4003 Reissue Horseshoe Problems

[dadagoboi]

From a customer of mine:

"I'm having issue with the bridge pickup on my Rickenbacker 4003....its one of the reissue Horseshoe pups and the string to string volume is crap,well the most important string "the E" is quieter than the rest of them.....tried raising that side but that also makes the A louder,and i certainly don't need that.....the poles on the A/D strings are significantly higher than the pole on the E/A,do you have a Pickup recommendation for the Ric?....or is it just a preference thing?"

I know very little about Rics, I do seem to remember some criticism of the RI Horseshoe pup.  Any solutions or recommendations?  THANKS!

[Jeff Scott]

Is this an earlier RI HS PU with the flatter shoes?

How close to the strings is the pickup?  A lower height should balance the strings out better, but the flatter shoes only allow for a minimal amount of lowering the pickup.  The later ones that have the angled up shoes can go quite a bit lower.

I have had a couple of the RI HS PUs in basses; I don't recall my having an unbalance issue with the pickup lowered.

[dadagoboi]

Is this an earlier RI HS PU with the flatter shoes?

How close to the strings is the pickup?  A lower height should balance the strings out better, but the flatter shoes only allow for a minimal amount of lowering the pickup.  The later ones that have the angled up shoes can go quite a bit lower.

I have had a couple of the RI HS PUs in basses; I don't recall my having an unbalance issue with the pickup lowered.

If we assume it's the earlier version, what's the solution?  Upgrade to version two or replace it with something else?

[Jeff Scott]

You can bend the shoes upward to allow greater range of travel of the pickup, as most likely you'd want to lower the pickup.  I have bend the shoes up on two of these pickups.  It is not hard to do but you will need to get a few things from a hardware store, or if you know a machinist shop they will have all you need and can perform the bending for you.

[gearHed289]

I had the same problem with the most recent reissue. The A and D poles are too much taller than the E and G, and it was audibly noticeable. I briefly had a '92 V63, and I've owned a 4001CS since new in '92, and those were/are fine. The solution? Sell the pickup and put a current model high gain with adjustable poles on the bass. They don't sound a helluva lot different. 

[Dave W]

Or, for $600, there's a real horseshoe. 

[dadagoboi]

I had the same problem with the most recent reissue. The A and D poles are too much taller than the E and G, and it was audibly noticeable. I briefly had a '92 V63, and I've owned a 4001CS since new in '92, and those were/are fine. The solution? Sell the pickup and put a current model high gain with adjustable poles on the bass. They don't sound a helluva lot different. 

Thanks, Tom.  I'll pass it on!

Or, for $600, there's a real horseshoe. 

I keep wanting to add another suffix to horse besides 'shoe'.

[Thornton Davis]

I keep wanting to add another suffix to horse besides 'shoe'.

Does that word happen to have the letters "i and t" within it?.

TD

[cheyenne]

You have to put in a couple of spacers, but you can remove the shoes.

[steveonbass]

Bending the shoes worked for me.  Not difficult to do at all - a nut, a bolt and two wrenches.  Instead of making the E and G louder, the focus is to move the shoes further from the A and D to make them quieter.  It was not difficult at all. I'm sure someone has documented the process on-line.  That's how i fixed mine (when i had it -sniff).

[gearHed289]

the focus is to move the shoes further from the A and D to make them quieter.

How does that make the strings quieter? The shoes are purely cosmetic on the reissues.

[steveonbass]

How does that make the strings quieter? The shoes are purely cosmetic on the reissues.

You are right, I spaced - spreading the shoes gives you the headroom to move the pickup for better balance.  Sorry, I spaced - been a while