Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi,
while my 360/12v64 is undergoing a bit of a rebuild and setup, I'm also trying to turn my 360/6 WB into a bit more of a vintage flavoured guitar.
It had high gain (no hex) pickups since forever, but I now have tried both the high output Toasters from the v64 and a set of newly bought scatterwound Toasters.
All three options have their merits and down sides...
- The High Gains have a fantastic middle position sound, a nice upper midrange ring without fizziness and pack a good punch to the amp. The bridge PU alone has a bit of a "klang" harshness (think JAM/ Paul Weller) so I rarely used it on its own.
- The 90s Toasters have a decent enough output too and definitely have the vintage colour, less upper midrange but more migh end sparkle. The bridge PU on its own has a sweeter sound than the high gain and I think i prefer it. The neck PU is a quite muddy. The middle position is not as exciting as the high gains though. Overall, the 90s Toasters are a little stiff, you feel like having to play "harder", to make the guitar come alive.
- The scatterwounds sound very lively and animated, very different to the 90s Toasters, you're really playing "with" the guitar, not "against" it. Even the neck PU has a very usable sound, not muddy. On its own, the bridge PU though is super bright, has way too much top end, and turning down the tone isn't really fixing it as the high mids are a bit lacking. And that's again apparent in the middle position too.

While I try to figure out what I really want and how, I wonder how difficult it is to unwind the 90s Toasters to a DC value somewhere between the orignal 13K and the scatterwound 7.5K?? Is it worth the trouble, and would it even get me into this "best of all worlds" territory?

Thanks,
Jeffrey

Tedious. About thirty years ago I unwound the neck high-gain on one of my guitars from 14 kohms to 8 kohms. The improvement in clarity and definition were amazing. No, unless you have an absolutely steady hand and great patience, I do not recommend it. But remember this was before boutiques that would either re-wind or manufacture new pickups, and I saw no need to get Toasters.

I DO NOT recommend you unwind a 13k toaster. They are too much in demand for the bridge position of some players. You can probably sell it for enough to get a 7.5k toaster.

Many thanks for the advice and sorry for the late reply, I was away for a bit...
The thing is, I tried the 7.5k Toaster in the guitar and it does sound too thin and trebly for my taste. I think what I'm looking for is something halfway in between the 13k and 7.5k winding. A little bit more sensitive and lively than the 13k ones but with a little more beef than the 7.5k.
Still waiting for a response from The Creamery before I make any decisions.

Cheers!

JeffreyK wrote: Mon May 26, 2025 9:43 pm Many thanks for the advice and sorry for the late reply, I was away for a bit...
The thing is, I tried the 7.5k Toaster in the guitar and it does sound too thin and trebly for my taste. I think what I'm looking for is something halfway in between the 13k and 7.5k winding. A little bit more sensitive and lively than the 13k ones but with a little more beef than the 7.5k.
Still waiting for a response from The Creamery before I make any decisions.

Cheers!

What you have described is a modern high-gain with adjustable poles.

Interesting....the guitar ('93 360WB) had the fixed-pole HIgh Gains most of its life, until I recently started experimenting... I loved the middle position, but was never very happy with the bridge position. While the High Gains don't have the high treble content of the Toasters, there's something harsh or biting in the sound I didn't like so I rarely used the bridge on its own.
As a general direction, I think I prefer a Toaster sound as bridge solo. I just would like to get closer to my dream sound.
Listen to the first few bars of Tom Petty here (before Mike gets in with the 12 string), this is what I want (and yes, I play a cranked AC-30 too!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q3dXiQJukM
So the modern HG with the hex poles sound different?
Cheers!