Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Folks,
I'd like to buy 2 Ric 4003 neck or toaster pups for a project I'm working on. Anyone know where I could get these pickups?

Yeah, right.

Thanks folks. I see the toasters are listed under guitar pups. Are they suitable for bass or am I confused about their application? In terms of tone, what are the HB1 humbuckers like?

I'm building a hollow body short scale bass and will probably go with a neck and bridge pup setup. I like the looks of both and I love the sound of my 4003, so I thought Ric pups might be a great way to go. I'm also only going to wire the controls V-V, no tone knobs, never use them anyway!

The toasters are one and the same for guitar and bass. I have HB1s in my new 4004Cii and they do sound different than the toasters. They are more "contemporary" sounding, that is deeper, fuller, more modern sounding than the toasters. I am thinking of putting toasters in my 4004 Cii. A major advantage of the HB1 however is that they are quiet. Now if only RIC would do what Alembic does by using a dummy, hum cancelling coil to make the toasters quiet. That would be really cool, huh?

Doc, the toasters are old-style guitar pickups with low output and an unacceptable signal-to-noise ratio. The only reason they are around is because some folks are obsessed with getting some exact particular jangle sounds that someone else got 35-40 years ago. Unless that's the sound you're going for, IMHO you would be much better served by the RIC hi-gains or humbuckers, or the Les Paul bass humbuckers you inquired about elsewhere.

Gee whiz Dave. That is pretty harsh. I had a bad (low output, high noise) high gain in the neck of my 4001 and when I replaced it I chose a re-issue toaster largely out of curiosity. I really like it. Hard to say what about the noise since it was replacing a failing PU that produced beaucoup hum), but I really like the sound it puts out. I don't know if this is just a matter of personal preference or variation between individual pickups but I've got nothin bad to say about it.

One of the great advantages of the toaster, high gain and humbucking RIC pickups is that they have the same footprint and as such are interchangeable. Each produces its own unique sound on guitars and basses.

Their application really depends upon personal preference and as such it is difficult, in my view, to rate one over the other. They are easy to swap out and I have learned a great deal about the tonality of these pickups through experimentation.

Ah, now I see. Well, the humbucker tone is more to my liking for sure. I've got 2 humbuckers in another bass and I love that tone. Deep and full is where I'm at!

Say, can I use a toaster cover on the HB1s? That's a great look for sure!

Gordon, I didn't intend to be harsh, just stating my opinion. In any case, your experience involved a defective hi-gain. A properly working hi-gain is pretty low-noise for a single coil, noticeably quieter than a toaster.

I tend to agree with dave on the toasters. while im sure they are good in the guitars.....on the basses the hi gains are better. The toaster in my 73 4001 sounds nice but its not powerful enough.

also, if the toasters were so good, why did rickenbacker phase them out?

They probably phased them out because of competition for "the loudest guitar wins" contest.

Interesting history on the toasters. So, can you use those neat toaster covers on the HB1s? Still curious.....

I don't think so because of the raised black bars of the toaster that fits into the slots of the cover. It may fit but will not fully seat down on the pickup. Just a guess as I have not tried it.