RMC pickups, removal? N.T.M. Rider

[DDW]

I have purchased a replacement for my burned Blackbird Rider Nylon, pointed out by someone on the Blackbird burns thread - thanks for that! Why my Reverb watch list never flagged it is still an open question.

Anyway it arrived and seems in good condition (though does have a bit of the neck bend I was trying to get corrected in my first one). But it has RMC pickups. I'll never plug the guitar in, but if they didn't cause any problems, thought I might leave them in case they would be of value to some future owner. I just changed the strings, and discovered that these pickups are just kind of floating about in the bridge slot.

It looks like each one is a slightly different height to match the 16" radius. With the string removed each of them moves sideways or across the width of the slot, the only thing holding them in is the wire going through a hole in the bottom of the slot. Even with string tension, I can push the pickups side to side. Also they are in line, my last version of this guitar had a Graphtech saddle filed to produce some intonation correction. Not possible with these.

Is this the way they are normally installed? I'm thinking of removing them, it will leave a hole in the body (for the connector, which also interferes with the NeckUp), I will have to make a nice looking plug for that. Is there some reason I shouldn't remove them? They will never be used while I own it.

[brainfertilizer]

Originally Posted by DDW

I have purchased a replacement for my burned Blackbird Rider Nylon, pointed out by someone on the Blackbird burns thread - thanks for that! Why my Reverb watch list never flagged it is still an open question.

Oh!
I missed the smiley face when you first responded, and thought it was already gone before you could get it.
I'm glad it *was* you, and glad I could help out in some small way.

[DDW]

Yes, thanks for that reference. I should have bought one listed out of Texas last September, it was a 2018 build so probably one of the last ones made, and no electronic nonsense. But at the time I thought I already owned one. I don't think it sold, but no way to track the owner now that it is delisted.

I'll keep looking for a newer one I think, which complicates the decision on the RMC pickups. Someone may value them more than I do. I'd have paid extra not to have them.

I've been trying to find out if I can determine the build date of the Blackbird by its serial number. Must be able to, but Blackbird has been unresponsive on this (and any other issue). Distracted I guess. If I had the decoder ring to the serial numbers, I'd be able to tell if a prospective purchase was early or late build. Blackbird told me the later builds had a more reinforced neck. Sometimes the owner knows the vintage but often not.

[Earl49]

My only experience with such pickups is the old LR Baggs LB-6, which also used six individual piezo elements. You probably could remove them and replace with a single compensated saddle. The wire holes underneath won’t hurt anything.

OTOH I have several guitars that came with pickups that have never been used (I don’t gig anymore). I never bothered to remove them - no compelling reason to modify. Glad you found a replacement Rider!

[DDW]

Or your Baggs, were they just sitting loose in the bridge?

The only reason I have for removing them is they do not allow compensation, or easy action height adjustment, and the connector is in the way of the NeckUp, which I always use. I can cut a hole in the NeckUp I think, but no solution to the other problems.