Toaster Bobbins.

[Harrysong]

Hey!

Anyone knows of a source for Toaster style plastic Bobbins?
Thanks

[David Schwab]

Good luck with that! I'd like to find covers that look like toasters.

[Stealth]

What is the status of making Toaster pickups? Last time I had a conversation about that (it was Kent Armstrong regarding SRK1F and SRK1R), this is what I got as a response:

Dear Boris:

We are not allowed to manufacture them any more as Rickey have a copy
right on the design now !!!

Kent Armstrong

Are we really hosed if we try to make Ric-oid toasters? I know T40 shared the toaster design (or at least, the looks), but that was a humbucker coil, not that similar to a true toaster. At least, to my knowledge - I have yet to see how a toaster looks when outside its cover.

[Possum]

..

Doesn't GFS have a toaster style pickup? How do they get away with it?

[David Schwab]

Doesn't GFS have a toaster style pickup? How do they get away with it?

It doesn't have the toaster slots.

[Harrysong]

My Rare Guitars (MRG) sells a Toaster type pickup but it´s really a humbucker.
You can see the two bar magnets in the picture.





I think that like evething thats Rick related, you can make it but you can't sell it. For example you can make a Rick 325 copy with no legal problems as long as you don't sell it.

[jonson]

KHL Korea does the same allthough advertised as a bucker and really a single coil and does carry parts and covers as well.

[Stealth]

So, wait, are those basically just a flatter and narrower P90-style bobbin?

[David Schwab]

My Rare Guitars (MRG) sells a Toaster type pickup but it´s really a humbucker.

Do they still make those? It's not on their website or eBay store. They (Eastwood) used to make a Rick inspired guitar with Toasters, but they stopped making that, I'm assuming at the request of Rickenbacker.

They do sell an open faced pickups, just like the one GFS sells. Probably made in the same factory.

I have two 70's Toasters with the long alnico magnets.

[salvarsan]

Toasters are single coils, ~5000 winds of #44 around big .25" diameter Alnico 2 slugs. *The bobbin in shallow at .185" interior height, 2.165" length, and .25" width. The chromed steel cover is a large contributor to the sound. Even so, it is excessively bright.


As John Hall has proven to be the most litigious guitarmaker in business, my inclination is to let him continue to overprice his wares until a chinese firm buys out Rickenbacker.
-drh

[Harrysong]

Do they still make those? It's not on their website or eBay store. They (Eastwood) used to make a Rick inspired guitar with Toasters, but they stopped making that, I'm assuming at the request of Rickenbacker.

They do sell an open faced pickups, just like the one GFS sells. Probably made in the same factory.

I have two 70's Toasters with the long alnico magnets.

Yep. They still make them.Contact MRG by private E-mail.

[soundmasterg]

Toasters are single coils, ~5000 winds of #44 around big .25" diameter Alnico 2 slugs. *The bobbin in shallow at .185" interior height, 2.165" length, and .25" width. The chromed steel cover is a large contributor to the sound. Even so, it is excessively bright.


As John Hall has proven to be the most litigious guitarmaker in business, my inclination is to let him continue to overprice his wares until a chinese firm buys out Rickenbacker.
-drh

I doubt if RIC will be bought out anytime soon. They are privately owned by John Hall and his wife, so there are no shareholders to answer to, and they have no debt and have a backorder of 2 years, so they must be doing something right. Their son Ben stands to take over when John wants to retire too. They're the only one of the big guitar companies of yesterday (Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, etc) that have protected their trademarks from the start, and trademark law requires that you enforce it constantly or you lose the trademarks. So everytime they become aware of someone making copies, they have to raise a stink about it or they lose their trademarks. I guess since everyone is so used to making Fender and Gibson knockoffs that they assume they can do it with Rics too.

As far as toaster bobbins......you'd have to make your own pretty much. Theres some info out that that vintage RIC toasters were sometimes 43 and 42 gauge, usually formvar, and the really old ones were only about 5k. I think the new ones are also alnico 5 rather than 2, and I know of at least one person who uses alnico 3 in the ones he does. There were also toasters in the 80's that were around 12k and are in high demand in some circles since they aren't made anymore.

Greg

[Peter Naglitsch]

KHL Korea does the same allthough advertised as a bucker and really a single coil and does carry parts and covers as well.

Have a link? I tried google but no succes. Also tried a search for SeiQ or Sei Q. And I know that I have been able to find SeiQ just a few days ago...

This thread is really interesting as I just now rebuilt a set of SeiQ Sturn (Sic!) pickup that came with a similar, open crome frame, (similar in look to this one http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-5020611..._2075_10544059), mounted on a old Isana (old european Semi). Inside the frame hey used PhatCat style bobbins and a general P90-ish construction but really under wound and with ceramic magnets. They truly sounded like sh-t. Did something aiming for a Dynasonic crossed with a Tele. The result was really good. Twangy and with a defined body in the sound. So I really would like to be able to buy more of those frames and I gues that if they sell toaster covers they also sells those open top frames/covers.

[Sweetfinger]

I have a source for Sei-Q pups. I'll ask about the toasters.

[Peter Naglitsch]

Thanks Sweetfinger. To be really clear: What I'm looking for is the open cover/ring that I linked to, and only the cover/bottom parts. Toaster pickups would be a bonus, but not my primary concern. Of cause I can buy the GFS pickup for 40$, gut them and do something usefull out of them, but if possible I would preffer to just get the covers/rings.