1980s 330 pickups

paulcreedy · Post by **paulcreedy** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:12 pm

do the modern pickups have more poke than pickups out of an 80s 330 ?

if not, any suggestions ?

cheers,

Paul

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 10:47 am

Paul, I have two '80's 330's--a 1982 in fireglo, and a 1989 in Midnight Blue.... Both have the standard hi-gain pickups. I would say that the '89 definitely has hotter pickups than the '82. The '82 has a real smooth, mellow honey-like tone, and sounds almost like a Ric with vintage toaster pickups, though the sound is just a bit thicker and darker. On the other hand, the '89 has a real bitey, snarly rock 'n' roll kind of sound.... It amazes me that two Rics of the same model sound so different from each other! Both of them are great guitars, and I guess I wouldn't really want or need to try to get one of them to sound like the other....that's why I've got more than one!

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:16 pm

My '74 450 has hi-gains, but compared to my other hi-gain Rics, they are really weak (but stunning sound). They sound exactly like Melissa says. My '99 360 sounds a lot sweeter than my '03 360. I read somewhere that pickups lose power & change tone in a surprisingly short time. I am not a vintage guitar nut, but I do think my older guitars sound slightly better. I am also not an expert on p/ups & technical stuff, but there are plenty here that are. So how about it chaps (& chapettes)! Is there a scientific reason for this, or is it just luck of the draw?

paulcreedy · Post by **paulcreedy** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:45 pm

I might try a set of new pickups as an experiment then

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 1:01 pm

Paul, if you do, then remember to post your findings.