Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi everyone, I have a 1978 Rickenbacker 4001 and I would like to replace the current tone pot with this push pull pot that I bought from Rickenbacker. I am having a hard time understanding the diagram:



Here is the exact pot that I am using:



For ease of understanding lets call the bottom 3 connection lugs, "bottom 1", "bottom 2", and "bottom 3" (left to right) and the top 2 lugs, "top 1" "top 2".

Can anyone help me understand what to connect to each of these lugs? I have researched and read on some of the forums but it is still kinda confusing.

It's just a switch ganged with a volume pot; pull out your DMM and it should be easy enough to figure out what you have right in front of you (assuming, of course, that since you are doing the replacement yourself you have some basic understanding of how it all works, in the first place).

Dane Wilder ... paging Dane Wilder ... your assistance is needed in the RickResource Technical Forum.

Okay, let's see. First, it looks like in the drawing, your new pot is shown upside-down. Second, nothing about the neck/bass pickup wiring will change. Everything below refers to bridge/treble pickup wiring.

Bottom one connects to top 2, which then connects to ground.

Bottom 2 gets connected to the wire that comes from the volume pot to the original tone pot.

Bottom 3 connects to the wire that comes from the pickup selector switch to the original tone pot.

Top 1 connects to the capacitor for the tone pot.

As for your new capacitor (called C3), it basically goes in between the volume pot and pickup selector switch. One end connects to the pickup selector switch at the same place as the bridge volume pot, and the other end connects to the middle lug of the volume pot. Be sure to remove the existing wire that goes from the pickup selector switch to the middle lug of the volume pot. Otherwise the signal will basicaly "go around" the new capacitor.

This is my interpretation of the diagram. What does everyone else think?

superheavydeathmetal wrote:Dane Wilder ... paging Dane Wilder ... your assistance is needed in the RickResource Technical Forum.

Okay, let's see. First, it looks like in the drawing, your new pot is shown upside-down. Second, nothing about the neck/bass pickup wiring will change. Everything below refers to bridge/treble pickup wiring.

Bottom one connects to top 2, which then connects to ground.

Bottom 2 gets connected to the wire that comes from the volume pot to the original tone pot.

Bottom 3 connects to the wire that comes from the pickup selector switch to the original tone pot.

Top 1 connects to the capacitor for the tone pot.

As for your new capacitor (called C3), it basically goes in between the volume pot and pickup selector switch. One end connects to the pickup selector switch at the same place as the bridge volume pot, and the other end connects to the middle lug of the volume pot. Be sure to remove the existing wire that goes from the pickup selector switch to the middle lug of the volume pot. Otherwise the signal will basicaly "go around" the new capacitor.

This is my interpretation of the diagram. What does everyone else think?

Thanks guys for the help so far. This drawing is kinda bad and confusing but its really the only one that pops up when you try to search this thing. I am newish to this kind of stuff, however a couple of months ago I completed a Univox Superfuzz clone made straight from the schematic (look Ma, no kits, lol). For some reason the Rickenbacker schem and this diagram have been throwing me for a loop.

When the pot is pushed in I get a reading on my DMM from "top 1" and "top 2". When it is pulled out, I get nothing. SO correct me if I am wrong, the "pot part" of the of the "push pull pot" that I have should be wired up just like the current pot. It looks like "Top 1" goes to the pickup selector and "Top 2" goes to the "treble volume pot/.0047 cap"

What are your thought on this one guys? I realize I am probably making this way harder then it actually is. I just want to get it right before I start lighting up solder. Thanks for your help so far

Here is the actual Rickenbacker 4003 schematic. It may help, but you will have to identify which connection lug on the pots corresponds to which connection points in the schematic. I should have taken the time to figure that out during my DC circuits class in college

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19557.pdf

superheavydeathmetal wrote:Here is the actual Rickenbacker 4003 schematic. It may help, but you will have to identify which connection lug on the pots corresponds to which connection points in the schematic. I should have taken the time to figure that out during my DC circuits class in college

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19557.pdf

Well I finally dove in last night and something just clicked in my head. You just wire up the 3 lug area just the way the current pot is. On the 2 lug area, basically have one end of the .0047 cap on lug 1 and the other end on lug 2. AND......IT WORKS! Thanks for the support! Its pretty wild the difference that little cap makes in the sound.

HOWEVER, something I noticed about the pot, there is a good bit of wobbling as far as the shaft of the pot goes. I am not sure if this is normal for push pull knobs or not. From what I have read, its not. I am probably just gonna have to send it back to pick of the ricks and exchange it. Oh bother

The pot RIC currently uses for this purpose is a simple switching pot, and it sounds like you've got it wired right, BUT, it's rated at 330K. Your original tone pot was 500K, so you're going to lose a bit of upper end clarity on your bridge pickup, which is why I WON'T EVER USE THESE THINGS IN WIRING FOR A RICK!

i think this is right..... http://i.imgur.com/E7SJ1TK.png