Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just recently, my brother-in-law gave me a Y splitter, one stereo to two mono outputs. My 360 and I are off to a buddy's place tomorrow who has a bunch of amps. It'll be my first experience with Ric-O-Sound. I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl. Any tips or advice for an ROS virgin?

Use a cond...

That's good advise Jeffrey!

Try something like heavy compression on one amp, and maybe a touch of delay on the other.

So Bill, how did you make out?

Well, I have to admit, it was kind of strange, particularly as the sound changed as I moved around a little in the mix (the two amps were a fair bit apart). It was very cool though. It turned out that another guy showed up who needed use of the extra amp so I only got to goof around with it for a while. It'd definitely be great to get another amp of my own though to experiment at home. I'm starting to see how, in the electric world, this GAS things works!

Question --- never done this so am asking the question. Can you just plug two separate cables into the two plugs on a Ric, wired to two separate amps, for similar effects ? Or does one need to purchase the Ric-O-Sound device ?
I apologize if this question is something that others have already asked in the past. I just got another amp, so am interested in experimenting.
Thanks - Rich F.

"Question --- never done this so am asking the question. Can you just plug two separate cables into the two plugs on a Ric, wired to two separate amps, for similar effects ?"

Rich, yes. It's fun!

A good quality stereo to two mono splitter cable will do the trick, though it is nice to have the ROS kit.
Just make sure the plugs are good quality (Switchcraft, for example). Cheap ones apparently sometimes have size tolerance problems (too loose in the jack).

"That's too loose, LaTreck."

When I bought my first Ric...a brand new 4001 in '78, it came with a Y cable for the ric-O-sound. No such thing as a Ric-O-sound box then. Has anything changed electronicaly?

Here's an even more basic question... what's a "Ric-O-sound box"?...same as a "Rick-O-Sound Kit"?... whats a "Rick-O-Sound Kit"?

I always figured that you'd either use 2 cables or a regular old splitter. Apparently there is more to the thing than I thought.

The box is a metal box with a stereo cord coming out of it (which goes to your guitar's Ric-O-Sound stereo output jack) and two mono 1/4" output jacks on it's sides. Inside, it's just a simple wired split from the two tip zones of the stereo plug and a common ground. I don't remember seeing any other electronic gizmos in there. The kit also includes an additional mono guitar cord (I guess they figured you already own one cord and will need an additional one to get the box up and running). It's a fairly pricey little kit, but the workmanship, cords and parts are all first rate. ....plus, it has the cool ROS logo on the top.

thanks, Todd... hmmmm, I cant imagine they sold too many of these since all it is is a splitter with a box around it... or am I missing something here?

But it's a really good plug with a really good cable and a really good splitter in a really good box and it comes with a second really good cable.

(Cha-ching! I wish)