Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a '64 b16a combo, which sounds a little on the trembley side-almost brittle-any tech heads out there know what tweakin' I can do to produce a softer sound(other than the obvious tone control adjustments)? It has the original Jensens in it (4x10) and has been serviced, but it does have Ruby 6l6's in it instead of RCA's-which came in it stock. Thanks in advance for the info!***Mark

That 'Brilliante' circuit found in larger 'B' series amps can be a little hard on the ears depending on the guitar you are using. Does your B16 have the 'Brilliante' control, or just Bass/Treble? It's also possible the amp may have been modified or repaired incorrectly.

It has the Brillante control in addition to the Bass/Treble controls. I am the second owner-it's been in my family since it was new. The old transformers were replaced as have a couple of electrolytics (by Plexipalace) but other than that it's bone stock. I play Rickenbacker, Fender Strat, Gretsch Tennessean, and a Gibson Les Paul on it. They all sound brittle-I'll play with the Brillante control and go from there. Any other advice? Thanks for the consideration!***Mark

Wow! Hard to say without seeing it up close. I have original N.O.S. output transformers for B16's. What geographical area are you?

"Brilliante" was a double edged sword. With it you could get some of the most incredible crystalline sounds . . . .or shatter crystal. With a hi fidelity guitar pickup there was nothing better sounding but with a raunchy humbucker, nothing worse!

I live in Sparks, Nevada. The trannys that Plexipalace put in this amp were much bigger physically than the stock ones. They had the amp for awhile due to no one having any wiring diagrams for it. Victor told me he even talked to John Hall at that time to request a wiring diagram for info, but was told there was nothing available-it was out of date. Even when it was stock, it sounded very brittle, so I don't believe the trannys are the problem.

The B16 schematic has been on our website for years now. Perhaps Victor was referring to a pictorial wiring diagram? That's something we don't have for this model, for sure.

Is this amp similiar to the Vox ac30 in that it is a self biasing amp, or is that something that needs to be done when changing the tubes? If it does need to be biased, what are the setting, or where can they be found? Thanks!***Mark

The amp is cathode biased Class 'A' and requires no adjustment, however you should try several different sets of tubes to see what variances you can get out of the amp. Tubes are like Stratocasters. There ain't no two alike.

Tracy-I put in some RCA 6l6gc and that warmed up the amp considerably-One other question. It has an annoying crackle that comes into play after it has warmed up for quite some time. Any ideas? It happens on any guitar I plug into it, and it seems to happen when I strum-I know that has to be a coincedence-also happens on all four channels
Thanks!***Mark

Clean all pots & tube sockets with naptha or other reliable low residue cleaner. If any of the coupling capacitors are ceramic they may chatter. Old plate resistors tend to crackle as well.