Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

My toaster is much quieter than the high gain bridge pup

That's normal.

Jack,
You can increase the volume of the toaster by splicing the black rubber grommets in halves or totally remove them to raise the height of the toaster. Better yet, replace the 4 corner screws with very thin wires to hold the pickup together so that it can be raised all the way up. Replace the grommets with 2 short small springs for better height adjustablity.

I think I read here that you have to be careful when removing the neck pickup so something doesn't fall into the cavity, or did I misunderstand? And, I assume I could replace the grommets with the same size springs that are on the bridge pickup? Thanks for your indulgence, since I've never removed the neck pickup before, just the bridge.

The springs for the treble PU are too big and long. The ideal ones would be 1/8" in diameter and length. The springs on Les Paul and Telecaster bridges are quite suitable when cut to desired length.

The only things that are likely to "get lost" when you handle the bass (toaster or hi-gain) pickups are the 2 little mounting screws, rubber grommets and the springs. Just keep an eye on them or put them in a safe place when changing pickups.

I can increase the volume of my toaster by inserting wheat bread and pressing down. But you know Rickenbacker, every toaster is different...

I love this place.

Some sort of Swiss bread is preferable, possibly a Krustenkroner, Zucherbrot, or a Tessiner perhaps, depending on your taste.

french toast?

Dave I disagree with you that the toasters will read at 7.4k...I do agree that you will notice a difference when it is out of circuit, but I have 3 toasters, all new within the last couple years, and none of them are 7.4k. That may be the number Ric is shooting for, but they don't seem to hit it consistently. But on the other hand, the reading does seem to change with temperature from day to day, so that could account for the difference. Incidentally, the toasters I have are 6.7k, 6.9k, and 7.1k.

my 1968 horseshoe reads 8.32k ...

Greg, I can't argue with your measurements and I haven't measured any toasters personally. My observation was based on what has been written here about the newer toasters being wound to 7.4K via a computerized scatterwinding program.

All ohm meters are not created the same. I cringe when I hear "get a meter at Radio Shack". Also, most people forget to zero the meter to the leads before measuring, which compensates for lead length and battery voltage. Finally, lead tips and/or pickup solder joints covered in rust or corrosion don't make for perfect measurements.

Modern toasters leaving the factory are wound to the exact number of turns with controlled tension, all controlled by the computer. They will read 7.42K ohms on the Fluke digital bench meter when done.

For what I do in my little work shop the radio shack ohm meter works just fine ... a 80% to 90% accuracy is good enough for me ... I can tell if a pickup is hot or not ... working or dead ...

. . . and in most cases that's really all you need to know.

Greg Simon's readings are within the 90% accuracy level, half again better than the plus/minus 20% level you find acceptable.

John, thanks for clearing that up. I was sure you had said it before, just couldn't find it.

I have a nice Fieldpiece DMM, it's not in the same class as a Fluke bench meter but its specs say it's accurate within 0.5%. My readings certainly don't vary with the weather, and they have been accurate when compared to specs of different products I have measured. Good enough for me.

And for the Analog crowd, we have the Simpson VOM's ...