Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Friends:

Do any of you have opinions about using pads (OEM on most current Ricks) versus the little disc shaped spacers (like the ones used on scratchplates) to mount pickups on your guitars? It seems like there should be an effect on tone. I used the full pads on my 360/6 VP's and the little spacers on my 360/12 VP's, but it's impossible to compare the sound of these two guitars...too many extraneous variables (six, to be exact!).

jeff
http://home.comcast.net/~drjeffreyb

What they really are is rubber grommets available at your friendly electronic store. They should be replaced every few years or as often as needed because they get hard and deteriorate over time.
I've never tried to use anything else but I doubt if there would be any affect on tone although now that I think about it a little more, there may be some vibration transmitted to the pup if the grommets are allowed to get hard. This would not be good because the vibration could move the magnets slightly and introduce a 'false note'.

There was a discussion about this somewhere here and John Hall chimed in. He said the foam pads actually have a positive effect on feedback, I think.