Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I know you good people have discussed this before, but I am curious as to whether anyone out there has switched out their production high gain pick-ups for the vintage toasters that Rickenbacker is selling in their parts department. If so, can you really hear a difference AND are the toasters quieter in volume or louder in hum? Please advise.
Thanks.

No tangible difference in hum to my ears. The trouble is I sell every HiGain equipped Ric I get!

You can't go wrong with Toasters.

Noel

they are both single coil pickups that will hum ...

The toasters are great vintage pickups to get that sixties jangle. But for natural tube amp overdrive its hard to beat the highgains.

I just replaced the humbuckers in my 650D with a toaster neck and a hi-gain bridge. (I put the humbuckers in my 330, but that's another story...)

The toasters and hi-gains really do sound different, and those differences are highlighted by having one of each on a guitar. The hi-gain is darker and more mid-rangey with more oomph. Those qualities are balanced a bit by having the hi-gain in the bridge position. The toaster is glassy and a bit clangy, but having it in the neck position of my 650 reveals a warmth and fullness that really balances well with the hi-gain. Other people here have done the 'hi-gain bridge/toaster neck' thing before and loved it, but this was my first experience with it and I have to agree, it's great.

Both pickups have about the same amount of hum, but the hum is minimal when compared with the Fenders I've played in the past. In my 330, the toasters seem much quieter (lower gain...) than the hi-gains, but strangely enough, they seem pretty equal in the 650.

Sorry to go on about this...I have posted before. In my opinion, if you have a 24 fret neck, then leave the hi-gains on. If you have a 21 fret neck, then leave it with toasters. Toasters were designed to suit the wider p/up spacing of the 21 fret necks & give a nicely balanced sound between treble & bass. The 24 fret necks have the p/up's too close together to get the best out of toasters & suit the extra bass response from the hi-gains. In short, if you HAVE to have toasters, then get a vintage, or a vintage reissue gtr.
It is there for all to hear, but I will add IMHO.

This is a little off topic but why did RIC go with the 24 fret neck anyways?

Cole

I don't know but I suspect it has to do with the whole two octaves thing. As guitarists starting playing more intensive solos in the late 60s, Rickenbacker probably expanded their fretboard to offer lead guitarists a little extra room to let rip. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that they were the first and for a while the only guitar maker to regularly manufacture 24-fret guitars.

I suppose Tony might be right, that toasters would sound fullest and most well balanced in a 21-fret model, but a bridge toaster would sound the same regardless, so we're really talking neck position here. I think a toaster in the neck of a 24-fret model might not sound 'as full' but it'll still sound alright. Follow your ears is my advice.

That said, I prefer a hi-gain in the neck of my 330 and I don't use the bridge pickup much no matter what kind of pickup it is.

I've mentioned this before, too, but my '66 335 6 string has never had that Rick jangle. It's got a great, classic rock feel to it and the pickups, when blended, sound very full and rich. Great for R.Stones or '80s alternative.

I can get a good treble sound when I want to, but it's not "Jangle". To get real jangle, I think you need either a 12 string or a set up that brings the jangle out. My newer 360-6 string has some jangle to it, though, and it has hi-gains. The two guitars could not be more different.

My early 90's, 24-fret 370VP sounded like mud until I unwound the toasters. Now it absolutely sings!

Hey Ethan - DO tell about the buckers in yer 330. I've been contemplating that switch for a while now.

Have a '79 360-12; swapped out the hi-gains for toasters. Was very disappointed; no discernable sound difference; no extra jangle. But she sure looks SO RIGHT with toasters.

Oh, hey - didn't see your post there John! The humbuckers didn't last too long in the 330. They were in the 330 as a temporary measure to keep the guitar up and running while I played around with the 650D. Do you know the outtake from 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers' called Triad? Sounded kind of like that. To me the HBs sounded best in the 650D.

I switched back to the hi-gains (no cap) in the 330 after a couple of days. Hi-gains really are pretty good pickups!

PS - Sorry I can't be more helpful... I wasn't paying that much attention to the 330 while it had the buckers in it

"swapped out the hi-gains for toasters. Was very disappointed; no discernable sound difference; no extra jangle."

Doesn't this have to do with the TYPE of toasters? Someone with more brain cells than I do needs to explain here, but my understanding is that the new toasters are "hot" ie: more windings.

The original toasters that will sounds really different than the high gains are the ones with fewer windings so as to bring it down to about 7 or 8 ohms.