Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've been noticing a change in the unit I have. Used to be that I got a great jangle and sustain something approaching McGuinn's sound on his 1991 release "Back From Rio." But lately, say in the last six or eight months or maybe longer, I've noticed that as I increase the attack the pedal becomes more and more of an over drive pedal as the compression is increased. It makes no difference whether the battery has a few hours on it, or is brand new, or even if I run it through a 9v. DC converter (1 Spot). It also makes no difference how clean I set my amps (Vox AC15C1, MusicMan RD110-Fifty, Kustom K-200 roll 'n' tuck). The sound is the same. I wonder what happened. Has any one else experienced this? What did you do? I've contacted Steve Lasko about the situation. It being a holiday here in the US, I don't expect an answer until sometime in the middle of the week at the earliest. So I thought I'd check here on the RRF as well. Thanks in advance for your insights.
JimK

Bump
JimK

So I called up Steve Lasko today. He advised me to send the unit in and they'd look it over. We'll see what happens next.
JimK

You know, there are other makes of compressors that you CAN use with a Rickenbacker guitar.

I've used Keely (standard two knob and Pro) VFE White Horse, Boss, and a few others.

The one I'm using now, and the best I've used is:

The FX Engineering RAF Mirage.

Two knobs.

Easy to set, maximum transparency, dead quiet, and makes everything put into it sound better.

True, there are other compressors on the market. Janglebox are the ones I happen to own at the moment. I see no reason to dump a two hundred dollar tool if it can be repaired and put back into use.

jimk wrote:So I called up Steve Lasko today. He advised me to send the unit in and they'd look it over. We'll see what happens next.
JimK

So, have they gotten back to you yet?

As of 25 November no, they haven't. Still working on that new Byrds 50th anniversary commemorative box, I presume.

I have a JB2 that will not pass signal when engaged. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Rick36561 wrote:I have a JB2 that will not pass signal when engaged. Any suggestions? Thanks.

IS the switch a true bypass type? If so, then perhaps there is no power getting to the circuitry. How's your battery? and/or external power supply?

The JB2 is according to the website true bypass. (I never understood what that meant, exactly.)

What true bypass means is that when the effect is switched off the instrument's signal does not go through any circuitry other than the switch and the in and out jacks. No buffering or anything else that may "interfere" with the instrument's tone.

Did you ever get your compressor back?