Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

How can I find out what the original specs are....and is it possible to have these reissues that are running around wound to those specs?

guessing that if I was lucky to find an original pair, they'd run $500-600 but I can get the reissues for about $65 each...OR maybe someone is already selling a pickup to these specs..

any info appreciated

Marc, the originals had a DC resistance reading of @ 10K ohms and approx. 6800 turns of copper wire. I'm not sure of the gauge but Fender usually used an AWG 42, IIRC. Lindy Fralin can and will wind these pickups to spec. I'd drop him a line or phone him to see if he can do what you're looking for with the MIM reissues.

http://www.fralinpickups.com/rewind_repair.asp

The original WRHs had a CuNiFe magnet, the reissues have either a ceramic magnet (Japanese Reissue) or an alnico magnet (Mexican Reissue).

gellkeller wrote:The original WRHs had a CuNiFe magnet, the reissues have either a ceramic magnet (Japanese Reissue) or an alnico magnet (Mexican Reissue).

Yup, and they really don't sound the same. It's amazing what the originals are fetching these days -- I remember getting one back in the mid '80s to do a "Keith Richards" mod for $15! Then again, you could buy a new reissue Tele or Strat for $400 and a used Tele for $250, too.

Yeah, the past 6-7 years, the market for those humbuckers (and the guitars containing them!) has exploded. Suddenly people realized how great they sound, I guess...

One of the things I found on a tele forum was that if you have the reissues, and get 500k pots for them, they tend to sound more like the originals. Particularly the Japan reissue.

I have an email out to Curtis Novak, and await to see what he can do.

They are an AWESOME sounding pickup.

I have a '73 Thinline, a '74 Thinline, a '73 Deluxe and a '78 Custom and each one of them has their tonal differences. I know the 70's guitars from a lot of guitar companies get bagged but I really dig the sound of them. And it's good exercise lugging around all that ash.

Yep, they even sound great bolted into other models.

The Lee Ranaldo "Jazzblaster" model is based on his own customized Jazzmasters with these pickups in them. very unique sounding combo.

marc61 wrote:One of the things I found on a tele forum was that if you have the reissues, and get 500k pots for them, they tend to sound more like the originals. Particularly the Japan reissue.

I have an email out to Curtis Novak, and await to see what he can do.

I've been reading the same stuff since I just picked up my Classic Thinline. But there seems to be mixed opinions--a lot of the posts seem to just automatically suggest the 500K or 1Meg pots because I guess the originals came with them? But then I read that the 250s are better for the RI pickups....

I was thinking of ordering some 500s since I already have the pickguard off the guitar (the bright white pearl is a bit much of a contrast to the 2TS for me), and I figured I'd do the pot swap while it's disassembled, but I think I'm going to stick with the 250s for now.

The original pickups did sound rather special. They are the most dynamic humbucking pickup I've ever heard....

Eden.

I know that I loved mine dearly. Both pups together (the WRHP w/ the single coil Tele bridge ) would nail the tones from many of those Keef rhythm parts recorded during the early '70s. I also had a Tele fitted with a Gibson 490 humbucker and it sounded nowhere near as good as the combo of the two Fender pickups. Ironic seeing as how both humbuckers were developed by the same man -- Seth Lover.

wj350 wrote:

marc61 wrote:One of the things I found on a tele forum was that if you have the reissues, and get 500k pots for them, they tend to sound more like the originals. Particularly the Japan reissue.

I have an email out to Curtis Novak, and await to see what he can do.

I've been reading the same stuff since I just picked up my Classic Thinline. But there seems to be mixed opinions--a lot of the posts seem to just automatically suggest the 500K or 1Meg pots because I guess the originals came with them? But then I read that the 250s are better for the RI pickups....

I was thinking of ordering some 500s since I already have the pickguard off the guitar (the bright white pearl is a bit much of a contrast to the 2TS for me), and I figured I'd do the pot swap while it's disassembled, but I think I'm going to stick with the 250s for now.

Generally, most use the 500K pot with a humbucker and 250Ks with a single coil. Maybe a 300K pot would be a nice compromise?

collin wrote:Yep, they even sound great bolted into other models.

The Lee Ranaldo "Jazzblaster" model is based on his own customized Jazzmasters with these pickups in them. very unique sounding combo.

That's the secret to my son's madness. Supposedly Lee had the specs done on his pickups to match the originals but, it would be hard to find a pair(one went off on Ebay, sold for about $100 each)

Just curious if anyone has thoughts on these

http://cgi.ebay.com/GFS-Vintage-Split-B ... 286.c0.m14

Pretty inexpensive. Must be a reason

collin wrote:Yep, they even sound great bolted into other models.

The Lee Ranaldo "Jazzblaster" model is based on his own customized Jazzmasters with these pickups in them. very unique sounding combo.

Where do they make the pickups in Lee's signature JM?