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Rickenbacker crooked pick ups

#201
Mr.Fingers said:
It's a guitar from 1964-1965, what do you expect. A Rickenbacker from Invalid Link Removed would have worn by now as well.
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Here's my 1968 4001 ... original finish and lots of miles on it.

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#202
Ric5 said:
Here's my 1968 4001 ...

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That thing is gorgeous, what I consider the best looking Ric bass style of all time. I wish they still made them with the crushed pearl and checker binding, I know a lot of people would pay extra for that detailing. I saw some Japanese market Rics with the checker, why no American sales? You can see what the 4003 plastic bridge pickup cover was intended to emulate, but as I understand it, it serves no actual shielding function. I don't think the microscopically thin chrome plating on the plastic would actually provide any shielding, but maybe an electronics guru will tell me I'm wrong. Have you had any trouble with neck movement at the neck pup route?
 
#203
Gilmourisgod said:
That thing is gorgeous, what I consider the best looking Ric bass style of all time. I wish they still made them with the crushed pearl and checker binding, I know a lot of people would pay extra for that detailing. I saw some Japanese market Rics with the checker, why no American sales? You can see what the 4003 plastic bridge pickup cover was intended to emulate, but as I understand it, it serves no actual shielding function. I don't think the microscopically thin chrome plating on the plastic would actually provide any shielding, but maybe an electronics guru will tell me I'm wrong. Have you had any trouble with neck movement at the neck pup route?
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That is an incredible bass, but I grew to hate the old weak pickups, the weak neck, and the mechanical mute. The necks on the old 60s basses are thinner, which means you can easily pull it into backbow. the glue that held the body wings to the neck was always solid. the old horseshoe pickups would demagnetize over time making the bridge pickup weak. I sold that bass when I converted to a 5 only player. It sounded best when I put in modern 4003 pickups and removed the .0047 cap.
 
#209
Fishheadjoe said:
And we both know what would happen if that bass or any bass got sent back to the factory. The end result would be the owner of the bass being out shipping costs and the bass itself could end up worse, much worse than when it originally left the factory.
It seems that we can't agree what is acceptable and what is not; but I do think we can agree that the company needs to do a better job at all levels if they want to change the market perception of who and what they are.
Fishheadjoe
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Hmmm ... let me think ... Rickenbacker is selling basses faster than they can make them ... so does anyone here think they are concerned about the contents of this thread?
 
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#213
Ric5 said:
Why is it that you see all sorts of Fenders that are extremely road worn and virtually no Ricks that are road worn like that?
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Different finish. Old Fender finishes are very thin lacquer - not as durable as the thicker conversion varnish that Ric's from the 60's on use.

Conversion varnish vs. lacquer
 
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#214
RED J said:
Hey, when you think about it, the way pickups are installed in many guitars and basses is lame, dangling on 2 or 3 screws. The only thing that guarantees this doesn't happen is if the pickup fits snugly in the rout or at least the surround/bezel. Other than that, don' t expect miracles from such a seat of the pants setup. Note the Ric neck pickup doesn't have these issues, for the reason I described.

A Fat Strat will have two perfectly aligned single coils, which have snug covers in a snug rout,, and a maybe or maybe not aligned humbucker dangling on screws. just the nature of a pickup dangling in mid air even with some spring tension.

View attachment 626321
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I hate to have a part in keeping this going, but those single coils are not even remotely 'perfectly aligned'.
The E string is way off the centre of the pole.

P.S.: I love Strats as well as Ricks.
 
#215
kcole4001 said:
I hate to have a part in keeping this going, but those single coils are not even remotely 'perfectly aligned'.
The E string is way off the centre of the pole.
P.S.: I love Strats as well as Ricks.
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Since you did choose to keep it going I'll point out we aren't talking about strings lining up with pole pieces, we are talking about pickups being mounted squarely in the body of the instrument,and the difference the method of mounting them makes, which the Strat pic illustrates perfectly.

However, you are correct that the strings don't line up with the pole pieces, even though that is not the subject at hand.
 
#216
RED J said:
Since you did choose to keep it going I'll point out we aren't talking about strings lining up with pole pieces, we are talking about pickups being mounted squarely in the body of the instrument,and the difference the method of mounting them makes, which the Strat pic illustrates perfectly.

However, you are correct that the strings don't line up with the pole pieces, even though that is not the subject at hand.
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So....the pickups could be mounted squarely on the body but not even under the strings at all and would still be considered acceptable in terms of this thread? ;)

I know that's not the intended meaning, just pointing out that some folks here like to go a little too far in the realm of semantics.

In terms of mounting methods, the Strat (and Rick) example makes most sense to me.
Even those can be off slightly due to the nature of the suspension mechanism.
No biggy.
I find the way P and Jazz pickups are mounted to be very awkward to adjust and quite anachronistic.
 
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#219
PaulBoyer said:
I dunno. Too much of everything: six strings, 24 frets, eight knobs. I've got only ten fingers! What do they want from me?!:thumbsdown:
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Put your glasses back on, Paul! There's one 6 knobs, the other "two" are switches. :woot: In total, that's only 2 or 3 more than most Ricks (guitars, included). As for strings and frets, well how about 5, 6, 8 and 12 stringers (I know, guitars don't count with you :smug:) and only 3 or 4 more frets (depending on instrument), nothing to fret over, really. :D Hey, even lots of Rick guitars have 24 frets. ;)
 

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