What are the TWO jacks ?What is Rick-O-Sound?

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Thu May 10, 2001 8:53 pm

Again a standard question ....This is my version ,for the official one ......

Talk to Rickenbacker.

On a two jack Rick you get a choice of ;

Standard....this is mono ,just like a Fender Telecaster,Stratocaster,Precision Bass,Jazz Bass,Gibson Les Paul,ES-335,SG ,Tobias Bass,Alembic Bass,Steinberger Bass or guitar,Gretsch White Falcon,Country Gentleman,Tennesean,White Penguin,ETC.

You get the idea...most everything is mono.

The Rick-O- Sound jack is Stereo.I addressed this topic under "What is the 5th Knob".

THe idea was ,if you were playing live ,and you had two amps ,you could put them apart on stage and get a bigger sound! In the 1950's and the 1960's P.A. systems almost did not exist! There were NO/ZERO monitors!Electric bassist were hard to find.Remember long hair was the Beatles second LP..wow ! how shocking that was to our parents!

Well stereo was a new toy in the house hold music listening scene.And to apply this to a live venue for a musician ,well it was like becoming Les Paul himself!

What it really does is this ;

one side of the signal is the neck pickup.

the other side of the signal is the bridge pickup.

When you use an official Rick-O-Sound kit,you get a high quality dual conductor shielded cable attatched to a box.This has two mono jacks for you to plug mono/standard guitar cables into to run to two different amps.Try it ...it is kind of cool .

But if you gig a lot and don't have a road crew,and get tired of lugging around the other amp,and are worried about where your guitars are when you are lugging around this stuff,stay with the mono /standard jack .It is a lot less frustrating .

I have seen and heard it used in a live arena to great effect...Chris Squire immediately comes to mind.But that is a different story.

docholliday · Post by **docholliday** » Fri May 11, 2001 1:34 pm

R.O.S. is indeed very cool.

But don't forget the R.O.S. "trick" with that fifth knob.

Before you use R.O.S., plug into mono and adjust the fifth knob to get the pickup emphasis you want (neck to bridge).

Once you have that set, switch to R.O.S. (unplug the mono, plug in the R.O.S., and connect to your two amps).

With R.O.S. plugged in to your Ric, that fifth knob works like a left-right fader or balance control, letting you adjust guitar signal feed to the left and right amps.

And at least in my 370/12, with the toggle switch in the straight/perpendicular (all pickups) position, I get both left and right amps going. BUT if I switch the toggle to up or down (neck & middle pickups or bridge pickup, respectively), I get only the selected pickup(s) out of the appropriate amp, e.g., neck & middle out of left amp with nothing coming out of the right.

In this example, you might use the toggle in up to play rhythm or rhythm-support lead, then for a lead solo or bridge riff or whatever you would switch the toggle to the all-pickups (perpendicular or middle) position to kick in the other amp and "boost" your sound.

Just one idea.

Keep in mind that the R.O.S. feature really needs the Rickenbacker Ric-O-Sound Kit to work properly. If you simply use a TRS-to-2-TS "Y" splitter, you'll get unwanted noise/interference in your signal to one or both amps. It won't sound pretty.

-Doc

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Fri May 11, 2001 4:09 pm

There is a second version of the two jack setup.

I believe that it is a dual mono system.

The standard jack is the regular mono ,
but when you plug a mono cord into it and a mono cord into the Rick-o-sound jack ,you get two seperate signals.
One is the neck pickup and the other the bridge pickup .
Again the switch should be in the center position to achieve this.When you flick the switch you get one side or the other.

This system uses different jacks than the old system and from a repairmans perspective are more road worthy.

It is another way to do virtually the same idea.EXCEPT you need to use two cords.

If I am wrong let me know ,I have seen these jacks in 360-12v64 re-issue guitars .I assume that is how they work.

tallville · Post by **tallville** » Tue May 15, 2001 7:54 am

I have the 360/12 v64, and when two jacks are plugged into the dual mono outputs into two separate amps, it is a lush, stereo sound.

If one wants to play with one amp in mono, which of the dual mono output jacks should be used? What is the difference between the two outputs?

Thanks for the explanations above, Mark and Doc.

docholliday · Post by **docholliday** » Tue May 15, 2001 2:41 pm

Interesting about the 360/12 v64's two jacks.

The R.O.S. manual info specifically cautions against plugging into both the mono and R.O.S. jacks simultaneously. Ergo, I'm rather reluctant to "experiment" with my prized midnight blue 370/12.

Anyone else care to pipe in on this subject?

-Doc

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed May 16, 2001 2:48 am

I am in the same camp as Mark the MD when it comes to carrying excess gear. Two amps are great,IF you want to carry them around. There are ways to 'cheat' and get a cool stereo effect, although it requires that your band have a stereo mixer and signal processor. Most processors today (Alesis for one) provide for a stereo signal and have some great delay/chorus patches. Run your mono guitar signal from your amp/POD/whatever to the board and dial in a cool effect (like a right-left delay that is adjustable by milli-seconds) and its possible to have your own 'wall of sound' out front, while using your amp as a stage monitor. Just another way to drive yourself crazy!!!

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Wed May 16, 2001 2:52 am

Okay ,lets see ...what is the worst case scenerio that could happen if you plugged two cords into a guitar at once ?

Is the guitar active (does it have a battery)?-no

Is the guitar plugged into a wall socket to get power?No

Does wood become effected by parallel cables coming ouof it ....Jerry Garcia's guitars were all dual jacks and they were not the cause of his death.

A power surge could engulf the guitar as one amps signal races up the cord and cooks the toaster!-NO

In other words ....nothing will happen to the guitar.Nothing .Period.

You won't hurt the pickups ,it will not change the truss rod settings ,the guitar wil not go out of tune ,you will not start the BLACK PLAGUE,you will not hurt the switch or the pots,

NOTHING negative will happen .TRUST ME .

There will be no pyrotechnic display.

But ...don't stand in a puddle of water .That would be quite shocking.

carr · Post by **carr** » Wed May 16, 2001 6:08 pm

I would have thought that if there were any dire consequences by using the two jacks simultaneously, ric would have built in a cut out so that the first jack in would have broken the circuit for the second jack.

John

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Wed May 16, 2001 7:41 pm

Maybe we can get the "Official word " .....John are you out there?

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Wed May 16, 2001 7:42 pm

or would someone at least go to Gerald 's F.A.Q. and see if it is there...it must be .

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed May 23, 2001 9:29 am

I asked the same question regarding my 360/12V64. Here is the exact response I got from John Hall on Voxtalks . By the way, they are indeed dual mono jacks:

"It probably IS a strange feature although you can indeed use it to go to two amps or two different inputs with different settings. In any case, it's like that because that's exactly how George's is, whatever the thinking was back then."

J_Blakey · Post by **J_Blakey** » Wed May 23, 2001 7:27 pm

Another great use for the ROS (aside from live-double-amped) is in recording/writing or in my case even practicing thru phones at night... I run the ROS (from my 4001) into two channels of my multitrack. It's very convenient and allows for better sound control...silky highs and bottomless depths. I can maintain "my sound" or pick-up mix throughout volume changes with the board's faders in the same constellation ...instead of fiddling with the pick-up vol. knobs to get the right ratio at different volumes.

Also there's something (integrity?) in the idea of utilizing a Rick's natural sound to the fullest... you know, it's the wood and metal... not the thin veneer of effect pedals.