Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

A guy I used to play with had one in the neck position of his Goldtop & a Duncan P90 in the bridge. I recall the neck wasn't as muddy as most Les Pauls seem to be.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsnyal3sumo.html

Maybe these could be fitted on a 300 series Rickenbacker?

http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsnyodestsu.html

Or these for a P90ish vibe?

A bit off topic, but didn't Chris at Pick of the Ricks have a "Kenny Howes Signature" 330 with RIC humbuckers last year?

UHH... "Bad 80s Rickys"??? Yeah right GFS!!

I can't comment on the sound, but Seymour Duncan makes a humbucking pickup for a Rick with a traditional Rick foot-print. Here's the link: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/customshop.shtml

I wonder if any of the boutique pup manufacturers would be up to the challenge of winding a Brustbuckers equivalent that would fit in a Ric. I'm thinking of someone like like Jason Lollar, Dave Stephens, Fralin, etc.

BTW, I have the Ric HBs in my 360 and really like them.

I wonder what those seymour dunkin p-90's or humbuckers would sound like.

I'm sure the boutiques could do it, but would they want to? And would you be able to afford it? I know Dave Stephens personally (in addition to Jason, Wolfe, and some others) but I see Dave every week and he doesn't really like Rickenbackers very much, and doesn't have much of an interest in doing anything with them.

Also, anytime you change the dimensions of a pickup, it's sound changes....so while they may be able to come up with something that might fit in a RIC, it would be different sounding than a Burstbucker.

http://www.axesrus.com/axehumbuckers.htm

Look halfway down the page & theres a Mini H/B / Filtertron style Pup (similar looks to a toaster?) that might fit on a Rickenbacker, maybe get someone like Bare Knuckle Pickups to upgrade & rewind it?


"£21.00 EACH POWERFULL FILTRON STYLE LAY FLAT MINI HUMBUCKERS IN CHROME
BRIDGE=8.6K NECK = 7.5K (FULLY COPPER SHIELDED)

3 9/16" BY 1 1/2" BY 5/8" HIGH"

Just an idea?

I think that Greg's right...they wouldn't sound the same as a full blown 'bucker. I guess the only way to really find out, is a routing job & a free invitation to the hall of shame!

It's a big gamble though, especially if it doesn't sound like you expect!!!

It was just a thought. My BIL is a big fan of Dave Stephens, having having two Gibsons and a Tele equipped with Stephens' pups.

The best thing to do would be to find a beat, newish 330 that needs a lot of cosmetic work anyway & try it, but that doesn't do much to solve an immediate need.

It could even be a non-FG 330!
Of course, an FG refinish would probably be out: too many repairs to cover.

Guys, What's the difference between a Mini & normal humbucker apart from the size difference?

Due to the size limitations I'd say the amount of wire wound around the bobbin, for a start. As has been already posted, a change in size will affect the tone of the pickup.
I thought the one I knew of sounded sweeter, less low end. I'm no expert, though.
Very useable in the neck position of a Gold Top.
I never had any chance to A/B the two, of course, since it wasn't my guitar.

Yah Dave Stephens' pickups really kick ***. I'm working with him right now on getting some of his pickups in my Epi Dot, and he owes me one of his Broadcaster pickups too for some stuff I did for him in the past. I plan on getting many pickups from Dave in the future. Most people know about Jason's pickups too nowadays, and they're great too. A lot of people don't know Wolfe from Wolfetone, because he's concentrated on OEM stuff for awhile, but he winds some really good pickups too. I have a custom set from him in my Strat. I've been working on Dave to get some enthusiam for RICs, but so far no go. He gets to hear my 330-12 with hi-gains and he says it sounds ok, but he will never try to play one. I've got a 230 also, and it didn't float his boat either, though I love it, especially for rock stuff. I plan to get toasters on my 330-12, and get another 6 string so maybe he might try one out one of these days.

John, keep in mind in any sound comparision a couple things. First is that everyone hears differently due to our different physical arrangements of the ears. Also, there are many types of full size humbuckers and mini humbuckers, and they all sound different. In general terms however, the minis have a brighter sound, and less overall output.

There were Epiphone minis, Gibson minis, and Gibson Firebird minis, with all of them being different sounding, and the Firebirds having the highest output but the cleanest tone, which you don't really notice until the amp is very loud. The minis are much harder to modify without ruining the coils, mostly due to how they are made. The minis have less wire around the coils, which lowers the output power, and the inductance, and the AC resistance goes down. This results in less mids, but more highs, and the lows would be a tad sweeter, but not as present. They are also smaller, which changes the footprint of the pickup and makes it have a brighter sound. They do sound great in the neck position, and are a good match output and tone-wise with a Tele bridge pickup.