Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello everyone – first post!


I recently got a new 330 12-string. All the pole pieces in the pickups were fully tightened - not adjusted to varying heights to match the radius of the neck. I was trying to adjust them, but they were screwed in pretty tight. I got all of them loose (with quite a bit of effort) except the pole piece under the high E strings. I think I might've stripped the allen head trying several times to loosen it and having the key slip.
Any suggestions of ways to loosen it? Will the entire pickup need to be removed?

The result is my B strings are a little too loud, and the E strings too soft. I can't raise the high E pole piece, and the B one is screwed all the way in. Should I try raising the pickups? Since the B pole piece is all the way in, it will just get louder?

I got the guitar "new" from a seller on ebay – build date of Dec 2011. It was in mint shape, but not set up well at all. Do they usually come from the factory already set up, or do shops set them up before they sell them? I took it to a local guitar tech and he got the action and intonation set really well, but didn't do anything about the pickups.


Thanks everybody for your help.

First, where are you located?

Second, the bad news is (at least for North America, dont' know about int'l) authorized dealers do not sell "new" Ricks on eBay. So you've technically bought it second hand and will not have a manufacturer's warranty. I would try to resolve it with the eBay seller directly if there is a return policy in place. eBay Buyer Protection may be another option if that fails.

It still may be fixable yourself, others here with more experience toying with pickups can chime in with more useful info.

Welcome and good luck with your new instrument! I've owned several 330/12's over the years and they're great.

Thanks for the reply. I'm in Virginia.

The seller presented it as used so I wasn't trying to get anything fixed under warranty. I tried to adjust it myself so I feel I'm responsible - not the seller. Just trying to figure out what to do next.

I love the guitar otherwise and can't stop playing it. I have a 330 6 too and it was set up perfectly when I bought it (off ebay as well).

Hopefully someone else will "chime" in (haha)!

Welcome to the forum, Steven.

In my experience, the hi gains on my 360 I bought in 2009 were well set as delivered.

Sounds like your eBay seller either monkeyed with them or sold you defective goods as new.

I'm in Alexandria if you want me to take a look at it. Try either the Pickup or Technical sections here too.

also, you can tend to find higains for sale pretty cheaply as quite a lot of people swap them out for Toasters, so it may be cheaper just to get another pickup rather than pay luthier fees to fix a dud one.

OR i bet you can get that polepiece out one way or another (with a drill, for example) and you can ask Ric to sell you just another polepiece, they may just give it to you.

Steven: I would contact Sergio.

viewforum.php?f=33

Thanks for the advice! I'm new to the board and Sergio seems like the pickup expert. Should I reach out to him off the board or wait and see if he checks this thread? It looks like you moved the thread to the pickup-specific area.

It seems weird that the pole pieces were tightened down and so difficult to adjust. On my 6-string 330, they can be adjusted with hardly any effort. The previous owner must've really screwed them down for some reason.



thanks again.

I would send Sergio a PM.

I'm wondering if a previous owner screwed them down tight. That would embed the screws into the soft magnet bar under the coil. If you can get a pair of needle nosed vice grips on the screw, you could pull it all the way out and replace it with one from the RIC Boutique.

I believe this is the part, but can't verify it with a schematic - it doesn't call out the pole screws:
http://boutique.rickenbacker.com/SCREW- ... p_645.html

Can I offer some assistance?