How to verify legit HB1s?

[cassius987]

I just got my HB1s from eBay that I bought for the cheap ($67 for both!). They came off of a 650D from the mid-90s. Before I leave feedback I like to verify that I got what I was told I was getting, and these look like a duck, but I can't tell if they sound like a duck. They appear to have more than two wires (3-4) in the leads, but I can't tell consistently if it's 3 or 4 and I believe it is supposed to be 4. I may need to strip them back. They measure at 13.2 and 13.3 kOhms respectively.

Any other way to verify these? Not that I'm in doubt, I just like to be safe.

[incubus2432]

I'm not aware of any other pickup that looks vaguely like a HB-1.....so you are likely fine. They should have 4 leads BTW.

[weemac]

They also have Rickenbacker written on the bottom of them.
Eden.

[cassius987]

I'm not aware of any other pickup that looks vaguely like a HB-1.....so you are likely fine. They should have 4 leads BTW.

I shall have to strip the insulation back to expose them I guess? Right now I can really only make out two wires, red and blue, and copper insulation.

[johnhall]

Look on the back of the pickup. It's a circuit board and at one end are some pads where 4 wires and the shield are soldered. No other pickup has a setup quite like this and I'm not aware of any counterfeits of these yet.

[grazioso]

hey i saw that auction yes they are the real thing.

[soundmasterg]

Be careful of where those 4 wires are soldered too. On the older HB2's, (some of them anyway) it is easy to accidentally break the wires, and there goes your pickup if you do that!

Greg

[johnallg]

Josh, if they have the black foam ring, you won't need that for on a bass so just work them off. The circuit board John H speaks of has Rickenbacker etched into the copper, as Eden pointed out.

[beatlefreak]

I think you can safely assume these are genuine Rickenbacker HB1s.

[cassius987]

Be careful of where those 4 wires are soldered too. On the older HB2's, (some of them anyway) it is easy to accidentally break the wires, and there goes your pickup if you do that!

Greg

I'm not going to install the pickups until I fully understand the purpose of the 4-wire setup. I don't yet. If I still have some questions after I have educated myself I'll ask the community to address any concerns I have...

Thanks for this comment btw. and all of the advice. I am beyond certain that these are legit.

[jingle_jangle]

You'll find a wiring diagram on the rickenbacker.com site, under "Service" in the pull-down menus at the page top.

[cassius987]

You'll find a wiring diagram on the rickenbacker.com site, under "Service" in the pull-down menus at the page top.

Really? I can find schematics but they don't mention the four-wire part. They look like any other schematics.

[johnallg]

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19521-HB1%20Wiring.pdf

[cassius987]

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19521-HB1%20Wiring.pdf

I need to try harder next time, sorry.

[johnallg]

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19521-HB1%20Wiring.pdf

I need to try harder next time, sorry.

On the RIC site, under Service, Schematics, Guitar Schematics. Here is the direct link - http://www.rickenbacker.com/service_g_schematics.asp