I've got a late 90's 360, which is a great guitar. But I play almost exclusively on the neck pickup, and semi-distorted. The high gains are a bit bass heavy and smooth for my liking.
From what I gather from some reading, and listening to Steve's clips, the toasters have a little more texture to them, and a little less low end.
Sounds like they're right up my alley. I really only need one, but what's the best place to order a set of these? I saw that The Music Connection has them for $100...Any place else I should look into?
Best place to get toasters?
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adam_swapp
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Grayson's Tune Town ((818) 249-0993; ask for Ken Grayson).
For an even cheaper fix (<$1), wire a .0047mfd cap in series with the hot lead from the pickup. I've got just such a setup in my guitar right now. It *may* do the trick.
Tell me what kind of amp you're playing through. If I've got an extra couple of minutes tonight, I'll dial up an approximation on a PodPro and see if I can record a before and after for you.
For an even cheaper fix (<$1), wire a .0047mfd cap in series with the hot lead from the pickup. I've got just such a setup in my guitar right now. It *may* do the trick.
Tell me what kind of amp you're playing through. If I've got an extra couple of minutes tonight, I'll dial up an approximation on a PodPro and see if I can record a before and after for you.
You want to put that where?
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fiveightandten
Adam,
Thanks for the reply.
I'll try that .0047 cap. Is that the "bleeder" cap that people talk of? What effect does it have on the tone?
I think i've got a .0047 kicking around, i'll have to throw that in.
My main amp is an Orange OR-120, which I use into a Hiwatt 4x12 loaded with 2 V30's, and 2 75W Fanes.
I also have a Vox AC-30 and a Vox AC-50 head, though I don't use them quite as much as the Orange.
The Ric has a nice low-mid punch on the neck pickup. But it's REALLY bottom heavy, and i'm having a hard time getting a good medium between 'full' and 'muddy'. It's also a little smooth for my tastes when overdriven. My SG (Gibson '57 classics) has a little more texture to it.
I'm not looking for classic Ric jangle, though it would be nice from time to time. I'd like a well balanced, midrange oriented, warm, slightly overdriven growl. Less overwhealming low end than i'm getting now. A little less smooth would be a plus, as would be a high end that isn't quite as brittle. But I could deal with something where the low end wasn't so overbearing. It's my only complaint about this guitar. I know i'm playing the neck pickup, but it's so punchy and full.
Seems like I may like the toasters a bit more, but it's tough to find people that play a Rickenbacker through an Orange head for some first hand opinions.
Thanks again for the reply.
Thanks for the reply.
I'll try that .0047 cap. Is that the "bleeder" cap that people talk of? What effect does it have on the tone?
I think i've got a .0047 kicking around, i'll have to throw that in.
My main amp is an Orange OR-120, which I use into a Hiwatt 4x12 loaded with 2 V30's, and 2 75W Fanes.
I also have a Vox AC-30 and a Vox AC-50 head, though I don't use them quite as much as the Orange.
The Ric has a nice low-mid punch on the neck pickup. But it's REALLY bottom heavy, and i'm having a hard time getting a good medium between 'full' and 'muddy'. It's also a little smooth for my tastes when overdriven. My SG (Gibson '57 classics) has a little more texture to it.
I'm not looking for classic Ric jangle, though it would be nice from time to time. I'd like a well balanced, midrange oriented, warm, slightly overdriven growl. Less overwhealming low end than i'm getting now. A little less smooth would be a plus, as would be a high end that isn't quite as brittle. But I could deal with something where the low end wasn't so overbearing. It's my only complaint about this guitar. I know i'm playing the neck pickup, but it's so punchy and full.
Seems like I may like the toasters a bit more, but it's tough to find people that play a Rickenbacker through an Orange head for some first hand opinions.
Thanks again for the reply.
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adam_swapp
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 7:49 pm
- Contact:
Nick,
Check it out. Two sloppy samples of each configuration: toaster with bleed cap, toaster without bleed cap, hi-gain with bleed cap, hi-gain without bleed cap.
When I was playing, it sure seemed like the bleed cap made a bigger difference than the recordings seem to show. It really seemed to brighten up the tone.
Hope this helps.
FWIW, I don't think I'm going to end up with the "classic" sound either. I've got a humbucker with a coil tap in the bridge, modded wiring, and God knows what's going to end up in the neck. If I go for the toaster in the neck and shave down the humbucker so I can fit a vintage cover on it, it will all look completely original. Quite the stealth rocker. Vive le difference!
Check it out. Two sloppy samples of each configuration: toaster with bleed cap, toaster without bleed cap, hi-gain with bleed cap, hi-gain without bleed cap.
When I was playing, it sure seemed like the bleed cap made a bigger difference than the recordings seem to show. It really seemed to brighten up the tone.
Hope this helps.
FWIW, I don't think I'm going to end up with the "classic" sound either. I've got a humbucker with a coil tap in the bridge, modded wiring, and God knows what's going to end up in the neck. If I go for the toaster in the neck and shave down the humbucker so I can fit a vintage cover on it, it will all look completely original. Quite the stealth rocker. Vive le difference!
