Adding another pickup?
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chucksimms
- Veteran RRF member
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- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2001 1:16 pm
Adding another pickup?
I'm considering adding another pickup to my 360/12 for a more McGuinn look. Has anybody done this mod? I'm worried that it might affect playability (is the new pickup in the way of your playing? Does it make for a muddier sound?). Any comments are welcome!
Re: Adding another pickup?
I gave up on that idea, as Rickenbacker doesn't offer short pole toaster in the boutique(even though they still make them), and don't know anyone I would trust routing out the top of the guitar. As far as it getting in the way, I pick over the other two, depending on the song, and the pickups sit so low even at their highest setting, I've never had a problem.
I have a 330 and 360/12 I would like to do this to, but in every thread I've posted about this, someone always says to just get a 340 or 370. I couldn't find one when I had the money, only seen 340s for sale a few times, and have never seen a 370 that wasn't a RM, or in fireglow. Besides, I love the way both of these guitars play, so I see no reason to get rid of them for what will end up being a slight difference in sound. They do look really cool though, those 3 toasters a shining!
I have a 330 and 360/12 I would like to do this to, but in every thread I've posted about this, someone always says to just get a 340 or 370. I couldn't find one when I had the money, only seen 340s for sale a few times, and have never seen a 370 that wasn't a RM, or in fireglow. Besides, I love the way both of these guitars play, so I see no reason to get rid of them for what will end up being a slight difference in sound. They do look really cool though, those 3 toasters a shining!
Re: Adding another pickup?
Paul Wilczynski can do the routing for you.
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deaconblues
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Re: Adding another pickup?
Strictly IMO, three pickups on a 24-fret guitar look really cramped. I'm sure others will (vehemently!) disagree, but I'd either leave it with two or look for an old 21-fret 370.
I have never been bothered by the third pickup on my 325s, but others say the middle pickup gets in the way when they strum.
Because the middle and neck pickups are wired together, there can be some overpowering of the bridge pickup. On the 325c58, switching to the bridge pickup is like turning the guitar off.
I have never been bothered by the third pickup on my 325s, but others say the middle pickup gets in the way when they strum.
Because the middle and neck pickups are wired together, there can be some overpowering of the bridge pickup. On the 325c58, switching to the bridge pickup is like turning the guitar off.
Really?? I see MG and JG 370s all the time...whojamfan wrote:...have never seen a 370 that wasn't a RM, or in fireglow...
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jingle_jangle
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Re: Adding another pickup?
The third pickup does take some getting used to; true on all three-pickup Ricks. Adding it is fairly straightforward, but if you're going to use a portable router (I wouldn't), a special jig must be made to support the router over the neck, which gets in the way otherwise. Best to do in a vertical mill or overarm router.chucksimms wrote:I'm considering adding another pickup to my 360/12 for a more McGuinn look. Has anybody done this mod? I'm worried that it might affect playability (is the new pickup in the way of your playing? Does it make for a muddier sound?). Any comments are welcome!
Best sound comes by wiring the middle pickup to the fifth knob, using it as a volume control. Gives an amazing sound palette.
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chucksimms
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Re: Adding another pickup?
Wow! Thanks for all the comments- has given me a lot to think about.
Re: Adding another pickup?
It's not worth it to ship these guitars to have them done up, plus whatever Paul would charge me, plus the time all of this would take. For me, it just doesn't add up, especially with toasters at 150 bucks each. If RIC someday offers their short pole toasters, I would pick up a pair and do them myself.
I'm not in a position to be buying any more guitars at this time, and would want the 340 and 370 in fireglow only.
I'm not in a position to be buying any more guitars at this time, and would want the 340 and 370 in fireglow only.
Re: Adding another pickup?
I did it to both of my twelves and it's not all that difficult. I would never take a regular hand-held router to the top as there is too much margin for error and possibility of scratching the top, bad visibility, etc. Instead, I did it with a series of overlapping holes drilled with a forstner bit, like some of the wiring tunnels you find on old Ricks. You have to drill about 1/4" deep and the "rout" is made up of about six or seven overlapping holes. Forstner bits don't wander when you start drilling, so the danger of screwing up a perfectly good Rickenbacker is reduced considerably. Follow this with a small wiring pathway at an angle into the control cavity, a coat of varnish to seal the holes and you're ready to go. I'm one of those oddballs who likes 24-freters better and the cosmetics look just fine to me. It takes some getting used to when you first start learning to pick in the spaces between the toasters, but it's not bad and after a while you just do it automatically.
