Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The Rickenbacker Forum welcomes Charlie Kittleson to its list of topics associated with music. Charlie is a guitar player and amplifier technician from Northern California who has agreed to field questions with respect to amplifiers, tube and speakers.

Welcome Charlie. Looking forward to your expert input & help. Thanks for agreeing to help us all find our killer sound....

Maybe this was the only thing missing in this forum. A huge welcome!

Welcome from me too, Charlie. I'm sure there will be lots of interesting and informative stuff for the 'tube freaks' here (and there are plenty of 'em)!

Welcome, Charlie! I'll have questions from time to time.

Hello Charlie,

It's great to know that someone with your specialized knowledge is happy to share their expertise on the forum. I am sure you will be asked a million questions in short order. I look forward to reading posts in this section.

I am glad to be here and welcome any and all questions about tubes and tube amps, speakers, parts and other components. I am a true gear hear and work on amps almost every day. I also know what good sound is and have experience with hundreds of different amps. My philosophy is keep it simple and keep it stock. In some cases, though with newer amps that use circuit boards, one needs to upgrade capacitors, diodes, resistors and in some instances, replace the circuit board with point-to-point wiring.

Thanks again to Peter for inviting me to be a part of your forum.

Wow, Charles Kittleson! Welcome to the board!
Still working on the Vacuum Tube Valley publication Charles? I'm hoping for a new one soon. Its been awhile since the last one came out, and I know I sent my subscription renewal in!

Peter, he's WAY better than having me do it! He knows a lot more about tubes and amps too I'm sure. Don't get me wrong, I'm a gear head too, and work on amps when I can, and have lots of projects in mind of my own, but I don't have more than a couple years of knowledge. I'm sure Mr. Kittleson exceeds my knowledge level easily! Thanks for bringing him on board Peter!

Welcome, Charlie.

If you get the chance Charlie, I would like to know what type of music you play and your amplifier preferences.

Peter

I currently play blues and jazz. Mostly stuff with lots of vocals to back up. But have played in several cover bands with tunes from the 1950s to 1990s including Beatles, Everly Brothers, CSNY, Neil Young, etc.

I was also in a blues band in Ukiah, CA for 3 years called the Blues Factor a few years back that was a 6 piece outfit.

Guitars played include a G & L ASAT, custom made strat with mahogany body and Van Zant PUs, Heritage Eagle archtop, Guild Starfire IV, Fender Telecaster, Fender Strat, Gibson ES-5, Guild D-55 acoustic.

Amps played include a Carr Rambler with single 12, Emery Super Baby (for the studio only), 1968 Fender Pro Reverb, 1973 Fender Super Reverb. Plus I have a few rare Gibson, Vega, Fender and misc amps from the 1930-50s.

I have always wanted to buy a Rickenbacker guitar. I used to see them in Hollywood guitar stores for really cheap prices. These were the ones from the mid-1950s that were totally cool. Maybe someday I will find one.

Welcome, Charlie! Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I'm sure you can find a Rick to your liking through this forum...there's always something for sale that's worth buying.

Charlie: What model of Rickenbacker is of interest to you?

Probably earlier ones from the 1950s-60s. Not new ones that is for sure. Either solid or semi-acoustic electric. I have to try some out to know exactly what I want.

Charlie, what don't you like about the new ones? They appear to be extremely close in design, sound, and build quality to the older ones from what I've seen. Some features, like the truss rods in their basses for example, are definitly superior to the old ones, which tended to split the fingerboard off when people who didn't know how to adjust them correctly tried to adjust them.