Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Dedgoat: Things have changed, but for Rickenbackers it is nice to see just how many features of yesterday are present today. In this world of dial in a digital Vox AC-30 or dial in a digital Gibson 335 it is nice to see some guitars still being made that have the same analog features and sound of the 1960s.

I just wish that there were more of them to study and examine. It would be great for someone to get access to the Ric files( hey it's almost like the "X-Files) and do some serious research and then publish hard data and photos from JH's collection.

Sorry I strayed a bit, anyway back to the original question: what sort of ohms should a 68 era horseshoe read? And if it's weak can it be sent back to Ric to be recharged?

It's been many a year since I studied electronics but I believe the ohms of the pickup depends on the amount of turns and gauge of the wire, not the magnetic field. The magnetic field measurement is called Gauss (like the speakers) which is a direct measurement of how powerful the magnet is. I think most if not all permanent magnets deteriorate over time depending on the material and environment.

This was all very illuminating but I am still left pretty ignorant about how to go about re-charging the horseshoe. I just bought a late 1940s lapsteel (model NS) as a gift and I would really like to re-charge it before giving it as a B-day present in mid Sept. Somehow I don't expect the folks at PG&E (power here in the Bay area) to be very receptive to my wishes. Nor do I really expect my local Ric-unaware luthier to know what to do. Any suggestions?

One way is to put it against a more powerful magnet, but if you do it wrong you can make it weaker, there is a thread somewhere around here about recharging magnets.

First of all Kendall & Gordon, do both of your pickups work? If they do then it ain't broke so don't fix it. True, they might have weakened over time but if the pickup has output then leave it. In trying to recharge them you may make the field weaker instead of stronger.

Well Gary, now you've really got me looking two ways at once. My 4001 does not have a horseshoe but I just bought a late 40s lap steel that does. I was impressed with its output when played through my little Fender Bullet practise amp -- but that doesn't stop the greed in me when I read that such an old horseshoe must surely have weakened by now. The lap steel is a birthday gift for a good friend so I have about two months to fuss and fix up as best I can. Of course, the last thing I want to do is wreck it. There is plenty of volume now but I've got to believe that if the magnet is substantially weaker now than when built, the sound may be different in tone as well as volume so the idea of making it more or less like new is very appealing.

O.K....So we need a workshop on how to recharge these horseshoes...Anyone care to step up and show us students how to reshod our ageing fillies...

I believe Mr.Hall stated in a previous thread that they built a special device over at Rickenbacker just to recharge horseshoe pickups. Perhaps RIC would do it for a fee.

Free??....That would be nice... somehow I think Ric might want some financial input from patrons..I,d be happy to pay if Ric provided this service, to know that it was being done properly....but with such a low number of original horseshoes out there it,s probably not an option at present....

Andrew, read carefully - for a FEE! Oh and by-the-way. There'll be a 12 to 15 month wait to get that done :-{

Ha Ha...thanks Andy...too early in the morning and not enough coffee...4 a fee...O.K...I,d need a turn around a little quicker than your estimate tho...

Hey Wints, I did the same thing you did at first and the time line is a little dig at RIC. I think you know that.

cheers!

Andy..I think we all know about your issues with the Ric time line!!!..but hey at least you,ve still got a sense of humour about it!!! Slow train,s a coming...but well worth the wait...