Ric-O-Sound - Working?

[timberic]

I'm new to all things Rickenbacker and just acquired my first, a 1967 JG 365/6. I apologize in advance for what might be a stupid question.

The guitar plays fine when using the standard output. However, when I plug a standard cable into the ROS output, nothing happens. Similarly, when I run a standard cable out of both into two amps, I get no output at all. I've read about the need for a ROS box or a Y cable, but I'm not sure if there's an underlying issue here. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Frank

[jps]

The ROS jack is a TRS stereo jack; you need a stereo cable, not a mono cable to make it work. For most applications the amplifier end of the cable must terminate in two separate mono plugs, one for the neck pickup signal, the other for the bridge pickup signal. You could, if needed, have the amplifier end be a XLR connector if you have something that uses such a connector, wired up as a stereo input, such as: pin 1 - ground, pin 2 - neck pickup, pin 3 - bridge pickup, for example.

[jps]

Oh yeah, do not put anything into the mono jack while using the ROS output.

[jps]

That is, don't use both output jacks at the same time.

[timberic]

Thanks guys! Hopefully I didn't damage anything fooling around.

[jps]

Nah, you really can't damage anything unless you plugged the other end of the cable into a wall outlet, or something like that.

[timberic]

That stupid I'm not

[cjj]

Well, that would be one way to convert your guitar into a "light show", albeit short lived...


Plugging into the mono (Standard) jack shorts the outputs from both pickups together with a switch in the jack, so as mentioned, it won't hurt anything. If you had a stereo cable in the Ric-O-Sound jack and put a mono cable into the other, you would just get both pickups on the mono and on both channels of the stereo.

Now, plugging a mono cable into the stereo jack will short the neck pickup to ground, leaving only the bridge pickup connected. Of course, if you then went and put a plug into the mono jack, that would short both pickups together and since the neck pickup is shorted to ground, so then would the bridge pickup, which is why you got nothing...