The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi guys and gals. First post and I really need some advice. I just got delivered a 50’s era Rickenbacker D8 and after putting strings on it realized that the pickups in it are only 7 string (the low string is not picked up). I bought it online from a store in Texas (I’m in NJ). I’m new to the instrument and ready to dig in (I play a bunch of instruments and read music). So my questions are:

Do I just keep it? - It seems like the low string isn’t used much and I might be able to change the pickups later.
Do I try to return it? I thought I got a good deal. I can probably afford to by another one eventually.if I get good enough to really need it.

I’m not looking to play gigs with it, but hopefully some jamming. I’m looking to play mostly honky tonk, Hawaiian, and some jazzy stuff.

Many thanks,

Bob

I should add that the dealer immediately offered a full refund. I paid $1,300. Looking for a short scale double 8 and they don’t seem that easy to come by. The Fenders all seem to be going for over $2k.

That's a sweet guitar and a great price. Are you saying the pickups have seven pole pieces? Or that they don't pickup the outer strings well, which is a very common problem on 8 string Ric's and can be fixed. I would definitely keep that thing and fix it.
You can play it as a seven while you decide.

I agree with Glenn. Play it as a 7 string for now since you're just starting out anyway. Check out this thread where bOb had a similar issue with his SW8. At the end of the thread, pickup rebuilder Nick Fryer shows an example of a replacement bobbin that he built up. Be sure you get someone that will build an 8-string bobbin for you and keep the horseshoe magnets! I'm assuming that the pole pieces on these guitars are not magnets as in most other pickups.

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... er++string

Glenn Wilde wrote:That's a sweet guitar and a great price. Are you saying the pickups have seven pole pieces? Or that they don't pickup the outer strings well, which is a very common problem on 8 string Ric's and can be fixed. I would definitely keep that thing and fix it.
You can play it as a seven while you decide.

7 poles for sure. The body of the pickup doesn’t even extend under the low string. Thanks

I see, I would still be inclined to keep that, I'm always looking and rarely see those. If you're just starting out, seven strings will be plenty to keep you busy, it may be perfect for you. You can also have just one eight string coil made and do a 7/8 setup.

I’m certainly leaning that way. I kind of look at it like the lowest octave on the piano. You can play a lot of piano without those keys.

I had a double 8 just like the on you have. I got it about '56 and it was stolen in Oklahoma in '76. Miss that steel and the 360 hollow body firbird red 6 string and a big dual 14 reverb amp.

I appreciate everybody’s help. After reading another thread about a similar issue and after some further investigation, I’m pretty sure there are 8 poles on the pickups. I took the bridge off and got a better look. I can’t get the knob off and don’t want to break it. They look original. Apparently the bobbin is a 6 string size with 8 poles. I guess it’s just too far from that 8th string to pickup a signal. I like the way it looks and sounds so I will probably keep it.

A seven string Ricky bobbin has the fourth pole piece squarely in between the magnet gap ... utilizing steel 6-32 bobbin mounting screws as pole pieces 2 and 6.

8 string bobbins are just 6 stringers with two pole pieces added to the very ends ... hence the problematic 1 and 8 strings ...

I cleaned up the pickups with some alcohol and adjusted the height on that end and can finally hear it through the amp albeit much lower in volume than the adjacent string. The high string isn’t as bad because it’s closer to the pole. I’m going to keep it. It’s cool looking and sounds good to my ear. I’m not good enough yet for it to matter much. It would only sound bad if I were picking single notes on that low string. Thanks.

I missed this post but yes adjusting the pickup height / angle generally solves this. Ricky horseshoes are fantastic and (IMO) far more gutsy than Fenders.

Enjoy!

I agree adjust the pick up helps. As a kid I just tried one way then back where it was and then the other way till I got it.

It cleaned up pretty nice. A smaller gauge string for the bottom note seemed to respond better - it’s not too bad. The outside neck pickup sits a tad higher and sounds really great.

Swap out the half-ass pickup for a nice 8 string pickup. A lot of the mojo of those guitars' tone comes from the large horseshoe magnets. The internal pickup is not particularly special. Its the huge magnetic field its sitting in. I'd contact Jason Lollar. He makes replicas of 8 string Rucky Horseshoe pickups and he'd probably sell you just the internal pickups to put under your magnets and that guitar will sing. I would never buy a D-8 Ricky and then settle for it to function as a D-7. That's just lame in my view.

I would certainly consider it some day but after cleaning and adjusting I’m picking up the low string fine now.

I still feel the pickups need to cleaned more. Tried some compressed air but can still see a lot of dust. Does the pickup come out by itself or do I have to take apart the whole assembly? I can’t seem to pull the knobs off - Don’t want to try to hard and bend or break anything. Any advice would be welcome.

This forum is great. I appreciate everyone’s help!

https://www.horseshoemagnets.net/home/r ... et-removal

Scroll down to Postwar ...

Thanks. I can’t get the tailpiece assembly off because I can’t get the knobs off. Might bring it to my guitar tech.

These two work for press-on knobs ... or set screw knobs that are stuck on the post of the pot ..,

https://elmerguitar.com/products/knob-a ... ing-puller

Or

https://www.zzounds.com/item--ALPPGKR?siid=323353