Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Sorry if this has already been discussed on here before (I did look, but kept getting 'distracted' by other interesting threads...), but is it possible to unwind Hi-gains in the same way as Toasters for a bit more jingle-jangle?

I would assume that the procedure is identical - but will it produce a corresponding change in the tone?

Thanks

Definitely. You will get increased clarity in your sound.

I so want to do that to my 370 because I have a feeling it would sound so sweet with all three pups going...

This is unrelated, but is it normal for the bridge pickup to have a lower output then the other two?
Also it is alot closer to the strings then my other two so if anything I'd figure it would be louder.
To get an equal volume I put the bridge volume at 100% and the neck at somewhere's around 60-70%

Again, I'm sure it's been asked and answered before, but - if lower impedance pickups create a more 'authentic' Ric sound, then why does Rickenbacker make them at a higher impedance?

There's probably some blindingly obvious answer to that...

We all make mistakes...

The Hi Gains are designed for just that- higher output. Unwind them and the output goes down proportionately. Much higher output than what was previously offered was the whole point.

If you really want the vintage sound, get the vintage pickups, again, the whole point of offering them as an alternative.

Finally, I cringe at the term "authentic". What does that mean? The Beatles sound? In that case, it implies that REM, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Radiohead don't have the "authentic" sound. By the same criterion Toots Thielsmans, Rick Nelson, and Jim Reeves didn't either, as those pickups were different as well.

The bridge pickup by its location is only going to receive a fraction of the "stimulation" of the string's vibration, therefore the output is lower. Just look at the strings- they travel so much further back and forth (a helix actually) under the neck pickup.

Hmm, perhaps it's time to resurrect System 490...

I think I'll just leave well enough alone for now - I've only had the guitar a week. Sod the 'authentic' Ric sound (quotes or not) - I need to spend a little more time looking for 'my' sound before I start ripping the damn thing apart...

Patrick, to answer your question, yes, it is normal for the bridge p.u. to have a lower output than the other two in the sense that it has always been that way, not in the sense that it is supposed be that way. To match the output of the other two pickups, the bridge one should be fitted with a much stronger magnet, but since its magnet is exactly the same in size and gauss as on the other two pickups, output suffers accordingly, as it's located at the position of minimum string vibration.

Well I learnt something.
I should've been able to figure that out by myself but I didn't clue in. :p

I wish it was as simple as having a stronger magnet on the treble pickup. The problem is that if you change anything- magnets, windings, poles, placement of the various elements- the sound changes. There's nothing wrong to have the treble pickup sound different but rather just another of those tradeoffs.

An active circuit with some kind of input gain has the best potential to balance things out without a tone change.

See also, for my two cents:

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