Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

mc2NY wrote:Who are the Ric pickup gurus who would be the go-to guys for this, to make sure I get the right HS and have it modded correctly?

Either forum members or off-forum experts.

Mark Walker or Sergio come to mind right off.

Welcome!
We all love pictures!
Question-
Does your 71 have a green bobbin (kinda looks like phlegm) or a black painted one.
The snot bobbins are quite a rare prize in of themselves, though they sound way better if you bypass the bass cut cap (.0047mf).

The non horse shoe bobbins are taller and if you choose to try to stuff one in a set of Lap shoes, you won't get enough clearance for the E or A
string to vibrate with out hitting a pole or a shoe.
You can try grinding off the tops of the screw heads, but you run the risk of melting the winding coating where it touches the screw, and in the case of a green bobbin, you destroy something that can not be replaced.

chefothefuture wrote:Welcome!
We all love pictures!
Question-
Does your 71 have a green bobbin (kinda looks like phlegm) or a black painted one.
The snot bobbins are quite a rare prize in of themselves, though they sound way better if you bypass the bass cut cap (.0047mf).

The non horse shoe bobbins are taller and if you choose to try to stuff one in a set of Lap shoes, you won't get enough clearance for the E or A
string to vibrate with out hitting a pole or a shoe.
You can try grinding off the tops of the screw heads, but you run the risk of melting the winding coating where it touches the screw, and in the case of a green bobbin, you destroy something that can not be replaced.

Which is my current situation. But maybe for not much longer!

John, do you think the slotted pole piece bobbin used on the horseshoe is shorter than its non horseshoe brother? I think both are .5 of an inch tall. I took a quick measurement of mark Walker's bobbin in his 68 and it appears it's .5 of an inch. IMHO the huge difference is the wider oping on the 68 shoes to accommodate the higher.
bobbin.


Sepp

The shoes don't look wider, the bobbin is shorter.

Sepp- the bobbin in my 68 HS is shorter than the bobbin in my 69 21r.

Another difference between the bobbins is the non HS bobbins are generally
coated with a clear finish which yellows giving the sickly phlemish
color. Imperfections in the coating can really make one look like ghastly.
The HS bobbins do not have a coating so the green resin stays bright.

Jeff,
I disagree. The opening on the shoes found on the 1968 green bobbins are most definitely wider than the raised lip bobbin shoes.I have a 1968 horsie bass with a green bobbin and those shoes are open 25.25mm. as compared to the 23.24mm opening on a pair of late 50's shoes. John says his 69 greenie is shorter than his 68 Horsie. I believe him but the shoes in a 68 are much further spread than the prior years shoes. Why? I do not know. I'm guessing the greenie was taller than the raised lip.

Does this bobbin look short? Do the shoes look more spread? A comparison foto of a 1968 shoe and a pre 68 shoe. Sepp

chefothefuture wrote:Sepp- the bobbin in my 68 HS is shorter than the bobbin in my 69 21r.

John,

By how much shorter?

Sepp

Apparently, there was a bit of variation with the shoes and bobbins as were many things back in that era.

Kopfjaeger wrote:

chefothefuture wrote:Sepp- the bobbin in my 68 HS is shorter than the bobbin in my 69 21r.

John,

By how much shorter?

Sepp

I'll have to measure, but that might take a while as I don't wish to
ruin a fresh set of TIs.
I can tell you that I've got substancially more clearance than the pup you've shown.

John,

Oh no, please don't unwind a fresh set of strings to measure!! Actually, since it's official now, I now own the pup I posted above. A new member posted it a few days ago when he inquired if it was original. This pup belongs in my 1968 Burgundyglo and after a few days of email tag and phone calls, I pulled the trigger minutes ago! I'll measure it once it arrives. Measuring the height of the pup on Mark's 4001 is difficult with the strings on, since I'm not unwinding strings to get a clear measurement. I'm sure it's .5 of an inch. It may be be shorter but not by much.
Sepp

Congrats, Sepp.

Here are a couple photos of the HS pickup I have that was built from early '60s parts.

jps wrote:Congrats, Sepp.

Here are a couple photos of the HS pickup I have that was built from early '60s parts.

That's the kind of bobbin I need for the smaller gap shoes I have.

Kopfjaeger wrote:John,

Oh no, please don't unwind a fresh set of strings to measure!! Actually, since it's official now, I now own the pup I posted above. A new member posted it a few days ago when he inquired if it was original. This pup belongs in my 1968 Burgundyglo and after a few days of email tag and phone calls, I pulled the trigger minutes ago! I'll measure it once it arrives. Measuring the height of the pup on Mark's 4001 is difficult with the strings on, since I'm not unwinding strings to get a clear measurement. I'm sure it's .5 of an inch. It may be be shorter but not by much.

Rick pickup.JPG

Sepp

Congrats Sepp! That one looks pretty similar to mine but the clearance on mine appears to be
greater.
It likely will work out fine on yours so all's well that ends well..

I am SO glad I didn't include a chapter on pickups in my book. There is so much variation with seemingly unclear parameters of time and structures. Hornet's nest!

bassduke49 wrote:I am SO glad I didn't include a chapter on pickups in my book. There is so much variation with seemingly unclear parameters of time and structures. Hornet's nest!

Well, there's time now to unravel the mysteries of Rick pickups for the next one: Rickenbacker Bass Pickups: How The Bottom Got There..........