HB1 bridge Toaster Neck - does it work? In a 330...

[dented42ford]

My 330's bridge high-gain has gone a bit microphonic on me - must have been knocked around a bit too much over the years. I'm considering replacing it with another (newer) high gain, but something that I've always been curious about is the HB1. I know they don't sound horribly different than HG's - I have tried them before - so that is a plus to me - but I don't know how they interact with a toaster in the neck. Seems to me like it could be "best of both worlds", if you set it up right...

What I want to know is if anyone tried it, and what their experience was. Odds are that I will end up just putting a new HG in the guitar and getting back to playing, but I am a bit of a gear tweaker, and the idea of the mod sounds appealing to me. The guitar is already heavily modded, by Rick standards - Mastery, Sperzels, 6100 refret, re-radius, and stripped board, and electronics mods - so don't worry about "originality"...

Another thing I'm tempted by is the Barden Rick pickups - I'm a big fan of their Two/Tone HB's and Tele pickups. Has anyone actually tried them? All I could find in terms of forum talk was the usual rickophile resistance, with very little in the way of hands-on. I'm really just curious!

[aceonbass]

Paul.....A RIC HB1 interacts just fine with a Toaster, BUT, two wires must be reversed on it or it will be outta phase with your other single coil pickups. Additionally, the volume pot needs to be swapped out for a 500K part, and the tone cap replaced with a .022uF spec part to bring out the HB1's clarity. PM me for more details if you like as I've custom wired many Ricks.

[dented42ford]

Paul.....A RIC HB1 interacts just fine with a Toaster, BUT, two wires must be reversed on it or it will be outta phase with your other single coil pickups. Additionally, the volume pot needs to be swapped out for a 500K part, and the tone cap replaced with a .022uF spec part to bring out the HB1's clarity. PM me for more details if you like as I've custom wired many Ricks.

Ok, I get the electrical issues (and would have made those changes in any case), but my real question is how does it sound? Is the middle position still jangly? Does the neck give more of a "F-like" tone, while keeping the more aggressive bridge? Does it cut out a bit of the HG mud? In other words, for someone who uses a 330 as their main guitar and couldn't care less about "traditional rick tones", is it a good idea? Is it really the "best of both worlds" it would seem to be?

Also, given that you seem to be familiar with mod'n Ricks, have you gotten to chance to try out those Barden R300's? Just out of curiosity...

Thanks for the reply, in any case!

[aceonbass]

I've never heard the Barden pickups, and don't personally believe that different pickups give a Rick that different of a sound unless they have a much higher or lower resistance. One reason that most of us Rick bass players don't like Semour Duncan pickups is that they're a humbucking pickup running through electronics meant for single coil pickups. They actually don't sound too bad at all once that is addressed. I really like RIC'S HB1, because not only is it whisper quiet and fairly bright when matched to the proper circuit, but when coil tapped (actually shorted) it becomes a 7.5K single coil pickup that sounds a lot like a Toaster.

[dented42ford]

I ended up picking up a matched set of Lollar Broilers (due to them being immediately available and my impatience getting the better of me), and got them installed last night. I obviously can't have TOO much of an impression thus far, honeymoon and all that, but I am quite pleased with the change. The Broilers I picked up were a bit on the hot side - not marked overwound, but measured a bit higher than advertised (not that DCR really means much) - and have around the same amount of output as the HG's they are replacing...

Impressions? They are a tad quieter (in terms of hum) than the HG's. No microphonic behavior. Took the mud out, without adding so much bite as to make gain tones harsh, though I'm a bit on the fence on the bridge pickup. They don't quite have the "grunt" of the HG's - definitely smoother, chimier, and more "polite". MUCH better clarity, especially with the neck pickup. The volume controls (I haven't rewired them, so stock 330k's) are much more effective than before, though the mixer doesn't seem quite as cool, probably because the outputs are much more even than the stock pickups. Speaking of which, these pickups are 'even' overall - they do give a much better impression of the acoustic sound of the guitar, and are more dynamic to play, than the HG's.

I was worried that a "Toaster" in the bridge might be a bit too harsh - I replaced the bridge pickups in my JM's for the same reason with Novak P90 types - but it seems to work well with the proverbial dirt. I'd have to do a couple of gigs with them to really know, but the Lollar bridge pickup already reminds me a lot of those JM90's (not a bad thing at all, in my book). All in all, I'm still curious about putting an HB1 in the bridge, but I'm really enjoying the chime for now!

I have limited experience with "real" toasters, but these seem a fair bit "fatter" than the few I've played with - which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your preference. They seem to be what the doctor ordered for me, though - I'll report back in a couple of months and see if I feel the same way then!

As a somewhat-related note, I agree with aceonbass that pickups don't really make THAT big of a difference - the 330 still sounds like the same guitar! It just has a bit different "voice" now - one that is much closer to unplugged, IMHO, which is always a good thing! I'm sure the Bardens would have given a similar, albeit different, result, based upon prior experience with his designs. BTW, Bardens are low-impedance high-inductance designs, so their DCR's don't really mean anything. They often measure around 2-4k, but have very hot outputs - kinda like the Lace Alumitones, albeit accomplished in a different way (the Laces are current-driven, and actually quite clever). Just FYI.