So what's inside the Rick-O-Sound box?

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 10:05 pm

Hello gang,

Since most people use a stereo-to-dual mono Y cord just fine with the ROS jack socket, I can't help but wonder if there is anything special in the Rick-O-Sound box. Any special wiring in it?

Has anyone compared an ROS box with a Y cord, sound wise?

wileyibex · Post by **wileyibex** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 5:08 pm

Legend has it that there's a tiny little man with a mixing board in there...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 7:04 pm

And he asks for only a peanut to eat each week...

Hahah Paul, I like your humor.

So what's in there really?!

rob · Post by **rob** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 8:57 pm

It is a Switchcraft stereo cable, soldered to two jacks, (I'm guessing Switchcraft, also.) The jacks are soldered quite neatly, and tighted inside a little sheetmetal box that fits nicely in the palm of yur hand. Comes with a Switchcraft 20 foot mono cord, also.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 7:47 am

Besides the quality components you've already mentioned, perhaps even more important is the very low capacitance and highly shielded cable employed. The specs call for either top of the line Belden or Mogami. That's what really differentiates this kit from a Radio Shack Y-cord.

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 4:00 pm

Do we have to feed the little man a quality peanut, like a Planter's, or would a generic nut swiped from a bar bowl suffice?

1964 · Post by **1964** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 8:30 pm

> "Besides the quality components you've already mentioned, perhaps even more important is the very low capacitance and highly shielded cable employed. The specs call for either top of the line Belden or Mogami. That's what really differentiates this kit from a Radio Shack Y-cord."

IMO, high quality low capacitance cable is very important.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 12:00 am

When the Rick O' Sound is in use, say with two different amps, should you be hearing completely seperate tones in each amp?...say the bridge pickup in one amp and the neck pickup in the other? Or will the tones interact with each other and affect one another from amp to amp?

Reason I ask is that I just got a Rick O' Sound unit and if I put the switch on my 4001 in the middle position, and have the ouputs going to two different amps, I can have the neck pickup controls affect the tone on the amp the bridge pickup is going into and vice versa. I'd like them to be seperate if possible.

Thanks,
greg

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 10:33 pm

Greg;
A theory on this one; possibly the 2 hot wires on the harness that are soldered to the stereo jack could be reversed, and therefore give you this scenario.If you're handy with a soldering iron, simply reverse the 2 hot wires at the jack.
Or, less work; just remember this when you run the 2 mono cords out of the box, and reverse them
and forget that one side of the box says treble and one side says Bass.

billikenn · Post by **billikenn** » Fri Mar 14, 2003 3:11 am

I think he is saying that the tone knob for either PU is adjusting the sound in both amps..

the treble tone is not only adjusting the treble amp. It is also adjusting the bass.

Im not familiar what comes with the rick-o-sound box. Does it supply the cord from the guitar to the box?

It sounds like you are either plugging into the wrong plug on the guitar (IE, mono instead of rickosound) or you are using a mono cord from the guitar to the box...

If not I would consider either replacing the stero guitar cord (if you supplied it) or taking the box back where you bought it and ask them...

JP

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Fri Mar 14, 2003 4:55 pm

I don't know how Rick ships the ROS box these days, but I swear when I got mine in '70, it came with 1 separate mono cord. I already had another that came with my then new 360-12. Maybe now you have to supply your own mono cords? If you Did plug the ROS stereo end into the mono jack, all you'd get would be 1 PU with the plug pushed in all the way,but if you pull the plug partway out, you get the other PU.Also, remember, when playing the guitar, as you look down at the controls, the Volumes are on the Bottom.

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Fri Mar 14, 2003 5:00 pm

Legend has it that there's a tiny little man with a mixing board in there...

Actually, it's the aliens that captured Mark; he turned the tables on them and tricked them into thinking the ROS was a super teleportation device...Normally, these aliens are quite noisy, but, thanks to Rickenbackers' use of high quality sheilding, you're not likely to get any, um, "interference"....

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Sat Mar 15, 2003 7:12 pm

Josh is right. The tone knob for either pickup affects the sound of either pickup even when each pickup is in a seperate amp. The Rick O' Sound comes with a stereo plug already hard wired to it, and it comes with a seperate mono cable. Plug the stereo cable into the stereo jack, then you plug the mono into the treble or bass and then into the amp. I don't know why they don't supply two of the nice high quality cords, but since I only have one, I then take a standard mono guitar cable, and plug into whichever one i'm not into on the Rick O' Sound, then into a different amp. I was under the impression that each pickup would go to a seperate amp and not affect the other, but maybe that impression is incorrect?
Greg

360dave · Post by **360dave** » Sat Mar 15, 2003 7:59 pm

Waaayy back, (1959) I changed my single jack 360 to a tip, ring and sleeve (stereo) jack and a stereo cable and used both channels on my amp. Sometimes I used two amps but it really was not worth the trouble so I used only one amp most of the time. Each pickup went to it's own amp channel and the controls on the guitar did not interreact. To change the pseudo Rick-O-Sound back to standard I just plugged both pups into the same amp channel.
The 2 conductor sheilded cable (stereo cable) from the guitar went to a small box mounted on the inside wall of the amp. From there I had 2 standard, short guitar cables coming over the top of the amp to plug into the channels.
It worked just fine and was capable of many tone selections.
Generally, I got tired of fooling around trying to get the right sound so I removed all that stuff many years ago and now the guitar is wired as original.
It still works just fine but I wish it had a master volume however I ain't gonna cob it up just for that!!
Hmmmm....I just thought that I could get a reproduction 2 piece pickguard, drill an extra hole and wire up a master volume so I dont have to act the Wizard of OZ to adjust the thing.
Mabey the easiest thing to do would be to get a volume pedal......or just forget it....
Dave