Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I keep seeing a number of the TR series amps on E Bay and C`List at very good prices .... any comments on these ? Again, after seeing them around, thinking of grabbing one and wonder what some folks here think of them.

I have a TR-7 combo amp and a TR-100 head. They're great sounding solid state amps. The only negative thing I have to say about them is that the built-in distortion is absolutely terrible.

blueflamerick wrote:I have a TR-7 combo amp and a TR-100 head. They're great sounding solid state amps. The only negative thing I have to say about them is that the built-in distortion is absolutely terrible.

My 1978 TR7 doesn't have "Distortion".When did Rickenbacker add a "Distortion" control to the TR7?

Sometime between 1978 and 1983. Your Master control is replaced by Distortion on my TR-7. My amp also has a headphone jack above the power switch on the front panel.

Pardon me if I bump this, but I just got a TR25 and I am really, really impressed with it. I'm particularly pleased with the tremolo! It does a great "How Soon Is Now?"

I have five first version TR7's,and one second version TR7,with distortion & a headphone jack...and yes,the distortion DOES suck...but two TR7's,with a 360/12,Ric-O-Sound box,and a footswitch for the tremolo on the neck pickup amp,about 10 feet apart,sounds like GOD...especially with the depth on FULL and the speed on LOWEST...the tremolo seems to modulate between both amps,although this is a sonic illusion...these amps used to be cheap,the first one that I got cost me $25...get one while you can,they're around $100 now,which is still a deal,IMHO...for about a year,I bought every cheap one that I could find on eBay...(>_<)...always good to have a backup,right?

After a couple of false starts, I successfully managed to purchase a second Rickenbacker TR25 online, and it arrived today. Aside from a new 2 inch split in the case, thanks to the shipper, it seems to be in good shape, and I had my first experiences with the cosmic reverberations of Rick-O-Sound stereo with two identical amps.

A bonus: it came with a schematic. I have been searching for one for some time, and I know that they are in demand. I have scanned it and would be happy to share a PDF with anyone on the forum. It's better than an original copy, as you can easily magnify sections and actually read the print as if you were still young, and not presbyopic like me. Please E-mail me at:

ethanrusso@comcast.net

to request a copy, and share your favorite stereo set-up secrets.

Welcome, Ethan, and thanks for your offer of the elusive TR25 schematic.

You also win the vocabulary enrichment prize of the day/week with your entry, presbyopic.

Presbyopia (Greek word "presbys" (πρέσβυς), meaning "old man" or "elder", with Latin root "-opia", meaning "eye") describes the condition where the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects with age.

Many here have been tagged with that affliction, so you are not alone by any means. It doesn't seem to slow us down very much, though. We can still play the notes even if we can't read them.

ethanrusso wrote:A bonus: it came with a schematic. I have been searching for one for some time, and I know that they are in demand. I have scanned it and would be happy to share a PDF with anyone on the forum. It's better than an original copy, as you can easily magnify sections and actually read the print as if you were still young, and not presbyopic like me. Please E-mail me at:

ethanrusso@comcast.net

to request a copy, and share your favorite stereo set-up secrets.

Old thread, but who knows....
Is this the schematic as also available on the Rickenback-website (http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19341.pdf),
or a sharper/larger one of the TR25? Would be great, I've emailed you.

Thanks!

From our photo gallery, it would seem the TR-7 had distortion added by June 1982.

FWIW:

Looking at the various TR-schematics, the implementation of the various gain/volume/master/distortion-controls is interesting & can differ from model to model.

As an example, the 'Master' (rightmost control) of the TR7 is in the feedback-loop of the power-amp, while 'Distort' (also the rightmost control) of the TR25 is directly in the first gain-stage.

So labels fit what the controls do, but one might to keep in mind that signal-flow is not always a straightforward route along the front panel controls on all TR-models.

There are TR7's and TR14's, be sure not to confuse the two.

FWIW, note that the TR25 schematic likely has a small drawing error in the tremolo-LFO section. (LowFreqOscillator)

Unlike the 'more usual' phase shift oscillator (topology with 3 cascading RC-sections), Rickenbacker uses a Twin-T oscillator.
As drawn in the TR25 schematic it won't work, the midpoints of the T's are joined, but shouldn't.

The horizontal line between "the two stacked 0.1uF caps" on the right, and "the 0.1uF cap that connects to the two stacked 1M resistors" should be removed.

The schematic of for instance the TR7 shows the topology that will have been intended. And is drawn in a fashion that more clearly illustrates the Twin-T nature of the oscillator.

Just sharing...

I have a Rickenbacker TR75 2 x 12" combo and it sounds great, in my opinion! The clean sound is amazing. EQ works great, easy to dial in a good sound. VERY loud if you want it to be. Pretty heavy combo (mine has replacement Celestion speakers and is extra heavy). Some folks say they don't dig Rickenbacker solid-state amp distortion... I would say that it is very similar to some of the boutique SS distortion pedals that are popular now. So depending on what you want, it could be a pretty cool sound.

The attack of clean notes is very percussive... if you're looking for soft tube sag, this is not it. This amp reminds me of my old Fender '63 vibroverb reissue, which was a tube amp but a solid-state rectifier... very fast and percussive attack. Which, with my 360/6, is a perfect marriage.

These tend to be inexpensive, so if you can find one I think they are worth trying. I have mine set up next to a $1500 Matchless Lightning 15 combo, and this TR75 totally holds its own in clean sound mode. The Matchless overdriven is a different animal and hard to beat, but that's not what a TR75 was designed to do.

There is a TR120b on the local CL, kinda tempting for the novelty of it but I really don’t need it.