Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

On a couple of my Rics I am replacing hi-gain pickups with toasters, but I need the little rubber washers that the toasters rest on (the washers between the body and the toaster). Are these the ones?

http://www.rickenbacker.com/cart.asp?vi ... cellaneous

And how many do I need per pickup?

Thanks,

Ruben

Those are the ones; you'll need 6 per toaster.

I am surely not the grommet king, but I have noted these before and wonder if they are a suitable replacement.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2103392#

Stopping by your favourite store might answer this question.

I wouldn't use anything but genuine RIC rubber grommets because they contact the finish of the guitar. Certain variations of so called rubber products can easily melt the varnish where they make contact.

They sell all the sizes of rubber "Rickenbacker" washers at good hardware stores like ACE/TrueValue hardware.

Much cheaper too.....nearly every bit of hardware Ric uses is a standard SAE American item available from local hardware stores.

I decided that the rubber grommets i did not need and used the Grey foam from the Hi gains (carefully removed from the hi gain ) You dont have to use the grommets.I now use the grommets to keep my ears apart.

The issue here is phthalates, which are present as plasticizers in lookalike vinyl grommets.

Genuine rubber grommets usually won't disturb the finish. Vinyl ones will attack the CV and leave a ring.

Rubber or vinyl will seep lamp black into the CV, however, over time.

You can tell vinyl grommets by the smell. They smell like a kid's swimming pool (when it's new, that is... )

Rubber ones smell like a borracheria, er...tire store.

Sniffing grommets is probably something you might want to do when the aisle at Home Depot is empty, however...

Would silicone rubber grommets be OK?

Say what? Do these grommets pass the human ear test or will they leave a Green fungus and a warped neck? not to mention a wayward thermodynamic equilibrium. Eh?

Thanks for the sage advice, Paul.

jingle_jangle wrote:
Genuine rubber grommets usually won't disturb the finish. Vinyl ones will attack the CV and leave a ring.

Seems like most vintage Rics I've taken apart (FG or MG) have said rings or discoloration underneath the rubber too.

As have the many that I have, too. Plasticizers are used in rubber grommets, too, and though I'm unsure of their composition, they usually don't have the deleterious effect of vinyl on CV; their effect is very long-term and not as drastic.

As In mentioned in my previous post, both vinyl and rubber use lamp black as a colorant to achieve the black color--it's simply the cheapest black pigment out there. And it does migrate into paint, as anyone with a 4001CS will tell you--the guards invariably have a brownish ring around the toaster adjustment screws, which are under each screw and in contact with the guard paint.

jingle_jangle wrote:Those are the ones; you'll need 6 per toaster.

Thanks!