Rickenbacker replacement pick ups.

sanfordn · Post by **sanfordn** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 2:06 am

Hello,this is my first post here.Is there a replacement pick up for rickenbackers,other than the ones Ric offers.

I would like to try different types of pickups in my Ric,but I dont want to hack it up.I like the p90s in my SG and would love to get something close for my 330/6.

Maybe I will have to send out and get my pickups rewound/rebuilt by a custom pick-up shop,which I am sure is not cheap.

Why wont Ric let other companies build after market parts?
Thanks.

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 3:25 am

Nathan: Unless patents are defended, virtually anyone is able to copy original designs and make a profit from the originator's hard work and development expenses.

Moreover, the "knockoffs" often reflect badly on the genuine article and one ends up with the "Jay Turser" result.

You are free to customize your Rickenbacker anyway you see fit. I can well appreciate that you want the modifications to add to rather than detract from the appearance and value of your instrument. Rickenbacker offers you a range of sound options including humbucking, high gain and toaster pickups.

sanfordn · Post by **sanfordn** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 4:06 am

I understand the patent defending and I support Ric in doing so,but I dont see the harm in letting companies like Seymore Duncan or Fralin build after market PUs that would properly fit in a Ric.

Variety would be a welcome to the Ric pickup world.

I realy like my 330/6 jg,but I am enjoying my SG so much more right now.

A lot of times John Hall seems like Henry Ford with the "you can have any colour,so long as it's black" attitude towards his guitars.

There are lots of Ric diehards who want wider necks,different pick-ups and other small changes that,in my opinion,could benefit the company in a lot of ways.

Sometimes dealing with a Ric is frustrating.

corey · Post by **corey** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 4:37 am

John Hall does take the things you mention into consideration, but the fact remains that it is HIS business. He walks a fine line between keeping the Ric "traditionalists" happy (The Ric-o-sound circut remains) and making new guitar models (the 650 series).

Personally, I am happy with the pickup selection currently offered - 3 different pickups that are interchangeable. I play a Ric because I want the Ric sound, so I'm not interested in getting a pickup to emulate an SG or Strat sound. If I wanted those sounds, I would buy those guitars.

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 4:45 am

Nathan: The issue of wider necks on Rickenbacker instruments has indeed been discused before. Over the years, as you know, a limited number of Rickenbacker models have been manufactured with a wider neck. Providing a wider neck for all models will certainly be difficult to change.

There are aspects of Rickenbackers that suit some players more than others. Rickenbackers, like all instruments, cannot be all things for all people. That is why some players prefer other makes and perhaps why you are enjoying your SG more.

Rickenbacker owners have found their own ways to install other pickups and make other changes. I would encourage you to customize any instrument should some of its features not be practical for you. Please let us know what you decide to do with regard to the pickups in your Model 360 once you have made your final decision.

sanfordn · Post by **sanfordn** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 4:58 am

Is there any truth that a srat sized single coil would fit under the cover of a Ric hi-gain.

Dont get me wrong,I realy like my 330,but it has it's draw backs when pluged in and cranked.It sounds good clean,but I find it has an odd top end when I have my amp at higher volumes.Also,I find the PU kinda of weak in output.I dont need super hot pick ups,maybe just a bit more juice.

Is there any direction you guys can point me in as far as what is possible.I know you guys are purists who love the Ric pickups,but a little help would be appreciated.

I promise not to do any perminant mods or to disfigure my guitar.

spencer · Post by **spencer** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:14 am

Hi Nathan and welcome-
I completely understand where you're coming from. I am a long time gibson fan and it took awhile to consider playing anything that didn't have humbuckers in it. SG's and 335 have always been my mainstay, up until now. I knew going in that rics were a totally different animal and I welcomed it. I was tired of the same old guitar sound (good as it is) and was ready for a change.
Now I couldn't be more pleased and the "other" guitar brands have been sitting on stands, collecting dust. You've got to WANT the ric sound. Embrace it for it is good.
Otherwise, stick with what you know, I guess...

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:26 am

Bartolini and Seymour Duncan do make pickups specifically to fit Rickenbackers, though they are intended for bass use.

I'm sure John Hall will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a trademark violation to make a pickup that would fit the cavity of a Rickenbacker. The violation would be to market one that physically looks like a RIC toaster, hi-gain or horseshoe. But I believe you could describe it as simply a replacement for Rickenbacker pickups with a disclaimer that the the name Rickenbacker is a trademark of RIC and that you are in no way affiliated.

You will find similar disclaimers for Fender, Gibson at al, in other pickup makers' catalogs.

sanfordn · Post by **sanfordn** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:37 am

Thanks for the advice.

I think I need to say again,I love my Ric,I just want to change the pickups around abit.I think my guitar would sound great with a P90 type pickup.I didn't touch my SG for 5 months after I got my Ric,so I think I can say I like the Ric sound.I think for my tastes and playing style I would enjoy something different as far as pick-ups go.To me it is the only thing "lacking" in my guitar.

Yes I do love that ric sound and I think the main characters of the guitar would still be there,even if someone stuck an dearmond soundhole PU from the 40's in it.

Is there any one out there that agrees that there are better pick up makers than the folks at Ric.All want is to find the tone that I want with the guitar I want to play.

It seems that I am barking up the wrong tree with this thread.Are you guys basicly telling me that the picups are the way they are and that's the way it is,take it or leave it.If so thank you for being polite about it.

longhouse · Post by **longhouse** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:40 am

I surmise the reason that there are so few Ric-specific aftermarket pickups is BECAUSE PLAYERS ARE HAPPY WITH THE RIC SOUND.
If it ain't broke...

What you might consider, Nathan, is changing the height of your pickup, modify the switching to series/parallel, or something of the sort.

Then again, John Fogerty had a big ugly humbucker in his 325.
And Paul Weller.

It's your guitar in the end. Play that b***h.
Cheers, Noel

sanfordn · Post by **sanfordn** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:47 am

Weller used a bucker????I never knew that for certain,I am a big Jam fan.

As far as these wirring mods your speaking of,what are the effects and what is involved.

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 6:54 am

Nathan, what Ric pickups have you tried? Have you tried the HB-1 pickups at all? I think they are an interesting middle ground between a humbucker and a P90.

newrider · Post by **newrider** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:33 am

Patents have nothing to do with it. First, you can't patent a certain size rectangular hole in a guitar body and second, patents expire in either 17 years from issue or, currently, 20 years from filing. I can't see any active Ric patent covering the P/up area.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 11:03 am

Mark, it's not a patent matter at all, it's a trademark matter. RIC has trademarked the distinctive appearance of its body shapes and of certain pickups.

So you can make a pickup with 6 magnetic slugs, with an outer dimension the same as a Rickenbacker, but if you cover it with a toaster top, you will be violating RIC's trademark.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 11:10 am

[Are you guys basicly telling me that the picups are the way they are and that's the way it is,take it or leave it.

nathan: no, we're telling you that the factory pickups offered by Rickenbacker are extremely popular with Rickenbacker players, and they generally do not look for an aftermarket solution, so there are almost none being offered.

If someone came up with an aftermarket pickup that sounded better to enough people, there would be a market.