Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Refining a previous Topic (thanks for those replies):

There seems to be a slight need for PU that has a bit more gain without loosing the nuances of the new 7.4ks. My 12ks (on a 360 12) have a little
sparkle but plenty of "meat". Hi gains (never owned any) appear to do the same. However, the "crackling highs" of the 7.4ks (listen to a Buddy Clontz
Youtube) are in a league of their own.

What would happen (Sergio, or anyone else) if a Toaster split the difference with a custom "scatterwind" (or 1/2 scatter 1/2 concentric) to say 9.75 or 10k? It would be interesting to gauge just where jangle and oomph overlapp better without significant loss of either. Or is the "sliding" scale just not enough to notice by anyone but dogs? Is there a way to "reostat" (like a household dimmer) from one to the other and in between?

I know you could mount a "hot" and "cool" toaster on one guitar and blend between the two, but the output matching might defeat the idea. Any thoughts?

Originally, a coil tap was a lead that would allow you to have two different windings on one pickup when one was grounded. So, you could have a pickup wound to 14k with a tap at 7.4 or so that would allow you to access either by pushpull pot, mini toggle, or a regular pot.

Now what is commonly referred to as a coil tap is actually the switching off one of two coils in a humbucker, to get that single coil sound. Peavey used a custom taper pot that allowed for a gradual blend between the two on their old T60 guitars, and some others, to great musical affect. Very smooth, unlike most that will just give all or nothing.

It would be great to have the ability to get both the standard, and higher wound versions of both the high gains, and toasters, as they're always such a common topic of debate. Wired up to rotary switch, you could have some really cool possibilities at your fingertips.

Thanks, Mike,

Interesting remarks. It seems that at least some of this has been tried to a degree before.

The original Toaster pickups on my '89 381 measured 7.5K (neck) and 9K (bridge) when I got it - I actually think they may have been truly original like this too, because there was absolutely no sign that either pickup had been unwound or tampered with, and from the age of the guitar and the Philips corner screws I would have expected 12Ks. The 9K bridge did sound a little warmer and fatter than a normal 7.4K - not a lot, but noticeable.

Still not enough for me though! So I traded them to a RIC Forum member for some High-Gains of the right period. I'm not sure it hasn't overdone it - the High-Gain neck in particular (18K!) is a bit too muddy, although I have more or less fixed it by adding a small cap across the 5th pot. I'm still wondering whether stock 12Ks are the best of all - I've never directly compared them to the High-Gains on the same guitar but they do sound great whenever I've heard them.

If you have 12K Toasters, PLEASE DO NOT UNWIND THEM!!! If you want 7.4Ks, trade them with someone who has 7.4s and wants the 12Ks. RIC aren't making 12Ks any more and it's a pity to reduce the number in existence.