Horseshoes are in.

[gearHed289]

Yep, you heard me!
 

https://www.rickenbacker.com/cart.asp?category=Pickups

[Dave W]

Even though they're a far cry from the originals, they ought to sell well.

[the mojo hobo]

Especially at that price.

I seem to recall the last one on ebay went for more than double that.

[Bert]

Just the surround was more expensive.....

[gearHed289]

I've seen the reissues go from $400 to $800.  I ordered one while the getting is good. Think I'll put it on my 8 string. Totally different than the originals aside from cosmetics, but it's a great sounding, great looking pickup.

[ilan]

I guess this indicates that C64 production has ended.

[uwe]

How and why do they sound better?

[OldManC]

Damn, that was quick!

[gearHed289]

How and why do they sound better?

Better than what? They actually sound very similar to the current standard high gain. They just happen to look cool as f#%k. 

As a side note - Uwe, a guy at the Ric forum just did a run of 8 saddle bridges (he only had 8 made) for Ric 8 stringers and I think he's still got one if you're interested. Very pricey at $225 shipped.

[uwe]

Better than a non horseshoe I mean. I don't hear Chris Squire sounding fundamentally different to other Ric, just more extreme. And I can-t imagine that picking up the signal of the strings from above leads to a vastly different result to picking them up from below though I'ne heard that the Ric' cavernous bridge pup routing contributes to the sound and that its effect should be less with the horseshoe.

I don't care about the looks (nice, but no must-have), but I'd buy one if it would make one of my Rics sound very much better or at least different.

[the mojo hobo]

Better than a non horseshoe I mean. I don't hear Chris Squire sounding fundamentally different to other Ric, just more extreme.

IMO, Chris Squire does sound fundamentally different than Paul McCartney 

I replaced my 1981 4003S with a 1986 4001V63 and there is a big difference between the two. I like the horseshoe soloed with the tone rolled off, but I play finger-style on flats, also fundamentally different from Chris Squire.

[gearHed289]

The re-issues don't even pick up signal from above. The shoes are purely cosmetic. The pole pieces are 1/4'' diameter, magnetized alnico slugs, which is different than the metal shaving impregnated rubber magnet below the poles of a standard high gain. But again, I've found the sound VERY similar. They're cool if you're going for a 60s aesthetic. I just grabbed one cause the price is good and they'll likely go out of production again at some point. I have a Fireglo 4003S/8 with a toaster and vintage knobs that this is going to look great on.  

[gearHed289]

IMO, Chris Squire does sound fundamentally different than Paul McCartney 

I replaced my 1981 4003S with a 1986 4001V63 and there is a big difference between the two. I like the horseshoe soloed with the tone rolled off, but I play finger-style on flats, also fundamentally different from Chris Squire.

Ha ha! And both played a '64 Ric. Flats vs rounds, Vox (?) vs Marshall... 

An '81 pickup has a noticeably lower output than the later 80s and beyond, or horseshoe re-issue.

[weekend warrior]

I thought the reissue shoes sounded alot different than stock 4003.They're not as harsh as a 4003 or 1 pickup.The big alnico slugs make a big difference in tone.I wish they wouldnt market them as horseshoe pickups because they really arent even close to the  real deal.The newer one i used worked better when you remove the fake shoes and use them straight up!

[Dave W]

I think so too. The reissue horseshoe sounds closer to what a toaster would sound like in the bridge than the stock 4003 hi-gain.