Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

John Hall has said they never used the 60's style horseshoe pickups in the V63. Given that, I can't explain Andy's unless it was altered or a one-off.

Folks - I don't know the answer, but I can tell you for sure that the HS in these PICS is the HS that came with the bass when I originally purchased it back in May of 1985. No alterations or replacements.

We do know that or at least we've heard that boxes and pallets of goodies have turned up in the RIC warehouse from time to time. It wouldn't surprise me that some of the early V's, as Wintz noted had some of the left overs parts from back in the day.

Bottomline is this HS is certainly different from the later reissues.

Maybe John meant to say that no new old stock HS pickups had been used on the first V63's. No?

I can never see too many photos of that V63, Andy!

I'm no Horseshoe expert but I do have a couple of the newer ones and I have played and examined a few of the 60's ones. I know that Andy's HS is different form the later ones; it is magnetized, the shape of the shoes is different, the pole pieces are screw-top as opposed to alnico slug. But something is catching my eye here: The whatever-you-call-it thing-plate that the screw poles are screwed into doesn't look like the ones I've seen from the 60's. It looks like the new oval paperboard-ish type that are on the later V63 HS, the 4003S/5 and the C64 HS.

Based on that and on Ted's answer from JH I'd say that this was a new pickup made in 1985, not an NOS 60's HS, and that two versions of the HS were made for the V63.

I don't doubt the that it is factory. Perhaps Andy's was an early example maybe even used for exhibition (NAMM show?).

I wonder how many like Andy's were made, and for how many years?

Jeff - I constantly look for V's that are as old or older than mine and haven't been able to find any. The closest I’ve seen is like an ’88 – with the exception of Bob’s debated prototype… (which I believe it was)

The day I bought this bass, they had a fireglo and mapleglo for me to choose from - wish I grabbed both. Things were slightly different 21 years ago!

The whatever-you-call-it-thing-plate feels like plastic or some other hard material – definitely not paperish…

Both Andy and Bob's have/had basses that had magnetized horseshoes, just like the 60's basses. All the other examples it seems don't.

Logical conclusion:- Both basses have horseshoes (not bobbin/baseplates etc..) from a period when the 'shoes were charged.

The rest do not and are new.

I had one of the first ones in '84. It's shoes were magnetic and had pole screws.
The neck was a bat and had a 19th fret dot.
But it was a V63 and had all the goodies like a square heal, one piece neck w/ walnut wings....
Wish I still had it, sigh.....

There's another one then...

In November, 1984 I attended the Beatlefest In Los Angeles. Rickenbacker had some table space in the main "for sale" room and the V-series instruments were on display (but not for sale).

I'm sure that the 4001V63 had magnetised horseshoes as I, having never seen such a pickup up close, asked to see what it looked like underneath the 'shoes. He held the bass up so I could get a good look underneath, and the way I remember seeing it was that it appeared to be a bobbin and polepiece setup as found on a then-current 4001. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I really don't believe I saw alnico polepieces in there. Too bad I didn't note the SN.

Mine's an '88. The body (wider horns) and headstock match Andy's pretty closely. It has a thin one piece neck with a square heel. The HS does not have screws and is more horizontal where the two halves meet on top (like Jared's bottom pic). The HS surround is more square than the later issues. The tailpiece has two screws in the heel. The body is 1 3/16 inch thick. There seem to be quite a few variations during the v63's life span.

So much interest in vintage/reissue basses. Makes me wonder why we gotta 'scrounge ebay or the pawn shops... and why the factory isn't responding.

Hey! Wanna see my '58 reissue * Bass? I love it! *&^%$# knows!

Nix that.