Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Would anyone with access to a 4001v63 (or a CS?) please post or e-mail me the following dimensions from the 4001v63's horseshoe pickup assembly:

1. The inner "diameter"/length of the heavy metal split horseshoe ("A" to "B").
2. The outer "diameter"/length of the heavy metal split horseshoe ("C" to "D").
3. The distance between the center of the two large philips head screws ("*") just beyond each end of the heavy metal split horseshoe ("E" to "F").
4. The overall length of the horseshoe pickup assembly's baseplate ("G" to "H").
5. The overall width of the horseshoe pickup]s assembly baseplate ("I" to "J").
6. The distance between the pair of mounting screw holes ("x") on the "bridge side" of the horseshoe pickup.
7. The distance between the pair of mounting screw holes ("x") on the "neck side" of the horseshoe pickup.
8. Please also describe the construction and appearance of the 4-pole pickup (bobbin & pole pieces) "inside" the heavy metal split horseshoe.

(Hopefully the following "text character diagram" makes sense and comes out close to the way I've typed it in...)

A|----------------|B
C|------------------|D
E|---------------------|F
G|---------------------------|H

(neck side) I
----------------------------- -
| x x | |
| ( ((-------- --------)) ) | |
| |*|| ||*| | |
| ( ((-------- --------)) ) | |
\ x x / |
\ / |
------------------------ -
(bridge side) J

The reason I'm asking for all this is that following a lead I got on the a.g.r. newsgroup, I just recently found & purchased what very clearly is a 5- string horseshoe pickup and assembly for my 4003s/5. I've never run into one of these for a 5-string before. It looks and "feels" exactly like a 5-sting version of the 4001v63's relatively massive 4-string horseshoe assembly. I'm trying to determine if the parts are "scaled up" at all for the 5-string (other than the 5-pole pickup itself which obviously is), or if the various parts are the same as on
the "standard" 4-string model, but just with a 5-pole pickup inside...

Although the dealer never saw another pickup like this one before, the dealer believes it is a genuine Rickenbacker article (and the dealer is a Rickenbacker dealer). Note, the item came in a plastic bag with a sticker on it which reads, "I-19716 acc Rickenbaker pickup and surround bass pickup mss $199.00" According to the dealer, it came in that plastic bag with that sticker already on it. None of the dealer's other items new or used, were similarly packaged or had a similar sticker. I'm no expert, but it certainly looks and feels right...

Any comments?

Thanks,
Richard Gordon
[email protected]
[email protected]

Folks, sorry that the text character graphic in my posting didn't work... It got all scrunched to the left... But hopefully the written descriptions of what I'm asking about are sufficiently clear so you can follow what I'm interested in learning...

Thanks again,
Richard Gordon
[email protected]
[email protected]

Knowing the thinking of the factory ,I will say that the platyes are one and the same.

The horseshoe 'magnets' are one and the same

the coil is no doubt a different matter but it can only be 'so' wide.

The bridges on these were the same 4 string base but with the mute area cut away to expose a full/cleaned out area .That way NO new tooling for that piece needed to be done.
The saddle assemble I don't remember how it was constructed but that had to be different ,yet the height adjustment screws were in the same place.

Thanks for the reply, Mark.

FWIW, here are the measurements and descriptions from my 5-string horseshoe pickup assembly...

1. Inner diameter of the horseshoe - 3 7/8"
2. Outer diameter of the horseshoe - 4 1/4"
3. Distance between the phillips screw heads - 5"
4. Overall baseplate length - 5 3/4"
5. Overall baseplate width - 3 1/4"
6. "Bridge side" mounting screw hole distance - 3 1/8"
7. "Neck side" mounting screw hole distance - 3 1/2"
8. The pickup inside the horseshoe is a 3 1/4" long x 1 1/2" wide elongated oval black bobbin with open sides. The bobbin is about 3/8" high. The pickup windings are covered by a black tape-like material. The pole tops are 5 large 10/32" diameter circles flush with the bobbin top, with their centers spaced 1/2" apart.

What is the likelihood that this 5-string bass horseshoe assembly and pickup is fully genuine Rickenbacker, vs the likelihood that it is entirely fake (unlikely given how exact the horseshoe and surround appear to be) vs the likelihood that it is a genuine Rickenbacker horseshoe/surround/base plate with some sort of non-Rick 5-string pickup mounted inside? And if the latter, might it be a Rickenbacker prototype of some sort? Does the sticker on the plastic bag ("I-19716 acc Rickenbaker pickup and surround bass pickup mss $199.00") shed any further light on this?

Any further thoughts?

And, finally, has anyone ever seen or heard of a 5-string Rickenbacker horseshoe before...?

Thanks,
Richard Gordon
[email protected]
[email protected]

Rick uses a green phenolic material for the bobbin tops and bottoms...very similar to PC board matrial.I't like a fiberglass .

The black is just "Jetglo".......

The tape on it is a smooth 3/16" black electrical tape .NO one else in the business uses this.

The likely hood of you having a NON-Rick 5 string pickup is really slim.Who makes such a thing?
Duncan?....................NO
EMG?........................NO
Bartolini..................Yes,but is says Bartolini and doesn't even look at all like the original coil !
Dimarzio?..................NO
Van Zandt?.................NO
Fralin?....................Yes,looks like a Fender
Kent Armstrong?............Yes but it looks like an EMG!
AllParts and W.D.?.........NO

So who is left in the USA?
Small makers that make Fender wannabes and they find the Rickenbacker 5 string market too small to even look at.

I guess without looking at it that it is as stock as a rock!