Rick O Sound Question

[akpasta]

Hi All,

I've got a couple rickenbacker 12s with Rick-o-sound. I bought a Rattlesnake TRS to dual mono splitter and a stereo cable to give it a shot.

My impression was rick o sound splits each pickup to different channels of the TRS cable, bridge goes to one, and neck goes to the other, and the fifth knob works like a "cross fader"- if it's in the middle it's even signal to both pickups, in either direction, it's just one pickup. That doesn't seem to be what I'm experiencing...

I have an 82' 360/12, it seems to just operate like two mono signals from the regular output, meaning, turning the fifth knob effects both outputs the same, like it does when using the regular output. Is there something wrong with my rick-o-sound wiring on the guitar?

I also have a 1990s 360/12v64, and on that one, there seems to be something wrong with the wiring, when I hook it up to rick-o-sound output, one of the channels seems buzzy and very low output, I swapped cables, inputs etc to test. I did swap the pickups on that guitar a while back, perhaps I messed something up? I did carefully connect everything just the way it was before. Hmm..

[jdogric12]

Most 360/12V64's have dual mono like George's, not ROS. Same thing goes to both outputs. The 5th knob is not really a blend knob, it's a second volume reverse potted on the neck pickup, so it functions kind of like a blend, so everyone has always called it that. In a ROS setup it will be much more obvious what it really does. As for your '82, hmm, does it say ROS on the jackplate?

[akpasta]

Most 360/12V64's have dual mono like George's, not ROS. Same thing goes to both outputs. The 5th knob is not really a blend knob, it's a second volume reverse potted on the neck pickup, so it functions kind of like a blend, so everyone has always called it that. In a ROS setup it will be much more obvious what it really does. As for your '82, hmm, does it say ROS on the jackplate?

Thanks for responding. My 1982 360/12 says Rick O Sound on the plate. But when it’s hooked up it seems to operate like two mono outputs. It just splits the signal and the fifth knob seems to just blend the neck and bridge, like if it was the normal output, it does NOT operate like a cross fader. Is it supposed to operate like a cross fader?

Regarding my 360/12v64 it does not say Rick O Sound on the plate. Does that mean they’re two mono outputs? Also there seems to be something wrong with it like I said. One of the outputs sounds buzzy and quiet. oh wait a minute. Maybe that’s because this guitar has two mono outputs like you say, so running a TRS stereo cable is going to give you a second signal that sounds weird?

[jdogric12]

First, to make sure... on the 82 ROS, you should only have a stereo cable plugged in the ROS jack, and nothing in the regular mono jack.

On the V64, correct, use two mono cables simultaneously.

[keme]

A little background:
I rewired my 360 some time ago, so this is from memory. IIRC the ROS-config has a neutral-open (NO) switch for the "normal" jack, which closes (connecting both pickup outputs) when plugged in, and the RoS was a plain stereo (TRS) jack with no switches in use. Diagrams on Rickenbacker's official pages confirm this.

I was not aware until today that some Rickenbackers were originally made with dual mono jacks. I thought they were all TRS for the RoS feature.

V64:
Compared to the more common neutral-closed (NC) jacks, a jack with a neutral-open switch is more likely to develop corrosion on the connector surfaces of the switch, which might account for buzz when plugging into that "normal" jack, so I first thought that this was the usual RoS setup. Had to read twice, and again.

You hear buzz on the v64, which according to descriptions I can find, does not have the TRS jack for ROS. I suspect that the v64 versions are similar to my design (v64 wiring diagrams are not available from Rickenbacker's pages, as far as I can tell.)

My "RoS fix" is fairly simple:

• Replace the existing jacks with two TS jacks with NC switch.
• Output from each PU goes to the output connection on one jack, and the switch connection of the other.
  This makes a "crossover short circuit", which is disconnected only when both jacks are plugged so both switches open.

I can't quite say from the available info what is a likely cause for your problems. Does your "buzzy and quiet" statement mean that there is hum, or cracle, and no output at all, or is it noisy but with low level output?

The '82:
I suspect that there is a permanent short between the outputs. Either the switch has been damaged (bent lip to switch, or some solder spilled into it), or a loose jack has been turned to make an accidental connection. Then you get output from both pickups, but the ROS separation does not occur.