Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey All,
I'm looking at buying a '66 420/12, but the bridge pickup is very low in output. There are no other suspicious noises, and the guitar has mostly been a case queen since the owner got it as a teen. There wasn't time to open her up today, but I'd like to go in armed with more knowledge.
It's been suggested that a re-wind will take care of this problem, but I wanted to consult the best experts I know of before taking the plunge.
What think you?

If it has been a case queen since the 60s, I would first look for or suspect corrosion of the pickup switch contacts, dust/dirt in the volume/tone pots, or possibly corrosion at the output jack where the cord plugs in.

Thanks, John...
I looked into that stuff and mostly ruled it out due to the fact that there was virtually none of the tell-tale crackling when turning the knobs or moving the switch, and the sound was very consistent no matter where any controls were set or how the cable was dressed (ie all controls worked as they should). I definitely will look further into it if & when I open it up...

Hey, what do ya know, the guy just listed it on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1966-Ricken ... 500wt_1182

He knows it's got a nearly dead p/u, and that the neck is not straight at the moment (probly due to not enough string tension, but still something he should disclose)...

chrisb wrote:Hey All,
I'm looking at buying a '66 420/12, but the bridge pickup is very low in output. There are no other suspicious noises, and the guitar has mostly been a case queen since the owner got it as a teen. There wasn't time to open her up today, but I'd like to go in armed with more knowledge.
It's been suggested that a re-wind will take care of this problem, but I wanted to consult the best experts I know of before taking the plunge.
What think you?

I dunno, Chris...that's like having a valve lifter click and concluding that an engine rebuild will fix it.

Of course it'll fix it, but seems a bit drastic at this point. I'd pull the pickup and measure its resistance. There are many possible reasons for low output. Cold solder joint somewhere comes immediately to mind. A few minutes tracing the wires passively with a VOM will tell you all you need to know.

Mmm... Bridge pickup polepieces somewhat de-magnetized over time? That would explain low output. Treble-pass capacitor still in? There's an additional cause for low output. Pickup not as close to strings as required for optimum performance? Ditto. And pickup location - by the bridge - is of no help either. I'm sure a new, modern toaster pickup would address the issue. Just my two cents.