Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello everyone,
I recently purchased a gorgeous Mapleglo 1997 RI. It is one of the last produced, being completed in November of 2000. Therefore, it should have Scatterwound Toaster pickups. However, comparing them to the pickups in my '08 660/12, I noticed some differences:
1. The pickups in the 1997 RI do not have the "dimples" on the bobbins. However, they do have slotted screws in the corners.
2. The DC resistance of the pickups in the 1997 RI measure significantly lower than those in the 660/12.
My method of measuring wasn't entirely scientific, but pretty close. I used a short lead (1.5') out of each guitar's jack. The 1997 RI measured in at 5.9K (neck) and 5.8K (bridge), while the 660/12 measured 7.1K (neck and bridge). This was using the same cable, same room temperature, same digital meter, etc.
I'm not complaining about the sound of the pickups at all. They are beautiful! Just curious if anyone else has encountered these differences in their Ricks...
While the new toasters are scatterwound, they are nevertheless wound by computer. I would think that the DC resistance between pickups would be closer than these readings suggest. Have the specs for toasters changed since the scatterwounds were introduced?

skelt101 wrote:Hello everyone,
I recently purchased a gorgeous Mapleglo 1997 RI. It is one of the last produced, being completed in November of 2000. Therefore, it should have Scatterwound Toaster pickups. However, comparing them to the pickups in my '08 660/12, I noticed some differences:
1. The pickups in the 1997 RI do not have the "dimples" on the bobbins. However, they do have slotted screws in the corners.
2. The DC resistance of the pickups in the 1997 RI measure significantly lower than those in the 660/12.
My method of measuring wasn't entirely scientific, but pretty close. I used a short lead (1.5') out of each guitar's jack. The 1997 RI measured in at 5.9K (neck) and 5.8K (bridge), while the 660/12 measured 7.1K (neck and bridge). This was using the same cable, same room temperature, same digital meter, etc.
I'm not complaining about the sound of the pickups at all. They are beautiful! Just curious if anyone else has encountered these differences in their Ricks...
While the new toasters are scatterwound, they are nevertheless wound by computer. I would think that the DC resistance between pickups would be closer than these readings suggest. Have the specs for toasters changed since the scatterwounds were introduced?

Welcome to the RRF Michael.

Measuring this way puts the pickups in parallel and also leaves the volume pots in also. To really read the coils, you need to get to the selector switch then measure the pickup NOT selected to read the coil. The Scatterwounds came out later in the decade, but I don't remember the date. Toasters from the 90s and most likely your 2000 1997 were wound to around 12-14k. Your 2008 660 has the scatterwounds and they should read 7.4k. You got the same 7.1k because the 660 has a capacitor in series with the bridge and a DC reading would not work. You read the same pickup twice through the mixer 5th pot. Again, to truly measure the pickup coils, you'd need to measure like the 1997.

These might help:
http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19511.pdf
http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19519.pdf

My experience of measuring pickups at the jack compared to the leads is consistent with your readings of @ 7.1kohms in the circuit for a 7.4kohm toaster. Sometimes, like when considering purchasing a guitar, it is not possible to measure the pickups at the leads, as the guy or store isn't going to let you take off the plate to see inside. So for most conventional pickups, not just RIC pickups, with everything wide open, selecting one pickup at a time, you should get a reading of anywhere from 100 to 500 ohms less at that jack than that same pickup will measure at the leads. Of course, with the .0047 in place, you will get no reading, as a capacitor will not pass DC. No, it's not exact, but we're talking ballpark here.

I find it very interesting that the 1997 measured out so low, more like a '58 325 reissue. I'm sure your readings were accurate, although that is also about the same reading a person would get at the jack with a guitar with two 12kohm toasters with everything wide open and the selector switch in the middle, assuming no .0047 inline cap.