4001V63 Horseshoe PUP

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:24 pm

The old ones are usually angled; the one exception that I have seen is the horseshoes on Chris Squire's bass. The V63 shoes are parallel but the latest batch are supposed to be angled. I took my parallel ones and angled them to look more authentic and to allow a great range of height adjustment. With the tops parallel the A and D strings would hit the underside of them limiting the range of adjustment.

Before:

After:

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:29 pm

Thanks Jeff. Curious, I've never taken my Horseshoe apart or even looked at the underside of it enough to remember really, but how did you bend them like that?

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:30 pm

The easiest way I found to angle the shoes is to take a 1/2" threaded stud of a lenght to fit in between the parallel top and bottom of the shoe and put a nut on both ends of it. Place this within the opening of the shoe and turn the nuts in opposite directions to spread out the "tangs" of the shoe. Put a small piece of sheet aluminum between the nuts and the shoe to help protect the finish. You should spread the shoes out a bit farther than you want them to be as they will spring back some. I made mine to match the arc of the strings.

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:39 pm

So there was actually no bending of the metal, just simple joint manipulation. I wonder if it would actually be easier to just bend them though.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:46 pm

I did bend them, each half is one piece of curved mild steel. Here are some shots of '60s horseshoe pickups to get an idea of the construction. The old ones were made of a different metal that was brittle and would crack, but the V63 shoes can be bent to shape.

This is how they work:

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:52 pm

with that kind of a curve is the magnetic field any different? I've also noticed that the old ones have slots in them, and the re-issues don't (I'm a novice when it comes to Rick vintage pickups), and that the new ones aren't magnetic at all? Am I right? I have a weird problem with my horseshoe. for some reason output on the E string alone is very weak and barely audible, but the other three are strong.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:04 pm

Are you sure you have a horseshoe pickup? I assume by slot you mean the gap between the two shoes, right?

The old HSPUs had magnetized shoes and steel pole pieces to direct the magnetic flux to the strings, as seen in the patent drawing. The V63 HSPUs use alnico magnetic slugs in place of the pole pieces just like most modern PUs do but the steel shoes do have an effect on the magnetic flux and contribute somewhat to the final effect on the strings.

"with that kind of a curve is the magnetic field any different"

The alnico magnets are staggered in height to match the arc of the strings so with the mod that I did to my two V63 HSPUs the gap between the shoes and magnets are now evenly matched, before the mod the spacing for the E and G strings were larger than for the A and D strings. If anything my PUs are more "balanced" now than the stock PUs would be.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:12 pm

"output on the E string alone is very weak and barely audible"

I had that problem with a Seymour Duncan pickup in one of my Zon basses, turned out to be a defective pickup, as Joe Zon sent me a replacement which was fine. I also had a Zon Sonus Special 5 fretless that used Bartolini multi-coil pickups in which the B and G strings were considerably louder than the E,A and D strings. Since both PUs were that way I figured that was a design fault of those PUs. I sold that bass and bought a Sonus 5/1 fretless with the single SD pickup. The problem SD pickup was in my fretted Sonus 5/1. I gave the fretted Zon to a friend of mine but I still have the fretless bass.

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:27 pm

I definately have a horseshoe. its a re-ish pickup. I meant about the slots in the pole pieces, that mine don't have, because its a re-ish.

jonpaul · Post by **jonpaul** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:29 pm

OK, back to my original question, how do you take the split cover off the PUP on the Horseshoe PUP? If it is not able to be done then who can you purchase a new PUP assembly from? Thanks, D.B.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:32 pm

Nolan is referring to the slotted pan-head screws used as polepieces on some of the original HS pickups.
The very low E string output is probably due to either the string being old/defective or the E polepiece having lost its magnetic charge (hardly likely though). Or maybe the E string is a bit high relative to the other strings.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:45 pm

Are your pole pieces bright and shiny or dull and dark in color? The alnico magnets are the bright and shiny variety; if so, these should not have any slots in them, just flat tops that are about 1/4" in diameter.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:54 pm

David,
To remove the shoes take the PU out of the bass and remove it from the surround. On the bottom of the mounting plate there will be four screws that hold the whole assembly together, two go into the bobbin and two hold the shoes from rotating. carefully remove the screws and the shoes will slide right out. Get something (a piece of plastic, wood, etc.) to put where the shoes were between the mounting plate and the bobbin so that the pickup will be at the height it was originally. You will need to drill holes in that piece for the screws. The whole procedure is easier to do than to describe. Finally put the surround back on and put it back in your bass. You do not have to unsolder the pickup to do this operation.

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:06 pm

Thank you Sergio. I'll look into string height on that one. I've changed the strings numerous times but still the low E is weak.

Jeff, the pole pieces on mine are a flat topped dull grey

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:23 pm

Sounds like magnets that are non adjustable. Do the flat tops have sharp (hard) edges to them or are they somewhat rounded? And are they staggered in height with the ones for the E and G strings lower than the A and D ones?