Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

What is the resistance of current RIC neck high gains? I know the treble pickups are like 12K - 13K but are the neck pickups that hot too?

4003 bass, 11-12K. Guitar, dunno.

most 4003 high gains are in the 11k ohm range some come out a little hotter ...

most toasters are in the 7.4k ohm range ... some were hotter ...

70s high gains are in the 8k ohm range ...

reissue horseshoes are between 8k ohms and 13k ohms from what I have heard ...

the old horseshoes were in the 6k ohm range

hb1 and hb2 pickups are 15k ohms ...

the 4003 bridge high gain is 15k ohms ...

your individual pickup may vary 1k ohm +/-

in the late 80s some high gains and toasters were hotter ...

I think all of that info is reasonably accurate ...

So the neck pickups are wound the same as the treble pickups? The current neck pickups would be about 11K + or -?

My brand new FL: neck: 10.73K, bridge: 11.02 This is what most of my newer ones measured, They pack a punch not found in the older ones. My 70's 4001's were between 7K and 8K, one was about 8.5K. My transitional high gain in my 72 is around 6K, forgot what the old toaster in it is, I think somewhere around 8K.

on most 4003 basses the difference between the neck and bridge pickup is the size of the magnet ...

Oh, my post about my 70's pickups should have read is, not was, they're still right here, going no where.

How can I measure this gain?

It's resistance, ohms, it's not impedance as there are no caps or inductors in the path (I believe it's not impedance although the pickup itself is an inductor) you measure it with a multimeter, you plug in a cord to the mono plug. Put the pickup selector switch down to measure the bridge pickup, switch up to measure the neck. Put the two leads from the multimeter on the end of the cord. You are also measuring the resistance of the cord and wires but that should be very minimal.

Should the volume pot be all the way up when you do that Bob?

Wow, I got me some hot toasters and shoes then!
'91 4001CS- toaster, 10.45 shoe, 12.94
'94 4001V63- toaster, 12.23 shoe, 9.11

you get the most accurate reading on an ohm meter when the pickup is disconnected from the bass ...

Yes, if the pickup is still attached to the controls, you get the resistance of the volume pot added into things so it isn't totally accurate. Also, the reading you get changes with temperature. Any old DMM will work fine to measure as long as it is moderately accurate.

You can measure other specs of the pickup, like inductance, AC resistance, Q, etc. but you need a special meter to do those, and the pickup has to be disconnected from the circuit to get an accurate reading. The Extech 380193 meter is what Rickenbacker uses, and I have one too. They are under $200 and test the pickup specs at 120 hz and 1000hz. Inductance readings will tell you far more about the sound than a DC resistance reading, but the DC resistance reading will give you an approximation of the pickup that most people are able to check so that is often why it is used. To get other info about a pickup like impedance or resonant frequency, you need more specialized and expensive equipment.

Fran, your toasters are from when Rickenbacker made them hotter, and they are in great demand now. I wouldn't mind a couple myself. They make the new toaster at around 7.4k and have made it that way since 1999 (?) I believe.

Greg, I guess that's good news! Both these basses sound darker than any of my 70s ones. Not real easy to get the zing without outboard help.

Yeah the pot should be all the way open, same with the tone, there shouldn't be very much resistance in an open pot. I think the resistance of the open pot would be negligible compared to the pickup itself, if it wasn't you would lose a lot of volume in the pot itself which is not good. Another thing you could do if you want it close to exact is to short circuit the two wiper arms on the pot which is still easier than unsoldering the pickups. But for me the end of the cord is close enough.