I have a 87' 320 with 3 hi-gain pickups. Do anyone know what the output of these pickups are? In ohms... The bridge pickup seems a lot quieter than the neck and mid pick, regardless of how I turn the controls. It simply lacks any form of punch.
Chris
Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Moderator: jingle_jangle
Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Welcome to the RRF forum Chris.
I wouldn't expect much punch from a short scale guitar. What gauge strings are you using?
I wouldn't expect much punch from a short scale guitar. What gauge strings are you using?
"The best things in life aren't things."
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Hotzenplotz
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Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Hi Chris!
At first: Welcome to the RRF!
It is normal, that the bridge PU is more quiet, but not too much. Seems at Your guitar the difference is bigger?
About the exact ohms other forumites can tell You more. In general: the resistance of all three PUs should be more or less equal, no matter which ones are used.
What about the space between the single PUs and the strings? If there is enough space at the bridge PU maybe raising it 1-2mm would solve the problem immediately.
As ken_j already mentioned, with the "wrong" gauge the sound can be influenced in a negative way.
At first: Welcome to the RRF!
It is normal, that the bridge PU is more quiet, but not too much. Seems at Your guitar the difference is bigger?
About the exact ohms other forumites can tell You more. In general: the resistance of all three PUs should be more or less equal, no matter which ones are used.
What about the space between the single PUs and the strings? If there is enough space at the bridge PU maybe raising it 1-2mm would solve the problem immediately.
As ken_j already mentioned, with the "wrong" gauge the sound can be influenced in a negative way.
Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Welcome, Chris.
The resistance of a typical high-gain pick-up is usually around 11 to 14 kΩ, IIRC. A neck high-gain from one of my guitars measures 11.8 kΩ.
The resistance of a typical high-gain pick-up is usually around 11 to 14 kΩ, IIRC. A neck high-gain from one of my guitars measures 11.8 kΩ.
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing. - Seneca
Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
In the late '70's through the '80's, to get the maximum contrast from pickup to pickup, the bridge pickup was sometimes underwound. Both my 1981 320JG and my 1981 360-12WB FG ckbd started life with bridge high gains with only @ 6.2 kohms' worth of wire on them, and the .0047 capacitor. I was always turning my 5th knob down quite a bit to balance neck & bridge, and the pre-gain up on my amplifier, until I did some pickup switching, rewinging and unwinding -- the neck pickups on both started life with @ 14kohms' worth of wire on them.
The neck pickup on the 320 went open at one point, and I got it rewound to @ 7.5 kohms. It now resides in the neck of the 12-string. I unwound the neck pickup of the 12-string to @ 8kohms and put it in the bridge of the 12-string. The middle pickup of my 320 was also @ 6.1-6.2 kohms, so now all three of the underwounds are in the 320 with my wiring mods with a push-pull as the 5th knob. You can PM or email me for more information.
Point of all this digression: I'm not surprised your 320 has a lower bridge pickup output. These are possible reasons why. You can check it with an ohmmeter. Remember, the neck and middle pickups are wired together, so the reading together will be less than each pickup separately (don't make me take up the bandwith with the math as to why). Also, if you check it at the jack, the bridge pickup will read "open" for DC resistance due to the .0047 capacitor being inline, if this particular guitar has one.
The neck pickup on the 320 went open at one point, and I got it rewound to @ 7.5 kohms. It now resides in the neck of the 12-string. I unwound the neck pickup of the 12-string to @ 8kohms and put it in the bridge of the 12-string. The middle pickup of my 320 was also @ 6.1-6.2 kohms, so now all three of the underwounds are in the 320 with my wiring mods with a push-pull as the 5th knob. You can PM or email me for more information.
Point of all this digression: I'm not surprised your 320 has a lower bridge pickup output. These are possible reasons why. You can check it with an ohmmeter. Remember, the neck and middle pickups are wired together, so the reading together will be less than each pickup separately (don't make me take up the bandwith with the math as to why). Also, if you check it at the jack, the bridge pickup will read "open" for DC resistance due to the .0047 capacitor being inline, if this particular guitar has one.
Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Hi Chris,
I've got a '79 320 with high gains and all three pickups measure ~6.2Kohms. I put TI flats on last year and adjusted the pickups height to even out the volume. Obviously the bridge pup is closest to the strings, with the mid and neck each a little lower. I also installed iiipopes wiring mod mentioned above which makes it very easy to check the relative output of each pickup.
I suggest playing with the pickup height to see if you can get more output from your bridge pup -- or adjust all three to achieve a good overall balance, as I did. Good luck!
I've got a '79 320 with high gains and all three pickups measure ~6.2Kohms. I put TI flats on last year and adjusted the pickups height to even out the volume. Obviously the bridge pup is closest to the strings, with the mid and neck each a little lower. I also installed iiipopes wiring mod mentioned above which makes it very easy to check the relative output of each pickup.
I suggest playing with the pickup height to see if you can get more output from your bridge pup -- or adjust all three to achieve a good overall balance, as I did. Good luck!
Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Dale, thanks. How do you like the mods?
Re: Rickenbacker 320 - Pickup output
Hi Scott -- love the mods! The tonal variety makes the guitar much more versatile. Thanks for sharing your design!iiipopes wrote:Dale, thanks. How do you like the mods?
