Pickups 325c58

me_and_i · Post by **me_and_i** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 10:50 pm

I've heard that the pickups used on a 325c58 were the same as back in the late 50's(exactly the same as on Lennons first rick), but they are winded 7.5 ohms and back in the late 50's they were winded 4.8 ohms or am I wrong? Please help me out.

jps · Post by **jps** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:55 am

The two Scatterwound pickups that I have measure 6.25k and 6.4k ohms.

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 4:27 am

Me_and_i: Welcome to the Rickenbacker Forum. Your question is an interesting one that always leads to much discussion.

The ohm rating is only one factor in the "vintage equation" associated with the quest for the golden tonality of late 50s and early to mid 1960s. The number of windings, materials that are used in the pickup, the placement of the pickups and their wiring relative to other pickups, the height of the pickups from the strings, the composition of the strings, the solid or semi-acoustic nature of the guitar body, and the amplifier all have a role to play.

Beyond this difficulty in replicating those factors central to the "Lennon" sound, is the great variation in the instruments used to take KOhm ratings and the manner in which the ratings are carried out. Not all Ohm meters and measurement techniques are created equal and it is not possible to control for all of these factors, hence the wide range in variabliity noted in measurements.

Further, and we will let those at RIC step in here, I am not sure that we know what the KOhm ratings are for Lennon's 1958 Capri. Perhaps John Hall can speak to the KOhm measurements recorded from the factory in the late 1950s, however, this may not have been something routinely done. The pickups were wound by hand, during the weekend hours I believe, and as such there would be the "human variability" factor to consider.

What I can say, however, is that the scatterwound pickups are a fine product and, all other factors controlled for, their sound is very close to the sound of the British Invasion.

36012 · Post by **36012** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:10 pm

If heard that 50's pickups were between 3.5 and 6.7 ohms,however as Peter said they were hand wound which leaves a certain margin for variation.By my experience it is hard to hear a difference of 1.0-2.0 ohms.I have scatterwounds that I dewound to 4.5 ohms and the difference was not very audible.I think alot of the sound differences heard are due to wood type,wiring and type of capacitors used.Some ricks have the .0047 cap and some have caps of different values.Rick is known for mixing woods in the 50's.Maple sound a lot different than alder,which is another huge factor in that vintage "jangle".These factors can all affect the sound more than some are led to believe.

36012 · Post by **36012** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm

Sorry it cut off the end of my paragraph.I have been researching all the factors that effect the rick sound.Recently I played a 68 360/12 which sounded quite a bit different than my 66 360/12 and one thing I also noticed was the difference in the internal construction of the body(bracing &top thickness).This in addition to the higher ohm pickups could have contributed to these differences.

tonewerks · Post by **tonewerks** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:05 pm

My Wilson 12 measure 5.7 on both pick up's the sound is a lot brighter than some of my other Rick's

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 4:10 am

Joe: The Carl Wilson models have a thinner top that other 300 series models and this allows for a more acoustic sound. It is this difference in concert with the scatterwound 7.4 kOhm toasters that, more than likely, results in a brighter sound.