Plugging in with hi gains

General Rickenbacker discussion

Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4

Post Reply
User avatar
BuddyDog
Intermediate Member
Posts: 562
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:30 pm

Plugging in with hi gains

Post by BuddyDog »

I bought a 360/6 and while I'm waiting for it to arrive; I was wondering if the hi-gain pick-ups are more like a humbucker or single coil output for plugging into the amp.

For example, are you using input 1 or 2 on a Deluxe Reverb, ditto for an AC15 Heritage.

Thanks for the replies
2009 360/6 Fire-Glo 2009 360/12C63 FG 1975 4001 White/BT
Chords mangled, no waiting!
JakeK
RRF Consultant
Posts: 5757
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:08 pm

Re: Plugging in with hi gains

Post by JakeK »

Welcome, Steve, and congrats on your new guitar.

You're only using one input with any amp, and hi-gains are single coil pickups.
User avatar
whojamfan
RRF Consultant
Posts: 2552
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:50 am
Contact:

Re: Plugging in with hi gains

Post by whojamfan »

JakeK wrote:Welcome, Steve, and congrats on your new guitar.

You're only using one input with any amp, and hi-gains are single coil pickups.
Welcome to the forum!
I would definitely try input 1 first, it works better than 2 on the amps that I have. Rick hi-gains are very touch responsive, and you can lean in to them for a nice breakup, or back off for the cleaner chime. I had some fairly high gain pickups in my Les Paul, but changed them out to Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro 2s to better match the output and tone of my Ricks. Before I did that, I would have to make some changes to the amp to get a balanced sound, and that just doesn't work out live.

Jake-Amps that have 2 inputs next to each other generally have a "high" and "low" designation. If a guitar has hot/high gain pickups, you may want to use the the "low" input to maintain a cleaner sound that won't immediately start to overdrive the preamp. Instruments with a medium to low output generally are plugged in to the "High" gain input. It's a taste thing really, but try plugging your guitar in to the other input jack next to the one you are now, you'll see what I mean. Some amps have a very drastic difference, like the old 2 input Marshalls, the low was so quiet most people never even used it.
User avatar
BuddyDog
Intermediate Member
Posts: 562
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:30 pm

Re: Plugging in with hi gains

Post by BuddyDog »

My thoughts are on a Deluxe Reverb, it has 4 jacks, 2 for the normal channel and 2 for the reverb channel.

The jacks are usually wired so the first input is hot and the 2nd is a 6dB reduction. Same goes for the AC15 Heritage (which has 2 completely separate pre-amp routings).

I use input "2' for humbucker equipped guitars, as the humbuckers usually have a much greater output to the jack than a single coil, and input "1" for single coils. At home, I use input "2" for everything as the 6dB reduction, can help keep overall volume down.

I was just wondering if the hi-gain pick-ups are more like a single coil or more like a humbucker.
2009 360/6 Fire-Glo 2009 360/12C63 FG 1975 4001 White/BT
Chords mangled, no waiting!
User avatar
weemac
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 2735
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2002 1:28 am

Re: Plugging in with hi gains

Post by weemac »

BuddyDog wrote: I was just wondering if the hi-gain pick-ups are more like a single coil or more like a humbucker.
Welcome Steve.

Think of them as a hairy P-90 with a bit more mids.. I found Hi-gain out put to be about the same as the pickups in my PRS custom.
They will have twice the wallop of Fender style single coils....
I think what Rickenbacker did was to give you sort of a neutral (I did not say sterile) sound that requires just a touch of EQ here or there to give you any sound that you want to hear...

Eden.
User avatar
BuddyDog
Intermediate Member
Posts: 562
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:30 pm

Re: Plugging in with hi gains

Post by BuddyDog »

weemac wrote:Think of them as a hairy P-90 with a bit more mids
Sweet! It will be interesting to try them out when the guitar gets here.
2009 360/6 Fire-Glo 2009 360/12C63 FG 1975 4001 White/BT
Chords mangled, no waiting!
User avatar
whojamfan
RRF Consultant
Posts: 2552
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:50 am
Contact:

Re: Plugging in with hi gains

Post by whojamfan »

You can also change the sound a bit with moving the pole pieces around. I raised mine up a bit and found a bit more clarity without losing the oomph.
Post Reply

Return to “Rickenbacker General: by Howard Bishop”