You want to put that where?
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fiveightandten
Adam,
Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to do that. The muddiness of the high gain without the bleed cap is very apparent in the clips. That's exactly what i'm experiencing.
It seems like the bleed cap will help me out a lot, but those toasters sound pretty darn good. I think i'll use the bleed cap as a temporary solution and pickup a set of toasters pretty soon. At least one for the neck.
You wouldn't happen to know what the late 90's high gains were wound to, would you?
I've been reading about the toaster, and all the new ones should be wound to 7.5K or so, because of all the unwinding mods that were going on. I'm sure the high gains are a bit hotter, so I may have to get 2 of them, to keep things balanced. That or throw a 500K pot in the neck with that toaster.
Eh, sounds like all or none...time to break out the checkbook.
Thanks again for taking the time to do that, it's greatly appreciated. Noone seems to play on the neck, your clips were exactly what I needed to hear. Bleed cap goes in TODAY until I can get some toasters.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to do that. The muddiness of the high gain without the bleed cap is very apparent in the clips. That's exactly what i'm experiencing.
It seems like the bleed cap will help me out a lot, but those toasters sound pretty darn good. I think i'll use the bleed cap as a temporary solution and pickup a set of toasters pretty soon. At least one for the neck.
You wouldn't happen to know what the late 90's high gains were wound to, would you?
I've been reading about the toaster, and all the new ones should be wound to 7.5K or so, because of all the unwinding mods that were going on. I'm sure the high gains are a bit hotter, so I may have to get 2 of them, to keep things balanced. That or throw a 500K pot in the neck with that toaster.
Eh, sounds like all or none...time to break out the checkbook.
Thanks again for taking the time to do that, it's greatly appreciated. Noone seems to play on the neck, your clips were exactly what I needed to hear. Bleed cap goes in TODAY until I can get some toasters.
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fiveightandten
Adam,
hmmm...I put the .0047u cap in and the volume of my neck pickup dropped a whole lot.
I wired it between the wiper of the neck pickup volume pot and the mixer pot.
Do I need to put it before the mixer?
Sounds good, just very low output on the neck position, and the mixer seems to be functioning as a tone knob now.
hmmm...I put the .0047u cap in and the volume of my neck pickup dropped a whole lot.
I wired it between the wiper of the neck pickup volume pot and the mixer pot.
Do I need to put it before the mixer?
Sounds good, just very low output on the neck position, and the mixer seems to be functioning as a tone knob now.
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spencer
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adam_swapp
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- Contact:
Spencer,
We're not talking about the standard wiring here. We're trying to brighten the tone of the neck pickup. Hence, we put the bleed cap on the neck pickup to remove some of the bass.
Nick,
If you have stock wiring, try replacing the wire from the selector switch to the wiper of the 5th knob pot with the cap.
I just stuck it between the hot lead from the pickup and the left lug on the 5th knob. However, I didn't notice any appreciable volume drop.
NOTE: I don't use the standard wiring:
- I rewired the 5th knob to work like a normal volume pot; turn it counterclockwise to decrease the volume. Input to the left lug, output from the wiper.
- The hot lead from the pickup goes directly to the wiper on the volume pot. The output from the volume pot (left lug) goes to the selector switch.
- The tone cap is also connected to the left lug.
We're not talking about the standard wiring here. We're trying to brighten the tone of the neck pickup. Hence, we put the bleed cap on the neck pickup to remove some of the bass.
Nick,
If you have stock wiring, try replacing the wire from the selector switch to the wiper of the 5th knob pot with the cap.
I just stuck it between the hot lead from the pickup and the left lug on the 5th knob. However, I didn't notice any appreciable volume drop.
NOTE: I don't use the standard wiring:
- I rewired the 5th knob to work like a normal volume pot; turn it counterclockwise to decrease the volume. Input to the left lug, output from the wiper.
- The hot lead from the pickup goes directly to the wiper on the volume pot. The output from the volume pot (left lug) goes to the selector switch.
- The tone cap is also connected to the left lug.
You want to put that where?
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fiveightandten
Thanks for the replies gentleman.
I think it's the blend pot that's causing a volume drop when I add that cap in. I've tried it in every position; Between the pickup lead and the switch, between the switch and the blend pot, and between the blend pot and the volume pot.
Same result every time. I'd like to keep the stock wiring, as I use the blend knob pretty often as it's wired now. I may just have to bite the bullet and get some toasters for it. Thanks again for those clips Adam. That was extremely helpful.
Has anyone else tried the bleed cap on the neck pickup with the stock wiring?
-Nick
I think it's the blend pot that's causing a volume drop when I add that cap in. I've tried it in every position; Between the pickup lead and the switch, between the switch and the blend pot, and between the blend pot and the volume pot.
Same result every time. I'd like to keep the stock wiring, as I use the blend knob pretty often as it's wired now. I may just have to bite the bullet and get some toasters for it. Thanks again for those clips Adam. That was extremely helpful.
Has anyone else tried the bleed cap on the neck pickup with the stock wiring?
-Nick