Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ok, if I'm not mistaken, the Horseshoe pickup is the same for all Rics... lap steels and basses, specifially; correct me if I'm wrong.

Is the same true of the Toaster pickup? Specifically, is the Ric toaster pickup the same on a guitar as on a bass? And if so, am I correct in assuming the neck pickup on a guitar is the same as a neck pickup on a bass, or are both Ric toaster guitar pickups exactly the same, too (bridge/neck)? Generally the neck pickup has a lower resistance than the bridge.

Trying to get a handle on what's interchangable and what's not.

Thanks!

Not sure. The guitar and bass toasters are listed on POTR as having different part numbers, but in the "John Hall Responds to Rickenbacker Guitar Pickup Questions" section he says the bass toaster is actually a guitar pickup.
http://www.rickresource.com/rrp/JHpickupanswers.html

The guitar toasters are sold as interchangeable between bridge and neck, unlike the Hi-Gains, which come in two different flavors.

There is a difference between bass and guitar toasters, but it only has to do with the mounting.

Bass toasters have threaded holes because they attach to the pickguard. Guitar toasters have a larger non-threaded hole for a wood screw to attach to the guitar body.

Otherwise they are the same...

...as to the horseshoe pickup, the basic pickup is the same but the number of pole pieces change depending on the number of strings.

Being that the OP asked about lap steel Horseshoes, it should probably also be said that modern vintage toasters are identical and original '60's toasters may have different length pole pieces. I don't know for sure but I would imagine a vintage 4001 would have come with a long pole toaster, but maybe they didn't, perhaps someone else may know for sure the answer to that.

The plates underneath that cjj mentions require the same attention, modern vintage toasters or original toasters.

rickendelic wrote:I don't know for sure but I would imagine a vintage 4001 would have come with a long pole toaster, but maybe they didn't, perhaps someone else may know for sure the answer to that.

Many early 4001s did come with flat bottom toasters.

Thanks for that JPS, that was one I had wondered myself.

cjj wrote:There is a difference between bass and guitar toasters, but it only has to do with the mounting.

Bass toasters have threaded holes because they attach to the pickguard. Guitar toasters have a larger non-threaded hole for a wood screw to attach to the guitar body.

Otherwise they are the same...

correction cj...guitar pickups, both toaster and higain can have either threaded or non threaded center holes depending on the guitar model...450 (pickguard mount) and 360...(body mount). this can also apply to bass models depending on mount style for a partricular model.

Sounds like the consensus is essentially that guitar and bass toaster pickups are interchangable, to the degree that they mount correctly and have enough lead for their respective position(s).

I've never actually looked at the pickup portion of a Horseshoe pickup, prior to the one featured in the "checkerboard binding" thread. I figured they all had four pole pieces, even the ones for the steel guitars.

BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS wrote:

cjj wrote:There is a difference between bass and guitar toasters, but it only has to do with the mounting.

Bass toasters have threaded holes because they attach to the pickguard. Guitar toasters have a larger non-threaded hole for a wood screw to attach to the guitar body.

Otherwise they are the same...

correction cj...guitar pickups, both toaster and higain can have either threaded or non threaded center holes depending on the guitar model...450 (pickguard mount) and 360...(body mount). this can also apply to bass models depending on mount style for a partricular model.

OK, I'm by no means an expert on pickups, especially where guitars are concerned.

But, I was thinking that the OP was asking the difference between the current "bass" and "guitar" toasters available in the RIC Boutique, where the difference is in the threaded vs. non-threaded mounting plate...