Lollar Horseshoe vs. Rickenbacker horseshoe

[bonzogabe98]

Hey everyone! Just quick question, which one would you pick- Lollar vs. Ric? I heard that the reissue Ric's HS sound like a Hi-gain basically and Lollar actually makes them like the originals. The shoes are part of the magnetic field and brings more of that vintage sound like Squire and some McCartney when he used the HS sometimes. Thank you, folks!

[jdogric12]

I'm no horseshoe expert but that all soudns right to me. Welcome!

[songdog]

Welccome to the Forum!

There are good arguments for both sides of that question. It would help if you told us more about why you are making this choice, and what your goals are. What vintage is your bass? Sound like Chris Squire or Paul McCartney? Is the bass a player, or a collector's restoration to period-correct condition as much as possible? Is cost an issue?

I have a RIHS in my '72 4001, I find it is not an ideal match with the original toaster. I have an intuition that it was meant to match up better with more recent hi-gain pickups (like in a 4003). I've read that unwinding it a bit would help with that, but haven't had the courage to mess with it myself, nor the opportunity to send it to a professional who wouldn't break it.

If I were making the choice today, I'd probably save up for the Lollar (about $600 instead of about $200 for the RIHS if I'm not mistaken). I'm into the roundwound grind and clank, as well as the look & feel (I actually kind of like the horseshoes as a hand rest when picking).

[marcinkus]

I had the older sandwiched Lollar horsie... I hated it! The sound was weak but the bigger problem was the string balance: almost no sound from the G, too much from the E. I thought it was faulty but I bought it brand new. In the end I sold it and came back to a capped, reissue HS that suits very fine to any toaster. It's the sound I really like.

[woodyng]

If ya gotta have the gap,them's is your choices. (Or find an old Rick HS from the 60's).
I think CA's classic flattop sounds pretty much like what i would want out of a bridge pickup,but no gap,alas.

[bonzogabe98]

Thanks for the responses and welcoming me! I'm honestly going for both worlds silly to say but I like the McCartney sound that's like "Say Say Say", the bridge of the song has killer tones and that throaty "Wings Over America" tour when the HS is in use. I like Chris Squire's gritty tones but Obviously there's roundwounds for Chris and flatwounds for Sir. Paul but it still contains that tone that everyone likes. Hope that all makes sense!

[Kopfjaeger]

IMHO, the Lollar will sound more like the classic Rickenbacker horseshoe than the RIC re-issue ever would. Lollar is not making the sandwiched magnetic shoes he started out doing. His are all now "real deal" magnetic shoes. pricey, yes but you get what you pay for. Nothing, and mean nothing sounds quite like a real horsehoe pick up.

Interestingly enough, Geddy's bass tech pulled the original magnetized horsie out of the 68 Burgundyglo b *** he toured with during the last tour. Why?? Not enough output, as he told me. He assured me the horsie was going back in after the tour was over. Whatever!! It's his bass now, he can do whatever he damn well pleases with it.

Sepp

[iiipopes]

Thanks for the responses and welcoming me! I'm honestly going for both worlds silly to say but I like the McCartney sound that's like "Say Say Say", the bridge of the song has killer tones and that throaty "Wings Over America" tour when the HS is in use. I like Chris Squire's gritty tones but Obviously there's roundwounds for Chris and flatwounds for Sir. Paul but it still contains that tone that everyone likes. Hope that all makes sense!

Remember that by the W over A tour, Sir Paul's original horsie had died, and had to be replaced by the factory when Sir Paul was in LA for that leg of the W over A tour with an overwound high gain.

[teeder]

Remember that by the W over A tour, Sir Paul's original horsie had died, and had to be replaced by the factory when Sir Paul was in LA for that leg of the W over A tour with an overwound high gain.

I still think most of Macca's best tone was from the toaster soloed.

In my limited experience with the HS's ( a remade lap-steel) if everything is just perfect, they sound good, but it's tricky to get it just perfect. I ended up putting a re-issue HS in my '67 and like it much better. I prefer a little more punch from the bridge PU than what the old HS can provide. Now I just need to remove the shoes so I can dig in where I want to.

[antipodean]

Horses for courses. I have had both on my V63. The RI HS is bassy, punchy and higher output. The Lollar is more transparent - very similar to the original magentised horseshoes. IMHO, the Lollar is a better match for the vintage RI toaster, whilst the RI HS and old "hot" toaster were well-paired.