Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well we have a thread on toaster v. high gain so why not a thread on horseshoe v. high gain.

I did replace my (failing) high gain on the neck of my '78 4001 w/a toaster. Now, my thinking runs, in order to have a backup (working) high gain, I could order a horseshoe for the bridge position. What differance do you all think I could expect?

I was reading the interview w/John Hall on BunnyBass and he indicated that the pickups had less to do with the tone than the construction of the bass (e.g. neck through, etc.) Since the horshoe is much more expensive would this make sense at all? Does the horshoe even swap directly into a 4001?

The current horseshoe v63 and C series are not the same as the old 60's horseshoe pickups ...

The current horseshoe sounds more like the high gain than the old horseshoe ... My opinion is the Horseshoe is prettier but the high gain sounds better ...

I'm pretty sure the Horseshoe will fit right into a 4001 bridge pickup route...
I personally like the horseshoe better than the high gain, but I think the "C" horseshoe is different than the one for the "V" series, which is what I have...

What do the old horse shoes sound like Jeff? I've always wondered, are they punchy? Do they have the .0047 cap in line to cut the bass?

I have a 1968 4001 ... it came with the horseshoe and toaster ... I am not a fan of the .0047 capaciter ... but with the original horseshoe and toaster it makes sense and sounds good ... there is a problem with the old style horseshoe pickups .. they deguass more than other pickups ... the old horseshoe was the magnet ... this two piece magnet surrounded the strings and the wires and the pole pieces with a magnetic field ... the new horseshoes have alnico pole pieces ...

so what does it sound like ... kind of a cross between an old high gain and a toaster ... my old horseshoe lacks bite and power until I put in the capaciter ... then it has treble bite ... but no lows ... and not much mid ... the old horseshoes were not as hot as 70's or 90's pickups ... since it is 34 years old it probably has degaussed and therefore sounds different than it did in '68.

I currently have an early high gain in the '68 ... one of those early models that has the adjustable screw pole pieces ... I run it without the capaciter and I put a 4003 high gain in the neck ... this gives it more volume, more bass, more mids, and it still has a real treble bite ... it is a real sweet bass ... it's a real looker too ...

Thanks all for the responses. Jeff, your posts here and on other threads have left me very curious about removing or bypassing the caps. I am just so slow at doing these mods (read nervous) that it means at least a day of downtime -- that's if I don't screw up. And I don't have a backup bass. Still, if I'm going to have the pickgaurd off perhaps I might as well throw the horseshoe in while I'm messing with the caps. Looks like curiosity is going to have it's way with this old cat again.

If you have moderate soldering skills then it would be easy to remove the bass cut capaciter ... and if you don't like it then it is easy to re-install ... you will need an insulated wire about 1 inch in length, a screw driver and a soldering iron ...

My soldering skills can be charitably described as moderate. I did manage to replace the neck pickup with a toaster and I've replaced the toggle switch and output jack on my epiphone les paul. The epiphone electronics have been well this side of robust. But I sweat and worry a lot more when messing with the Ric.