Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all.

My 2005 360 JG is acting up. When I plug into the Ric-O-Sound jack (the one closest to the R bracket), the bridge pick-up cuts in and out. Is there a known fix for this ?

Thanks. Hope all are well !

Steve-O

Oops, I meant the Standard jack.

Check, and/or adjust and clean the switch contacts on that jack. That is what connects the two pickups together.

Can I clean it with a Q-Tip, i.e., without any major surgery ?

You can also try turning the jack a bit and snugging the nut back down. There isn't a lot of clearance in those holes in the body. Sometimes if the jack twists a little bit in the hole and part of it contacts the wood it prevents it's parts all from working properly and as a result, it cuts out the signal.

steverok wrote:Can I clean it with a Q-Tip, i.e., without any major surgery ?

Yes, use that and isopropyl alcolol (don't get any on the finish, but you can drink it if you insist ). However, to do the switch contaacts properly you really should pull the jackplate off of the body, enough to be able to reach and separate the switch leaves to clean in between them.

Don't forget to clean the Ric-O-Sound jack as well. The summing fingers are actually on the Ric-O-Sound jack, not the mono jack. If they get gunked up, that can cause the mono signal to be scratchy. When you use the Ric-O-Sound jack, the plug actually separates the fingers on the back side of the jack so the discrete pickup outputs go to the tip and ring of the Ric-O-Sound plug. Unplug the jack, the fingers close, and send the mono signal to the mono jack.

iiipopes wrote:Don't forget to clean the Ric-O-Sound jack as well. The summing fingers are actually on the Ric-O-Sound jack, not the mono jack. If they get gunked up, that can cause the mono signal to be scratchy. When you use the Ric-O-Sound jack, the plug actually separates the fingers on the back side of the jack so the discrete pickup outputs go to the tip and ring of the Ric-O-Sound plug. Unplug the jack, the fingers close, and send the mono signal to the mono jack.

The mono jack is actually a shorting jack that with a plastic cam on one of the contacts that shorts both pickups to one signal. Ricks with "ROS" are actually wired in stereo, and inserting a plug in the mono jack actually is what shorts or "sums" both pickups to one mono signal. These jacks are often problematic over time, and because of the way they're assembled at the factory, don't fit very well in their channel. The "ROS" jack is actually a stereo jack that fits quite well in its channel if the solder lugs are compressed a bit.

Sanding the contacts in there a little works well for me.

Thanks everyone. I will try these potential solutions soon, starting with the simplest. I had this problem before, when I was recording, a month or so ago, but after I cleaned the inside of the jack with alcohol, it went away. But more recently, using a different chord, the problem came back. Tonight, when I switched back to the chord I used for recording, earlier, it seemed OK. I will try other chords too. Maybe that chord is just not a good match for this guitar. I've seen stranger things ...

steverok wrote:Thanks everyone. I will try these potential solutions soon, starting with the simplest. I had this problem before, when I was recording, a month or so ago, but after I cleaned the inside of the jack with alcohol, it went away. But more recently, using a different chord, the problem came back. Tonight, when I switched back to the chord I used for recording, earlier, it seemed OK. I will try other chords too. Maybe that chord is just not a good match for this guitar. I've seen stranger things ...

Somewhere in the threads you will find Mr. JH's rant on how cheap cords with the tips not being exactly the correct diameter and profile to match the Switchcraft jacks will foul up an instrument.

iiipopes wrote:

steverok wrote:Thanks everyone. I will try these potential solutions soon, starting with the simplest. I had this problem before, when I was recording, a month or so ago, but after I cleaned the inside of the jack with alcohol, it went away. But more recently, using a different chord, the problem came back. Tonight, when I switched back to the chord I used for recording, earlier, it seemed OK. I will try other chords too. Maybe that chord is just not a good match for this guitar. I've seen stranger things ...

Somewhere in the threads you will find Mr. JH's rant on how cheap cords with the tips not being exactly the correct diameter and profile to match the Switchcraft jacks will foul up an instrument.

That’s interesting. When you read reviews of cords, like on the Guitar Center web site, you read guys complaining about some cords, and how they break easily, don’t buy this and that, yada yada... I’m thinking this non-standardization of tips could be the source of a few of these sorts of problems. I’m curious now, and I think I’ll compare my cords to each other.

maxwell wrote:

iiipopes wrote:

steverok wrote:Thanks everyone. I will try these potential solutions soon, starting with the simplest. I had this problem before, when I was recording, a month or so ago, but after I cleaned the inside of the jack with alcohol, it went away. But more recently, using a different chord, the problem came back. Tonight, when I switched back to the chord I used for recording, earlier, it seemed OK. I will try other chords too. Maybe that chord is just not a good match for this guitar. I've seen stranger things ...

Somewhere in the threads you will find Mr. JH's rant on how cheap cords with the tips not being exactly the correct diameter and profile to match the Switchcraft jacks will foul up an instrument.

That’s interesting. When you read reviews of cords, like on the Guitar Center web site, you read guys complaining about some cords, and how they break easily, don’t buy this and that, yada yada... I’m thinking this non-standardization of tips could be the source of a few of these sorts of problems. I’m curious now, and I think I’ll compare my cords to each other.

Yep this is totally a thing. Once I read JH's posts about it years ago, I grabbed a few of my cables... sure enough, all different shapes and sizes!

I should really get a new, uninstalled Switchcraft Jack first before checking/comparing.

I have a 2002 360 that spends most of it's time cased. I recently took it out and discovered it too was having this problem.

Much of the advice on popping out the output jacks, cleaning and bending the contacts made sense after studying the schematic.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19502.pdf

Being a slow learner, I had to pencil out my own version of the plugs by understanding the difference between what happens when a MONO vs. STEREO plug is used in the Ric-O-Sound (RoS) jack.

My experience was opposite of what the schematic showed... According to the 1990 schematic, if I'm reading it correctly, if a mono-plug is used in the RoS jack, the treble (bridge) pickup is grounded; leaving only the BASS/Neck pickup making contact with the tip and working. My guitar was the opposite... only the treble pickup worked, so the bass pickup is grounding... It's possible the old schematic is slightly different with the newer guitar builds. If a STEREO plug is used, the BASS/neck pickup will connect to the tip of the plug, and the treble/bridge pickup will connect to the ring of the plug. Both signals will leave the guitar.

If a MONO cable is plugged into the STANDARD output of the guitar, only the bass/neck pickup works. This confirms the treble/bridge pickup is relying on the plug to move the contact ever so slightly to make contact with it. Since it is not, the treble/bridge pickup doesn't work.

John Hall indicated in one of the older posts that some of the new cables that are made in metric countries have slightly different tolerances, and will not close the gap of the contacts in the STANDARD output jack.

So I pulled out a very old cord that I used in the mid-70s, and it worked like a charm. Visually, I cannot see a difference in size or shape between the 70s cord and the new cord, but apparently the tolerances are pretty tight.

Obviously, this is not a viable long term solution, but I at least understand the problem and the degree of precision these jacks are operating at.

For now, I'm content with using my crusty old cord, which is built like a tank.