Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've got a reliable ol' 330, but it's been butting heads with my new amp and I'd like to figure out how to make them get along.

In this corner: a stock 330 MG from 2001. In the other corner: a Victoria 5112, a tweed champ design with a 12" speaker. The problem: the 330's bridge pickup sounds barky, the neck pickup is muddy, and the guitar basically sounds totally uninspiring through the amp - however the guitar sounded great through a Vox when we recorded our second EP, and my new Rickenbacker 1996 sounds fantastic through the Victoria, as does my Tele with hotter pickups. Whats happening here?

One guitar is semihollow with lower output pickups and sounds great. The other guitar is solid with hotter pickups and sounds great. The 330 is semihollow and has hotter pickups, but so do the Gibson 335's that people rave about in association with this amp. The 1996 has stock roundwounds, and the Tele has flats. The 330 HAD flats and then I changed to rounds, but it didn't help.

Would a .0047 cap help, do you think? Where would you place the cap?

I've been thinking about selling the 330 and getting a 350 instead, but before I do that I thought I'd present the problem to the forum. I'd appreciate any any ideas or advice any of you might have. Thanks!

The hi-gains are hotter than the toasters, but you still can't really compare them to the Gibson pickups in the 335. They are totally different designs and sound completely different. The toasters are alnico magnet single coils with a DC resistance around 7.4k. The hi-gains are ceramic magnet single coils with a DC resistance around 12k. Both use 44 gauge wire. The Gibson humbuckers are a dual-coil pickup with each coil hooked up in series but out of phase with each other so it cancels the noise. These are usually wound to around 8k total using 42 gauge wire. The Tele has two different pickups on it, with the neck pickup being a very skinny single coil using alnico magnets and about 7.5k using 43 gauge wire. The bridge pickups is a single coil using alnico magnets, and probably around 9k using 42 gauge wire, with a metal baseplate on the bottom of the pickup, which changes the sound. The Gibson humbucker has a very wide sensing window compared to the other pickups, so it's sound is more bassy and mid heavy. The Tele has a very narrow string sensing window so it's tone is very bright. The RIC is in the middle with both pickups, but since a different wire gauge is used between all the pickups, and the shapes are different, direct comparisons can't really be made accurately. Your 1996 has toaster pickups on it. You may try going with toaster pickups for the 330, or Ric HB1 humbuckers instead of the hi-gains. Personally I think a Vox or old Tweed Fenders, old Marshalls, old Supros, etc. sound great with RICs, but in my mind that means toaster pickups. I think hi-gains work better with blackface or silverface Fender amps since they have more mids and those amps scoop out the mids. I don't like HB1's on blackface or silverface fender amps at all, but love them on the older style tweeds, Marshalls, or Voxes. YMMV, but I would suggest to try some toaster pickups rather than trying the cap. You can always re-sell the pickups if you don't like them, but I would expect that you would like them since they are the same as what is in your 1996.

Howdy,

Ethan, my MG 360/6 (stock Hi-Gains) absolutely ROCKS through my '68 Vibro Champ! I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed with your Rick/Victoria combination. I would think that your 330 (with all knobs full open and toggle switch in the middle) would be a good combination for stuff like "Get Off My Cloud"; I get a good approximation of that tone at home.
I use Rickenbacker strings (roundwound) and enjoy the slight overdriven tone coming from my little Vibro Champ. I know these amps aren't exactly the same, but I would think they'd be tonally close..Good luck. BTW, your Victoria amp comes highly recommended; I'll be shopping for one in the next year or so.

Eggman

So today I was looking over my 330 again, having nearly abandoned it in favor of my 1996, and I noticed a problem with the hi-gains. Well not with the hi-gains themselves... When I re-installed the hi-gains after a flirtation with toasters (this was quite some time ago now)... I put them in wrong! The hi-gains look superficially alike, but aren't the same, and I had the bridge in the neck and the neck in the bridge. I put them right, and now the problem is solved. Stoopid!

Howdy,

Don't feel bad; I've just realized that I'd been turning my truss rod nuts in the wrong direction to correct a bow! All is well, now. How does your 330 sound through that Victoria? Please respond.

Eggman

Greg, that is very informative stuff on pickups. I probably learned more from that post than I have on several dozen web sites. Thanks.

go VOX.
(imho)

The 330 through the Victoria sounds fantastic for single-note lead work, really hot and sizzly. Chords tend to get a little muddy in the mid-range, though. Greg may be right about the midrange. But... I've also discovered that my 5112 did not come with the Jensen speaker that Victorias usually ship with. The speaker that came in the amp is apparently known for being dark at low volumes, and opening up once it's cranked - which pretty accurately describes my dislikes about the amp. I'd prefer a little more clarity and treble detail at lower volumes. I've noticed that the amp, as it is, sounds best with brighter, lower output pickups (such as toasters) which makes sense if the speaker tends to be dark anyway. I will change the speaker to something a little brighter and let you know what happens.

Yeah, both the 330 and my 1996 sound great through my bandmate's Vox AC-15!