Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Toaster & horse shoe mag VS stock 4003

I hear people talk about thses.

How do they change sound over stock pickups?

Thanks

My '73 4001 wears a reissue toaster and horseshoe. They are different from the original High-Gains. The toaster has a more "vintage" sound (and by that I mean Roger Glover's sound on Pictures of Home) and doesn't have the annoying volume drops when I bend strings, that the button-top had. The Horseshoe has a fuller and richer tone with more low end, that I can use solo'ed (something I never did with the High-Gain), but I miss the clank that the High-Gain had (needs rewinding - next project).

So to sum up my impression, I totally love the toaster, but with the treble pickup, the jury is still out.

I have the "best of both worlds" on my 1974 4001, both rewound by our RIC PU specialist Sergio Silva:
A high gained toaster (no volume drop wih string bending, due to Sergios rail magnets) in the neck position
and a slotted pole pieces bridge PU (with the large magnets)!
Result: Very deep low end in combination with terrific bite and growl !
(But not so "harsh" as on the video from Mark Walker)

Welcome Scott.

Toaster vs hi-gain - the toaster will be more clear and notes more defined as there are less windings in the coil and that translates to more high frequencies. To me the hi-gain sounds muddy on the low notes of the E string. It will also have more growl factor than the toaster.

RIHS vs hi-gain - to my ears, and I have both pickups, there is not a lot of difference in the two pickups. The hi-gain has the plastic magnet under its coil where the RIHS has Alnico5 rod magnets as poles. There will be a difference in how they sound. Both growl and both have a lot of output. Both are wound to about the same ohm reading.

RIHS vs Magnet-shoe horsey - there is a difference in the note sounds. Hard to describe but the notes are more fuller. My magnet horsey has a coil wound by Sergio to 8.4k with 5/16" steel rods for the poles and it is a very full sounding pickup, very similar to a toaster in frequency response.

Magnet-shoe horsey vs hi-gain - the horsey has SO much more clarity and solidness to the notes.

These are my impressions.

Thank everyone, great info. I have a feeling the Toaster & Horseshoe would be the sound I'm looking for.

Where do you buy Ric pickups ? seems like fender bass parts pretty easy to find but Ric might be a little less harder to find ?

PJRL wrote: Where do you buy Ric pickups ? seems like fender bass parts pretty easy to find but Ric might be a little less harder to find ?

Here, for one: http://pickofthericks.com/

Another is right from RIC when they are in stock.

http://boutique.rickenbacker.com/Pickups_c_12.html

Looks like the RIHS is in stock but the toaster is not. The bass toaster has a different mount plate; mount holes are threaded.

johnallg wrote: The bass toaster has a different mount plate; mount holes are threaded.

Mine is actually the guitar part so I used two nuts under it to install it.

ilan wrote:Mine is actually the guitar part so I used two nuts under it to install it.

Same here. I used some JB Weld to glue some nuts under the toaster cover plate.

Yep, that works too.

You could just switch the plate from the original HG.

ken_j wrote:You could just switch the plate from the original HG.

That would be way too easy Ken.

ken_j wrote:You could just switch the plate from the original HG.

I like this idea