Seymour Duncan SRB-1 pickups, the Rickenbacker replacements people love to hate.

[Alanko]

I've seen a lot of displeasure directed at the SRB-1 pickup set. Yet they seem to have some fans on here?

In short, Seymour Duncan claim that the bridge pickup doesn't fit a standard Rickenbacker pickup ring, yet I've seen photos online that suggest they do.

I have a 4003 bass, and pickup ring, and I can fit a generic hotrail guitar humbucker through the aperture of the ring. Were I to screw this pickup to the carriage assembly I could use it as a bridge pickup, and it looks no smaller or skinnier than the Seymour Duncan pickup.

Any thoughts?

[Basvarken]

I don't know.

I've used it on three bases that I've built. I cut off the base plate and made a custom pickup ring for them.
They sound great to my ears. And I don't care wether they fit in a Rickenbacker or not, since that is not what I've been using them for.

[Dave W]

The SRB-1 will not fit the standard Rickenbacker ring, no matter what online photos seem to show. The opening of the Ric ring is just 1 1/8 in wide. Per the SD website, the coil dimensions of the SRB-1 are 2.87x1.42 in. and the surround opening is slightly larger than that to allow the pickup to be raised.

One of the oft-repeated lies about the Duncan pickups is that they're just guitar pickups that Seymour is selling as bass pickups. That's utter bullshit, whether or not you like the tone. The SRB-1 has alnico 5 magnets under those blades, unlike any of Duncan's blade guitar pickups. It's just Ric fanboys running down anything non-factory. Not that I care, but Ric has used the same pickups for guitars and basses many times over the years anyway. And I'm pretty sure a pickup doesn't know or care whether it's being mounted in a guitar or a bass. 

I've heard both the bridge and neck Duncans in a Rickenbacker, and IMHO they do retain the Ric sound. Then again, I didn't listen with any preconceived prejudice against them. And I like what I hear in Rob's basses. YMMV.

[Alanko]

I've used it on three bases that I've built. I cut off the base plate and made a custom pickup ring for them.

Do you trim down the baseplate and then tap them to accept those three adjustment screws?

The SRB-1 will not fit the standard Rickenbacker ring, no matter what online photos seem to show. The opening of the Ric ring is just 1 1/8 in wide. Per the SD website, the coil dimensions of the SRB-1 are 2.87x1.42 in. and the surround opening is slightly larger than that to allow the pickup to be raised.

One of the oft-repeated lies about the Duncan pickups is that they're just guitar pickups that Seymour is selling as bass pickups. That's utter bullshit, whether or not you like the tone. The SRB-1 has alnico 5 magnets under those blades, unlike any of Duncan's blade guitar pickups. It's just Ric fanboys running down anything non-factory. Not that I care, but Ric has used the same pickups for guitars and basses many times over the years anyway. And I'm pretty sure a pickup doesn't know or care whether it's being mounted in a guitar or a bass. 

The '60s basses had a horseshoe pickup and a toaster neck pickup in them. The former was a repurposed lap steel pickup and the latter was a guitar pickup with six poles (which some wistfully claim works as a blade of sorts).

This is great info, thanks. Having looked more closely at the photos online, it looks like the pickup has to be kept very low to fit the bridge pickup mounting. In these cases the coil doesn't pass through the ring at all, but lie below the surface:

[Basvarken]

Do you trim down the baseplate and then tap them to accept those three adjustment screws?

Exactly

[Dave W]

The '60s basses had a horseshoe pickup and a toaster neck pickup in them. The former was a repurposed lap steel pickup and the latter was a guitar pickup with six poles (which some wistfully claim works as a blade of sorts).

I wouldn't say that the toaster acts as a blade but the magnetic field of its 6 poles covers the area.

FWIW, the Ric 4004 has the same (blade) pickups as the 650 guitars, and the coils of the hi-gains are wound to identical specs for basses and guitars, with different number of polepieces and a larger magnet under the 4003 bridge pickup.

This is great info, thanks. Having looked more closely at the photos online, it looks like the pickup has to be kept very low to fit the bridge pickup mounting. In these cases the coil doesn't pass through the ring at all, but lie below the surface:

Right. The SRB-1 is a drop-in fit for the cavity but it won't fit through the stock opening in the cover.