Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I dont bash it around, hardly play it that much really, and it just stopped one day. any ideas?

So from the pick up selector, the middle position still works, the bottom position works, but when i flick it skywards, nothing...dead air.

Very likely a broken solder joint at the switch itself.

dang, how does that happen?

is it a tricky one to fix?

Easy if you can solder. If you can't, take it to a repairman who can. The upper and lower guards must be removed and flipped over. A broken joint should be easy to spot. Actually a five-minute repair if that is the problem.

Bummer, maybe I'll just leave it as is. Its the neck pickup that is still working i think, anyway, its the one I always use.

Bet it's not the pickup. An imported, non-standard plug was used in the mono output which bent one of the contacts in the jack.

The guitar is always working is stereo; when you plug into the mono jack, that contact must close to mix the treble pickup together with the bass position.

Pull the jack assembly out of the guitar and examine it carefully as you insert a plug. If the contact doesn't quite close, just bend it a little with needle-nose pliers until it does but only enough that when you take the plug out it opens.

It's easy and you'll understand it when you see it.

Note to self-have webmaster add this to FAQs at rickenbacker.com.

Hey Sweet. Thanks John.

I'll give that a shot tonight when I get home and let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.

...although I havent used any non-standard plugs on it. Only one spectraflex cable and one planet waves cable. both brand new.

Weird! this happened to me on my 360 last night. I unplugged the jack looked at it in a bemused-caveman-looking-at-a-mobilephone type way, grunted and re-plugged it in. It worked fine after that.

The Switchcraft plug profile is the gold standard especially when genuine Switchcraft jacks are used. You'd be surprised how many plugs, both cheap and expensive, simply don't meet that standard profile.

Next time you're at the guitar shop, hold the plugs up from a variety of cords next to each other and you'll see what I mean. But the best bet is to buy the one with plugs stamped "Switchcraft" and walk away from those that say "Made in China".