Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The pickups on my 330 seem to be slanted or angled towards the smallest string. The rubber mounting also seems to be more compressed on one side as well. I've tried measuring the distance directly underneath each string to the pickups and there is some variation. A millimeter or two. Should this be a concern? The intonation is okay as far as I can tell and I plan on replacing the strings with the standard RIC 10 set next weekend.

A millimeter is not a huge distance, but two is excessive IME. Do you notice a difference in volume between your high E and low E?

This may have been a matter of personal preference of the previous owner. If you want things to be evened up once again, you can always remove the pickup and replace the mounting rubber, and a good time to do it is when you're replacing the strings. Once the rubber has been compressed for awhile, it won't reture to its original dimension.

I will have to check if there's a volume difference between high and low E. I haven't noticed one but that doesn't mean there isn't one. I bought the 330 new in March and it was manufactured in the 2nd week of '05. I'm its first owner.

Dan: If it is the rubber pads, and seeing that it is a relatively new instrument, the rubber will bounce back reasonably well. Just loosen the screw a bit on the side you want to raise.

After changing the strings I'll do some testing for loudness between the E strings. If there is a difference I'll tweak the screws on the pickups. Many thanks for the suggestions.

Dan: If you have the foam rubber pads there is no need to wait until you change strings.

Okay thanks. The strings are the ones that the factory installed. The salesman recommended that I change them. I see some oxidation/discoloration on 2 or 3 strings.

I assumed it was an older 330. Peter is right. But I do wonder why it was set up that way. Was it a music store purchase?

I bought it from Sam Ash.

Maybe somebody was practicing luthieranism on it...

Yeah, I started to tweak the screws and found that some were loose.
I found one of the pads needs replacing because it has a tear down the side. I did it trying to adjust the screw. I also put a tiny ding in the body with the screwdriver head. Where can I bring my guitar to have it professionally set up with the utmost care. I'm so frustrated right now.

Dan, next time you take a screwdriver to it, cover the vicinity of the working area with a couple of layers or more or masking tape.

You can reduce the stickiness to make it easier to remove by first sticking it to your pants or shirt and then peeling it up and applying it to your guitar's surface.

I will do that in the future.

I wasn't aware that only the center screws on the pickups adjusted the height. The corner screws tore up the pad on one area.

Can the pad under the pickup be replaced without having to unsolder the electronics? I was thinking I could slide the pad over the pickup.