Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm looking for the pickup selector switch for a 1967 370-12. It's bigger than the  08834 switch that is listed on parts sites. Each of the 3 selections is foe an individual pickup. Any suggestions as to where I might find this part? Thank you in advance.

As far as I know, the currently available Switchcraft switch is the same size and construction. Can you post a pic of your switch? I still have a couple NOS 60's Switchcraft pickup switches with the long tip as used in 60's Ricks.

aceonbass wrote:As far as I know, the currently available Switchcraft switch is the same size and construction. Can you post a pic of your switch? I still have a couple NOS 60's Switchcraft pickup switches with the long tip as used in 60's Ricks.

I think Ron may mean bigger by more leave/contacts. If the switch selected each pickup individually (not neck and middle together) wouldn't the switch be wider to account for the extra components?

If you are looking to duplicate a three-way toggle switch for a Byrds-wired 370-12 (the original version, not the version with the built-in compressor), you can do it with a Switchcraft 12015 toggle switch but you need to disassemble the switch to put the spacers and the leaves in the correct configuration. I posted about this several years ago -- the advantage of working off of a 12015 toggle is that it contains all of the parts you need and it comes with wider posts to accommodate the large spacer/leaf "sandwich". You could try to build the switch using parts borrowed from other Switchcraft switch models, but that could be a chore and it might be complicated further if you don't have a switch with wider posts. I believe that I still have a few extra stock 12015 switches somewhere, but I would have to do some excavation to track them down. Don't know if this will attach properly, but this was my original thread on the 12015 toggles:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=402360&p=714943&hil ... 15#p714943

A 370-12 wired with the original McGuinn harness configuration is an interesting Byrd and a great conversation piece.

I remember a thread from years ago where John Hall stated that the switches for the Byrd-wired guitars were hand-assembled (at least the one discussed above) and that he recalled about 80 pairs of switches being built from parts at RIC, and he (as a younger guy) was one of the people that helped make them....once they ran out of these parts then no more Byrd 12s were made. The one I used to own was made in 1972, but they were made (very sporadically) as late as 1982 by one account. The Walnutglo 370/12 that Kenny Howes owns was originally a Byrd 12-string from like 1979-1980 but it no longer has the Byrd guts.....

I'm pretty sure I saw a dusty A4 carton full of Byrd switches when I visited the factory several years ago....

They may have been hand made constructions. The switch on the guitar has 9 leaves in 3 sets of 3 and has 6 solder connections. The 12015X Switchcraft has 8 leaves and 9 solder connections.

To restate and confirm what has been said, these switches were hand-made by us, from a combination of two different Switchcraft switches. I have no knowledge which exact models were used nor am I aware of any records that would show this. But it really doesn't matter; the Switchcraft components are all generally interchangeable and their various models are just combinations of these basic parts anyway. All that matters is finding the right parts to assemble one to the appropriate configuration. There is indeed a box somewhere that has a few of these left (unless they're for doublenecks); next time I'm in California and at the shop, I'll take a look.

Thanks for the info. I emailed the 'info' and 'service' contacts at Rickenbacker.com and am awaiting any replies.

A slight amendment to my earlier post: It's possible that the stock Switchcraft 12015 switch is missing some readily obtainable standard parts (maybe an extra set of leaves?) that are needed to complete the Byrd switch. I know I used the 12015 switch as the platform for the Byrd switch, but I tackled that project quite a few years ago and, on reflection, I might have needed to add a small number of extra parts taken from a standard Rickenbacker Switchcraft toggle switch to complete the assembly.

Any update on the box of switches being located? Thanks again