Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm about to redo the electronics in my main Ric, an '88 FG 360WB which I had converted to a 370 with 3 Ric HB's many years back. The wiring layout was all changed (coil faders, 1 vol, 1 tone, no blend knob, mid pu on/off, dual outs no Rick-O-Sound) which was perfect for the Fender tube & Johnson Millennium modeling amps I was using back then. Now I have an Orange AD30 for my main amp & I find the tone on my favorite Ric is seriously lacking. I need a the guitar to do more sonically than most sane folks would ask of their Rics but don't worry, it is still going to look stock by using gibson push pull pots. I need a lead switch to bypass the volume & tone pots, I need a mid pu on/off, coil tapping, series/paralel, and importantly I want some form of EQ control so I can dial in the perfect usable feedback for each gig situation. Think 70's era Frank Zappa with some serious Ric tones.

Issues: I have now had 2 Ric HB's die on me which I chalk up to bad wiring by what turned out to be a ****** custom shop so I would like to know what the HB's can & can't handle. The mid pu died once & now the bridge pu has gone. I am considering a toaster in the middle position & if I go that route I might work it so I can have the option to use all or just the toaster or just the HBs. Any suggestions other than the crazy house?

Welcome, Dominic!

Are you sure the HB-1s are dead? Check the wiring at the solder pads on the pickups, they can be somewhat fragile.

Welcome, Dominic!

You might want to post this (or a link to it with a synopsis of the question) in The Vibrola section where the experts hang out.

As I recall, there have been a number of previous threads about alternative wiring schemes. It may take a bit of reading, but if you do a quick search on the term "wiring" it may pay off.

Thanks guys! I posted this in Vibrola. I'll also give a closer inspection to the solder points on the bridge pu. Cheers!