Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

People actually use any of the knobs ?

fluffy wrote:holy resurrected threads Batman,
I guess this would be the proper place to ask, so, why don't 4003's have a 5th (blending) knob? they have Rick-O-Sound, they have 2 pickups, right?
inquiring minds want to know

AFAIK, it's because there isn't the volume-reducing bass-cut cap on the bridge pickup that necessitated a balance knob in the 4001. That, and it just confuses new owners anyway.

- Scott

I don't get how this knob isn't extraordinarily redundant with the neck pickup volume knob.

cassius987 wrote:I don't get how this knob isn't extraordinarily redundant with the neck pickup volume knob.

+1

I have one on my 4005 and couldn't agree more.

I just think of it as: "that little knob that I always have to make sure is twisted fully counter-clockwise!"

I know 4005s are vintage and shouldn't be fiddled with, but my approach to an instrument with this kind of harness would to replace the 5th knob with a push-pull of the same size, not wiring the pot in, and do something fun with the DPDT. I believe RIC sells a switch like that because Scott Pope wired one into one of his guitars (I believe that is part of his iiipopes vintage tone mod, that I can happily attest results in some really great sounds).

i used it quite often on my '73 MD-1252. this pic circa 1980. had lots of tone variation, especially with the other pickup choices involved.

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