Oh my, what have I done..

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 27, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Bridgehouse]

I've taken it out of the semi....

 

 

..to put in the solid body and see if it's even more ric-o-like 

 

And it is!!!!

 

I've done sound samples..  but stupidly I've overdubbed a load of parts onto one of my band's new tracks and we haven't released the album yet - so I can't make them public. @discreet and @Andyjr1515 have had a sneaky listen and I'm sure they can confirm there's a whiff of Ric about this pickup. Once I can do, I will release the sound files for wider consumption! I'd do some generic twiddling, but I really think you need to hear these in context. 

 

 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

7 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

I've taken it out of the semi....

 

 

..to put in the solid body and see if it's even more ric-o-like 

 

And it is!!!!

 

I've done sound samples..  but stupidly I've overdubbed a load of parts onto one of my band's new tracks and we haven't released the album yet - so I can't make them public. @discreet and @Andyjr1515 have had a sneaky listen and I'm sure they can confirm there's a whiff of Ric about this pickup. Once I can do, I will release the sound files for wider consumption! I'd do some generic twiddling, but I really think you need to hear these in context. 

 

 

Exciting! I'm speaking to the Guitar Weasel about getting one. I'm sure sound clips will help make my mind up!

[4000]

On ‎21‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 10:15, The Guitar Weasel said:

Well hello chaps, I thought I'd better say hello and explain Bridgehouse's pickup as I'm the person who designed and wound it :-)

My business involves a hell of a lot of pickup rewinds (as well as building new pickups), and the most common bass pickup to need my ministrations is that 'certain classic California-made' bass we are discussing. It's always had me thinking that it's kinda an object lesson in how to break the mould in bass pickup design ... because it's actually built pretty much the opposite way to the way you'd expect to produce bass tones. It's thin bobbin and super fine wire combined with relatively low output is really poles apart from the tall bobbin, thicker wired P Bass and J Bass. There are plenty of guitar pickups that  use the squat bobbin approach: the P90 and the Jazzmaster are two notable ones, and they instantly sound different to taller bobbin pickups like Strat ones. My instant thought was to replicate the tones Bridgehouse was looking for (without tons of extra EQ)  a 51 P Bass bobbin was too tall and would accentuate too much treble over mids. So I fired up the laser cutter and produced a custom bobbin of exactly the same winding area as the ... um ... Californian bass, and sat it atop a ceramic magnet ... filling it to 14k with 44awg wire. As a finishing touch I added adjustable dome head steel poles.

Now does it sound exactly like the original? 

I popped it briefly into my bass pickup test guitar (a P Bass partscaster with a dirty big central rout) and gave it a little go ... I ended up with a big smile. Not an exact ringer, but a lot closer than I've ever got with a Precision and no EQ.

I'll leave it to Bridgehouse to do some sound samples ... but I'm pleased I proved a bit of a concept, at least to myself. 

14K? Crikey. The treble pickups on my '72 are probably under 8! Ric pickups varied enormously in output over the years.  

Certainly very interesting though!

 

[Bridgehouse]

3 minutes ago, 4000 said:

14K? Crikey. The treble pickups on my '72 are probably under 8! Ric pickups varied enormously in output over the years.  

Certainly very interesting though!

 

Don't equate it to vol or output tho - it's actually reasonably tame. It's hot, yes, but not silly. It's very usable. 

[Andyjr1515]

3 hours ago, Bridgehouse said:

I've taken it out of the semi....

 

 

..to put in the solid body and see if it's even more ric-o-like 

 

And it is!!!!

 

I've done sound samples..  but stupidly I've overdubbed a load of parts onto one of my band's new tracks and we haven't released the album yet - so I can't make them public. @discreet and @Andyjr1515 have had a sneaky listen and I'm sure they can confirm there's a whiff of Ric about this pickup. Once I can do, I will release the sound files for wider consumption! I'd do some generic twiddling, but I really think you need to hear these in context. 

 

 

I have indeed had a sneaky preview listen.  Very cleverly, the overdub is of @Bridgehouse 's 64 Precision and, separately, this lightweight beauty, both in the mix of the same 'live' track.  Different tone to the 64P, but absolutely the same level of gravitas and clarity and yes...I can feel a bit of essence of Ric there too .  Trust me - it sounds great. 

[prowla]

A Ric sounds like a Ric when it's not plugged in.

Now, if you were to put a neck pickup on a Precision or Jazz and also a series capacitor on the mid-way pickup it might get some of the characteristics of the amplified sound.

[4000]

On 22/07/2018 at 16:59, Jus Lukin said:

Indeed! I'm not an expert on intellectual property (no doubt part of the reason I've never been paid for some of those albums I played on!) but, while not making them any friends, Rickenbacker are well within rights to protect their ownership of a design. The horseshoe pickup story is most odd, if they don't produce it and the patent has expired. The legality is well beyond a thicky like myself, but perhaps JBE get away with it as the product is a different design to Ric's, whereas the horseshoe would have been a replica. How that would impact on a pickup like the the one we're discussing I have no idea, but you are clearly wise to be cautious. Regardless, I'm glad to be aware of another great pickup maker out there, and one who is willing to push the boundaries of what is available. Thanks for building it in the first place, and for contributing here!

I believe Lollar won the case though, or it was thrown out. 

[The Guitar Weasel]

5 hours ago, 4000 said:

14K? Crikey. The treble pickups on my '72 are probably under 8! Ric pickups varied enormously in output over the years.  

Certainly very interesting though!

 

Having rewound a lot of Rick pickups I've found (by actually measuring the wire diameter) that contrary to what Rickenbacker have maintained, the 8k ones were wound with 43awg wire which roughly gives you 8000 turns. They now use finer 44awg wire ... and because of the higher resistance per foot of the finer gauge, the 8000 turns gives you 13.5k. Exactly the same power, because it's turns that equal volume, not resistance. The 44awg wire just gives you more mid punch.

Edited July 26, 2018 by The Guitar Weasel
hot typing fingers=mistakes

[4000]

2 hours ago, The Guitar Weasel said:

Having rewound a lot of Rick pickups I've found (by actually measuring the wire diameter) that contrary to what Rickenbacker have maintained, the 8k ones were wound with 43awg wire which roughly gives you 8000 turns. They now use finer 44awg wire ... and because of the higher resistance per foot of the finer gauge, the 8000 turns gives you 13.5k. Exactly the same power, because it's turns that equal volume, not resistance. The 44awg wire just gives you more mid punch.

Interesting. I always prefer the old screw-tops (after the true horsie, up until early ‘73), which are generally relatively weedy.

[The Guitar Weasel]

18 minutes ago, 4000 said:

Interesting. I always prefer the old screw-tops (after the true horsie, up until early ‘73), which are generally relatively weedy.

I generally rewind anything up to 20 Rick bass pickups a year, from sixties to early to 2000s ... and my Rick inspired prototypes have taken elements from a mixture of eras, for example: the screw adjustable pole pieces combined with the more modern wind. The harder higher carbon steel screw poles give a different and more toppy character.