Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Javier,

I've got one of Sergio's specials for my horseshoe (and very good it is too) and he built it with polepieces that are flush to the bobbin rather than the button types RIC use. This gives me even more clearance, so if you do decide to go for a Sergio-built replacement that would certainly help your problem.

Reading through the forums a while back I remember seeing posts from people who had bent their shoes outwards which gives more clearance. Certainly some horseshoes seem to be entirely parallel whereas some (yours included judging by the photo) are opened out somewhat. There may be scope for a little more opening up of yours but obviously with a degree of caution

Also, another easy option for regaussing the shoes is my posting here in the "Winding up with the Best" forum called "Remagnetising Horseshoes" http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/view ... 3&t=347319

Hope this helps.
Steve.

pflash4001 wrote:On the other issue...is there anything that can be done to increase the gap so the strings don't rattle?

Only on the reissue horseshoes, not the original shoes.

Hi again, Javier. No point in sending me the original '68 pickups for a "soup-up job", really. Building a new set from scratch is a much better option, believe me. Which reminds me, didn't I send you a toaster pickup of my own for installing on one of your 4001 basses not many years ago?

Yes, you did. It lives in my 1979 and is very, very happy there. I have a hard time believing that such a good intrument would have an issue like the pickup rattle thing with no resolution. I just don't want to do anything to screw up this original pickup.

stevebasshead wrote:...Reading through the forums a while back I remember seeing posts from people who had bent their shoes outwards which gives more clearance. Certainly some horseshoes seem to be entirely parallel whereas some (yours included judging by the photo) are opened out somewhat. There may be scope for a little more opening up of yours but obviously with a degree of caution

Orignal HorseShoe pickups shouldn't need to be bent open as they already are bent to match the crown of the neck. The only ones you would want to bend open are the reissue HorseShoes as they are the parallel ones. In the thread you speak of the reason for bending was so they would resemble an original HorseShoe.

And from what I understand, the original horsies are made of a much more brittle metal. The RI horsies will bend, but the original horsies are likely to break if you try to bend them.

The originals are brittle as JH mentioned a long time ago.

The aesthetic only RI HS is a completely different prospect and can be manhandled accordingly.

"Original Horseshoe pickups shouldn't need to be bent open as they already are bent to match the crown of the neck"...

Look closer at my first post there Ben, and you'll see that is not always the case. My radius would be very twisted if following that pair of shoes!

ben_brown wrote:

stevebasshead wrote:...Reading through the forums a while back I remember seeing posts from people who had bent their shoes outwards which gives more clearance. Certainly some horseshoes seem to be entirely parallel whereas some (yours included judging by the photo) are opened out somewhat. There may be scope for a little more opening up of yours but obviously with a degree of caution

Orignal HorseShoe pickups shouldn't need to be bent open as they already are bent to match the crown of the neck. The only ones you would want to bend open are the reissue HorseShoes as they are the parallel ones. In the thread you speak of the reason for bending was so they would resemble an original HorseShoe.

In that case, best play safe rather than sorry and leave well alone. That said, in my nerdier moments I've paused DVD closeups of Chris's RM1999 and his shoes really do seem to be completely flattened, maybe just from years of living under Chris's mits...

here's some pics of a 60s horseshoe

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/68-ric-2.htm

What is the actual point of the horseshoe pickups? I dont get what the (i guess you'd say shoes) are for.

I just remember saying I didn't want one because I play over the bridge about 90% of the time while playing my ric. Having something there to play around just seemed like a bad idea

Oh btw, Its sabbath of bass. Couldn't remember the old SN/PW.

ben_brown wrote:...the reason for bending was so they would resemble an original HorseShoe.

That was only part of the reason I bent mine, the other being to give more room for adjusting the pickup downward as they are really hot compared to toasters.

What is the actual point of the horseshoe pickups? I dont get what the (i guess you'd say shoes) are for.

The horseshoes make that particular pickup function. The shoes are magnetized, and the strings go inside the magnetic field, and when they move, they disturb the magnetic field and cause an AC current which gets sent out to your amp. I don't have it handy right now, but you could look up the patent number for that pickup originally and study the patent notes to see how it works if you're really curious.

Greg

soundmasterg wrote:...I don't have it handy right now, but you could look up the patent number for that pickup ...Greg

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