Both treble pickups ('89 & '90) have identical polepieces, but the '90 one has the current molded plastic bobbin with the two ridges on top, whereas the bobbin on the '89 one appears to be of the PC board material used by Rick from the late 60s to the late 80s and is not sprayed black. Am I right? Also, the '90 p.u. would be overwound, hence the less trebly sound you mention. This leads me to conclude that the current version of the high-gain p.u. was introduced exactly in 1990. Am I right? (As rain!)

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 7:12 am

Sergio: yep you nailed it to the tee .... there seems to be 3 different versions of high gain pickups ... '70's '80's and current .... also the old toaster and new toaster pickups are different ... the new ones have longer magnets and are hotter ....

Actually it is cool having 2 similar basses that sound a little different ... I'm not sure which pickups I prefer ... I am leaning towards the '90 model ...

I love when I play out with my 4003s5 and somebody asks what kind of pickups are those? well they sure aint emg's .... no soapbars, jazz, p-bass or other stuff here ... they are rickenbacker pickups ...

well gotta go now ... I have a full day of installing a bunch of humbucking soapbars into my rics ... NOT!!!!!

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Tue Feb 11, 2003 12:21 pm

Voila. Paul Yan's New Look. I will leave the detailed discussion to Paul. I will say, however, that this is one of the most beautiful and creative photos I have seen in a while. Nice work Paul!

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Tue Feb 11, 2003 12:57 pm

Wow! Nice Fireglo.A pic worthy of catalog/ad inclusion. Very pro looking...