620/12 what kind of strings need to use and some other quest

[mrsoul]

Hello everybody
I'm new on this fantastic forum. Writing from Italy and I really excited to take part of this community. I have several guitars and I m waiting now for a brand new 620/12...it will be my first Rickenbacker...a dream come true..an electric 12 string guitar like Petty, McGuinn and others..and overall you all here... ( I have Gibson, Gretsch, Martin ) so just some quick questions. what kind of strings you used on this guitar? Rick original, D'Addario..what brand you suggest me...size ? 010-046 roundwound or 009 ? and for pups ...my guitar has the Hi Gain ..I've read different ideas about this matter and many of Ricks possessors prefer the old toaster than the Hi Gain..so if public ask for these, why Rickenbacker produce Hi Gain ?..are they sound more "modern"?....sorry for several questions ...
so..thank you and hope someone can respond to my post...ciaooooo
mrsoul

[Clifton]

For my 620/12, I use Rickenbacker strings. They sound and feel the best to me!

[jdogric12]

Welcome!

I like the Curt Mangan set from Pick of the Ricks (aka Ricstrings.com) because they emulate the original RIC set. I do NOT recommend the D'addario 12 string set. It's awful, since it does not have wound G or wound A octave. And the G octave is an 8 when you want a 10. The TI Flats are great if you want vintage tone and don't mind the cost. And of course the strings direct from RIC are just fine too.

[jsegovia]

I like the Curt Mangan set from Pick of the Ricks (aka Ricstrings.com) because they emulate the original RIC set. I do NOT recommend the D'addario 12 string set. It's awful, since it does not have wound G or wound A octave. And the G octave is an 8 when you want a 10. The TI Flats are great if you want vintage tone and don't mind the cost. And of course the strings direct from RIC are just fine too.

Agreed, but you can always get the D'Addario EXL150 sets (they sell them at Guitar Center and they're cheaper on Amazon with free shipping for Prime customers) and then buy individual wound 20s and 10s which is still cheaper than Rickenbacker sets (I can't seem to find a set for less than $60 shipped!) or the ricstrings sets.

I bought one set of the RicStrings Compressed Wound strings and a couple of the EXL150s - when the strings on my Rick need changing I'll switch out to the RicStrings set and after that I'll switch to the D'Addarios to see if there's a substantial difference. Given the fact I rarely break strings these days I don't change guitars more than three or four times a year and I'm sure I'll play my 360/12 less than my six string guitars, so it may take me a while.

Jesse

[mrsoul]

Hey everybody and thanks a lot for suggestions...Rick strings are available ..whereas I noticed that Curt Mangan are out of stock on rickstrings site..
and sorry if I ask one more time..but do you think that Hi Gain pick-ups are not so good as the "toaster"?...Actual toaster sounds like the old ones or are there any differences..what do you advise?..thank you...

[Tommy]

...sorry if I ask one more time..but do you think that Hi Gain pick-ups are not so good as the "toaster"?...Actual toaster sounds like the old ones or are there any differences..what do you advise?..thank you...

Like most folks here I have Rics with Hi Gains and Toasters. Minimal difference. Perhaps the Toasters are a bit brighter, but you can just use the knobs on your amp or an EQ pedal to make any pickup bright as hell.

The Hi Gains do have an advantage over the Toasters -- you can adjust polepieces on the modern HGs and balance out the string volume, on Toasters you can't adjust polepieces because there aren't any polepieces.

[jdogric12]

Hi-gains vs. toasters... one's not "better" than the other, just different. The toasters have less mids and nail the vintage sound. Hi-gains are a little more honky* and cut through a mix better. I love vintage tones, but lately my main guitar is a 2000 330, go figure. It just plays great and handles all kinds of effects really well. Last night I played it though a RAT and DOD FX25B envelope filter, for Pete's sake.

*

[jsegovia]

One of my all-time favorite electric 12 string records, XTC's 'English Settlement,' was recorded on an mid-70s Rick with hi-gain pickups. It's hard to imagine Rick 12 string goodness sounding much better than that.

Jesse

[Tommy]

One of my all-time favorite electric 12 string records, XTC's 'English Settlement,' was recorded on an mid-70s Rick with hi-gain pickups. It's hard to imagine Rick 12 string goodness sounding much better than that.

Yes, and that's the point. Is there really a notable difference between the two pickups that would make people say, "Ugh, that pickup is lousy"?

Noted in this thread is the fact that Tom Petty, XTC, Peter Buck, and Johnny Marr utilized Hi-Gains. I have never once read any comment on any forum that expressed displeasure with those guy's tone. In fact, it is just the opposite. Those guys' Ric tones are beloved....and led to the selling of tons of Rickenbackers.

[mrsoul]

Hello again
and thanks for your kind replies here...so at the end , as for brand new guitars, I'll try to buy two kind of strings, Ric and another one, to make compare
About pick-ups, wait to listen the sound of this guitar - it's my very first time play a Ric - and then I'll try , if don t like Hi-Gain pups - to change them with toaster...so one more question for you all : I read somewhere that Toaster pick ups produced now are really different from the original from 60's. A resistance value of 11k vs 7.4k...is it true?...so what I should, eventually, find anywhere?..thanks again..

[jdogric12]

Hello again
and thanks for your kind replies here...so at the end , as for brand new guitars, I'll try to buy two kind of strings, Ric and another one, to make compare
About pick-ups, wait to listen the sound of this guitar - it's my very first time play a Ric - and then I'll try , if don t like Hi-Gain pups - to change them with toaster...so one more question for you all : I read somewhere that Toaster pick ups produced now are really different from the original from 60's. A resistance value of 11k vs 7.4k...is it true?...so what I should, eventually, find anywhere?..thanks again..

The toasters from the early 80's to 1999 are called "hot" toasters and are more similar to hi-gains, 11k I think. In 1999 they introduced what are often called "scatterwound" toasters that more closely resemble the sound of 60's toasters, and are 7.4k IIRC.

[Guzzitd63]

This is a modern RIC Toaster I got from CME a couple months ago.

[maxwell]

This is a modern RIC Toaster I got from CME a couple months ago.

Who is "CME"...?

[Guzzitd63]

This is a modern RIC Toaster I got from CME a couple months ago.

Who is "CME"...?

Oh, my apologizes.
CME is Chicago Music Exchange.
http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com

[maxwell]

This is a modern RIC Toaster I got from CME a couple months ago.

Who is "CME"...?

Oh, my apologizes.
CME is Chicago Music Exchange.
http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com

Thanks (I should have known.)

I briefly looked for a Rick Toaster, and it can be difficult to find/buy something older and/or atypical; you have to be lucky on ebay. But I found "The Creamery" website interesting, not only because they sell various toaster replacements, but categorize their options historically.

https://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/cust ... ckups.html

Hmmm.... I can't find a direct link here to those historical articles by Glen Lambert....