Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

cjj wrote:I use a Sansamp RBI for the bridge pickup, a Sansamp RPM for the neck. These run to a Rane AC22B electronic crossover to separate the high and low from each pickup. The High channels are mixed and sent to one channel of a Carvin DCM1540L, the Lows are mixed and sent to the other channel of the Carvin amp. The High output goes to two Ampeg 2x10 cabs, the Low goes to two Ampeg 1x15 cabs. It's only 750 watts per channel, but it seems to do ok...

I'm considering a similar setup for my first rig in 20 years. I'm curious about the choices you've made:

• Why did you choose the RBI/bridge -- RPM/neck arrangement? The other way 'round seems more intuitive (well, to me).
• Why bi-amp? Does it really make much of a difference in headroom or in overall tone, especially compared to the initial separate pickup routing?

Dave Scantland wrote:

cjj wrote:I use a Sansamp RBI for the bridge pickup, a Sansamp RPM for the neck. These run to a Rane AC22B electronic crossover to separate the high and low from each pickup. The High channels are mixed and sent to one channel of a Carvin DCM1540L, the Lows are mixed and sent to the other channel of the Carvin amp. The High output goes to two Ampeg 2x10 cabs, the Low goes to two Ampeg 1x15 cabs. It's only 750 watts per channel, but it seems to do ok...

I'm considering a similar setup for my first rig in 20 years. I'm curious about the choices you've made:

• Why did you choose the RBI/bridge -- RPM/neck arrangement? The other way 'round seems more intuitive (well, to me).
• Why bi-amp? Does it really make much of a difference in headroom or in overall tone, especially compared to the initial separate pickup routing?

I haven't completely settled on the connections for RBI/RPM, I just think the RPM sounds a bit better on the neck than the RBI. In reality, I think the RPM sounds better overall and I'm seriously considering replacing the RBI with another RPM.

As for bi-amping, well, I suppose it's mostly that I've been doing that sort of setup since the '70s and it's just what I'm used to. Also, the Ampeg 2x10 cabinets have a high freq. horn, and even though they are intended for bass do have a better high end response than the 15" cabs. But, I don't really want to lose any of the lows coming from the bridge pickup, or highs from the neck, so that's what the crossover is for. Send the lows from each pickup to the 15's, the highs to the 2x10's.

Of course, it could just be that I'm a techno-geek...

cjj wrote:I haven't completely settled on the connections for RBI/RPM, I just think the RPM sounds a bit better on the neck than the RBI. In reality, I think the RPM sounds better overall and I'm seriously considering replacing the RBI with another RPM.

As for bi-amping, well, I suppose it's mostly that I've been doing that sort of setup since the '70s and it's just what I'm used to. Also, the Ampeg 2x10 cabinets have a high freq. horn, and even though they are intended for bass do have a better high end response than the 15" cabs. But, I don't really want to lose any of the lows coming from the bridge pickup, or highs from the neck, so that's what the crossover is for. Send the lows from each pickup to the 15's, the highs to the 2x10's.

Of course, it could just be that I'm a techno-geek...

As to your last comment, I suspected as much. But then, it takes one to know one . . . and I'm guessing you won't mind a few more questions.

• Any particular reason you chose Rane?
• Where have you got the crossover set -- or more importantly, how did you figure out where to set it? Does it vary according to venue, or do you adjust for that through EQ?
• You must be using an outboard mixer. Any tips there? Everything flat except volume and pan?
• Apologies, but I haven't been around here long enough to know where your musical tastes lie. What sort of sound(s) are you after? (I assume you've been successful at finding it.)

Dave Scantland wrote:

cjj wrote:I haven't completely settled on the connections for RBI/RPM, I just think the RPM sounds a bit better on the neck than the RBI. In reality, I think the RPM sounds better overall and I'm seriously considering replacing the RBI with another RPM.

As for bi-amping, well, I suppose it's mostly that I've been doing that sort of setup since the '70s and it's just what I'm used to. Also, the Ampeg 2x10 cabinets have a high freq. horn, and even though they are intended for bass do have a better high end response than the 15" cabs. But, I don't really want to lose any of the lows coming from the bridge pickup, or highs from the neck, so that's what the crossover is for. Send the lows from each pickup to the 15's, the highs to the 2x10's.

Of course, it could just be that I'm a techno-geek...

As to your last comment, I suspected as much. But then, it takes one to know one . . . and I'm guessing you won't mind a few more questions.

• Any particular reason you chose Rane?
• Where have you got the crossover set -- or more importantly, how did you figure out where to set it? Does it vary according to venue, or do you adjust for that through EQ?
• You must be using an outboard mixer. Any tips there? Everything flat except volume and pan?
• Apologies, but I haven't been around here long enough to know where your musical tastes lie. What sort of sound(s) are you after? (I assume you've been successful at finding it.)

I have to admit, the crossover is kinda new to the setup so I haven't really figured out where to set it yet, and I haven't had any time in the last few months to really mess around with it (trying to convince the people I work for at my "day job" that they really do need to keep me). I chose the Rane because they seemed to have the most adjustability/features and they have a lot of good technical documentation on their stuff. They do a very good implementation of a Linkwitz-Riley active crossover (I worked with Seigfried Linkwitz years ago at HP in Santa Rosa, CA).

The mixer is just a flat mixer circuit I designed and built into my Ric-O-Sound/mixer/headphone amp rack module I built. It doesn't do anything special, just mixes the signals.

My musical tastes? Wow, where to start? I'm not too big on rap, but most other stuff is fair game. I'm probably more of a prog-rock guy as far as tone I like. I like Chris Squire & Geddy Lee, but I like lots of other sounds too. I'm not sure I've ever been sucessful at finding "my own" sound though. I've gotten lots of other people's sounds, but I like to change stuff depending on the mood. So, that makes it even more difficult to describe how I set things, it's always changing...