The wiring and sound quality is another story. First I wired it just like a 370. My conclusion was that it didn't really add much of anything to the sound or the various sound possibilities of the instrument - hardly worth the trouble. Then I tried adding a 3-way mini-toggle between the four main knobs. It would allow the middle pickup to be mixed into either the neck pickup circuit (370-style) or the bridge pickup circuit, or turn the middle pickup off. It was a little more interesting, but still, I was not impressed with the available sound variations, even with a Ric-O-Sound box. What good is a third pickup if it doesn't do something substantial to the sound (fuller? louder? richer? something?).
I finally decided to go independent (or stereo, depending on what you want to call it). My middle pickups have no tone knob (full-on, all the time) but do have a volume pot (the sixth knob) and then go to their own output circuit and amp channel. The 360/370 WB uses a stereo cord with a Y and two plugs on each end. The ROS jack was replaced with a standard jack and both of the jacks on the jackplate are used at once. The 330/340's output jack was replaced with a stereo jack. It's cord is also stereo, with a single stereo plug on the guitar end and a Y and two mono plugs on the amp end. I usually stick a JangleBox on my neck/bridge circuits of these guitars and run the middle pickups unaltered into a separate channel. The sixth knob allows me to dial-in as much middle pickup as I want to add to the mix. Plugging a plain mono guitar cord into the 330 or the normal jack on the 360 yields unaltered, factory-style, two-pickup, five knob sound. With the stereo cords and the combination of the factory three-way toggle and the fifth knob, plus the sixth knob and two separate amp channels or even two amps, the sound variations you can get are amazing. I've been running one of my basses this way with two cords and two channels since 1972 for both live gigs and recording, Without doing something similar to this, I don't think adding a third pickup on a guitar is worth the trouble.
Sound samples:
http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/M ... es%20A.mp3
The wiring and sound quality is another story. First I wired it just like a 370. My conclusion was that it didn't really add much of anything to the sound or the various sound possibilities of the instrument - hardly worth the trouble. Then I tried adding a 3-way mini-toggle between the four main knobs. It would allow the middle pickup to be mixed into either the neck pickup circuit (370-style) or the bridge pickup circuit, or turn the middle pickup off. It was a little more interesting, but still, I was not impressed with the available sound variations, even with a Ric-O-Sound box. What good is a third pickup if it doesn't do something substantial to the sound (fuller? louder? richer? something?).
I finally decided to go independent (or stereo, depending on what you want to call it). My middle pickups have no tone knob (full-on, all the time) but do have a volume pot (the sixth knob) and then go to their own output circuit and amp channel. The 360/370 WB uses a stereo cord with a Y and two plugs on each end. The ROS jack was replaced with a standard jack and both of the jacks on the jackplate are used at once. The 330/340's output jack was replaced with a stereo jack. It's cord is also stereo, with a single stereo plug on the guitar end and a Y and two mono plugs on the amp end. I usually stick a JangleBox on my neck/bridge circuits of these guitars and run the middle pickups unaltered into a separate channel. The sixth knob allows me to dial-in as much middle pickup as I want to add to the mix. Plugging a plain mono guitar cord into the 330 or the normal jack on the 360 yields unaltered, factory-style, two-pickup, five knob sound. With the stereo cords and the combination of the factory three-way toggle and the fifth knob, plus the sixth knob and two separate amp channels or even two amps, the sound variations you can get are amazing. I've been running one of my basses this way with two cords and two channels since 1972 for both live gigs and recording, Without doing something similar to this, I don't think adding a third pickup on a guitar is worth the trouble.
Sound samples:
http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/M ... es%20A.mp3
Re: Adding another pickup?
i chime in, third pickup is cool with reverse winding and as paul noted wired to fifth knob is cool option, the thing is that it sounds bit "straty" and cancels the hum if done well while if you take it out with fith knob you still have ricky sound you had before.
dusan palka who is also known as grazioso on infamous auction web site
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chefothefuture
- Advanced Member
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- Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:00 am
Re: Adding another pickup?
I've added a middle pu by doing it the OLD Rickenbacker way-
Drill press and a Forstener bit keeping in mind to be very carfull not
to pull chips from the top.
Use masking tape to mark your holes starting with to mounting screws, then
mark off your channel;the bit plunges should be on center with the poles.
Use a bit that is not much bigger than the poles; this is more visable
on the new Ricks as the pu's are higher and you can really see under them.
Didn't matter on the older ones as the pu's sat closer to the body.
Apply some lacquer to the channel with a q-tip or some such applicator.
Good luck!
Drill press and a Forstener bit keeping in mind to be very carfull not
to pull chips from the top.
Use masking tape to mark your holes starting with to mounting screws, then
mark off your channel;the bit plunges should be on center with the poles.
Use a bit that is not much bigger than the poles; this is more visable
on the new Ricks as the pu's are higher and you can really see under them.
Didn't matter on the older ones as the pu's sat closer to the body.
Apply some lacquer to the channel with a q-tip or some such applicator.
Good luck!