Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Howdy y'all, new poster here.

I have a 610 FG and I'm thinking about swapping out the high gains for the Rick Humbuckers. Any info in regards to the tone of the humbuckers?

I understand that they're pretty quiet and that there is more output and that's great. But I sure would like to know more about the tone.

Gibson sound? Fender sound? Rick jangly sound?

I have two other Ricks (350v63, 360) so I'm thinking the 610 being a solid body, the humbuckers would be the way to go.

Thanks for any info. By the way, great website.

they have a nasty snalry growl ... especially with a little distortion ...

for bass the sound like p-bass pickups and for guitar I would say they are similar somewhat to Gibson humbuckers ...

I just got a 650D which has humbuckers. Different bridge assembly, though, so that might affect the sound a bit from my ears to yours.

Rickenbacker humbuckers are 'single coil voiced' which I think is probably an accurate way of describing their sound. I'd say they sound cleaner and clearer than the Gibsons I've played, but they still have that thick quality that you get with humbuckers. And they can bite when you dig in.

I can dial in a reasonably good facsimile of the Rick jangle, too, but I wouldn't characterize the pickups as jangly. I can also get a pretty good warm-toned lap steel sound. I'm impressed with their versatility.

I had always heard that the highgains were hotter than the mini humbuckers. Is that not true?

the ric humbuckers are wound to 15 k ohms +/- ... ric high gains are 11 k ohms +/- ... I would not call the Ric humbuckers jangley ... snarly is a better word ...

Thanks fellas for all the info. Great replies. Really is a big help.

I think I'm gonna ago ahead and swap 'em out. Particularly since I have the vintage on the 350 and hi-gains on the 360. Humbuckers in the 610 and I'll have all three!!

One more question: Is it okay to leave the original pots in the guitar or should they be replaced too? If so, to what kind?

Ol Reb: There is no need to replace the pots. I swapped out a high gain for a humbucker at one point with no difficulty.

By the way, welcome to The Rickenbacker Forum.

Yeah, welcome. If you're a tinkerer, the thing is to leave the pots and fool with the cap values. Suggestions, other tinkerers? .022 perhaps?

Man thats gotta be a meaner hotter pickup. I suspose now I'll have to have a set.

IMHO, the hi-gains are the "hottest" pickup that RIC makes. They have more "snarl" and bite than either the toasters or the HB's. The HB's are a little warmer, and quite clean (without being overly thin) when used with a coil tap.

FWIW, you can hear sound samples of the various pickups here.

As Jeff says, the humbuckers are definitely higher DCR than the hi-gains. But higher DCR doesn't necessarily mean higher output when you're comparing two pickups with different construction. IME the actual output is roughly the same.

The single coil will be clearer and better response in high frequency ... also they will react differently to distortion and increases in gain and volume ... I'm more of a single coil guy but the ric humbuckers sound good too ...