Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey,

I was just tweaking the pickup distance from my strings and I must say that by moving the bass pickup (toaster) away I improved it's tone (less muddy). With my low action it was probably too close.

My only issue now is that the bridge pickup sounds thin (no cap). I have had to move it away from the strings to prevent them from clipping it on the bass side (I play hard with my fingers) but as a result it begins to sound thin (well, it was thin before).

How far to you guys with older rics (pre 73 high gain) keep your toasters and bridge pickups from the strings? And do you find the toasters to be higher output than the bridge pickup? Finally, do any of you adjust the slugs in the bridge pickup (mine are the screw top type... I just adjusted mine as they appeared raised... then I red in my modern ric manual that you should not adjust them. Should I be concerned? Still sounds fine to me.)

thanks for any help

You are right about the tone changing by lowering the pickup. This reduces the strength of the magnetic field around the string. The string will vibrate more (less magnetic dampening) but will be "heard" less by the pickup. Pickup height is purely the preference of the player. Softer playing styles can get away with a higher pickup while heavier hands may want it lower. The distance can vary from instrument to instrument even instruments of the same type. You pretty much have to go by feel and ear. My only pre '73 is a '63 with a horseshoe. Horseshoes have their own set of problems with height. Too low and the strings hit the magnets. Too high and the strings hit the poles. It is balancing act to get it just right.

I agree with Ted. I have a '72 and a '73, and I tend to sacrifice a little gain for more room (I'm also a hard finger player). Both basses have screw-tops, and I never adjust them, though it doesn't sound as if you hurt anything.

Relative pickup strength really seems to be on a case-by-case basis. In general--though not always--hi-gains do seem to have, in fact more gain than toasters. As long as the bass sounds balanced, I'm happy.

The slugs in the later pickups can be adjusted but I am not sure it is a good idea. They have steep splines that lift them out very quickly when turned.