V63 toaster

[henry5]

When I had my '98 V63 I could never get the toaster high enough relative to the strings; one of the reasons why I sold it, although it was a great bass. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, is there anything you can do about it? Neither of my CSs ('91 and '96) had this problem. I've recently been looking at V63s so was wondering if it was common or related solely to specific instruments or periods of production.

[ken_j]

Remove or shorten the height adjustment springs.

[bassduke49]

Actually, they're grommets. Some slice them in half, or you could remove them altogether, but realize if you tighten the height adjustment screws too much (even with the grommets in), you'll crack the pickguard. Might be easier to lower the bridge pickup to attain balance, then turn up the amp!

[cassius987]

Lower the bridge pickup. Adjust your preamp around your neck pickup's output and then dial the bridge pickup down or up so that it fits into the picture however you like. Whether you use the cap will be a factor.

The real voice of a Ric, I have found, is in the neck pickup--but it is a lot more difficult to get a good sound out of than the bridge pickup so a lot of people dismiss it. I'm probably going to build my own full-range cab specifically for this reason.

[jps]

Might be easier to lower the bridge pickup to attain balance, then turn up the amp!

Lower the bridge pickup. Adjust your preamp around your neck pickup's output and then dial the bridge pickup down or up so that it fits into the picture however you like.

+2 This is also a reason for my bending the shoes, to allow the HS pickup to go lower before hitting the strings.
Not to mention it just looks more vintagy to me.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

you'll note the fretboard is not with the body level as the old days which sat on the body. the fretboard sits up off the body making it further away from the neck pickup which is restricted by the pickguard in maximum adjustment. this is not to my liking as i like the neck pickup very close to the strings. my '68 toaster has lots of string winding scratches on it due to it's 1/3rd thinner fretboard than the norm bringing the action way down.

[antipodean]

The real voice of a Ric, I have found, is in the neck pickup

Unless you have a 4000

[henry5]

With mine I found that lowering the bridge pickup didn't really work for me as I was using it in conjunction with another Ric and like to be able to swap between one and the other on the fly without altering anything at the amp. Like Ron, I also tend to have my pickups right up close to the strings as I play very lightly and want maximum output.

[Wiker]

When I had my '98 V63 I could never get the toaster high enough relative to the strings; ...
Neither of my CSs ('91 and '96) had this problem. ...

Toasters in the ‘90s were hot (12K ?). Some people swapped it for a 7.4K toaster, or unwound the hot toaster. Could that have happened to that V63 you had?

[henry5]

I don't think so. The guy I bought it off had it from new IIRC, and the only thing he did so far as I'm aware was put straplocks on it. I couldn't get the toaster anywhere near as close to the strings as on my other basses (I normally have it really, really close).

[rickaddict]

I think like many things Rickenbacker, they vary a bit from one to the next. I had to back my 1992 V63 toaster down a bit to keep the G string from hitting it when fretting the highest frets.

All of my Ricks have a half grommet on the neck pickup, BTW. Isn't that how RIC builds them?

And, ummmm...speaking of grommets...er...Gromits...

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

i don't have grommets on my three current 4001 basses, only the pickup case screws up against the pickguard. i have noticed differing toaster case depth from top to flange over the years.

[rickaddict]

...i have noticed differing toaster case depth from top to flange over the years.

That's a good point. I've noticed differing case depth on some of my hi-gains, but I never thought to check my toasters.