Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I got a chance to play my new MF 650D today and the neck pick up is about 1/4 the output volume of the bridge pickup. It is also very clean sound compared to the bridge pu. At first I thought it was not working at all but if I turn up my amp way up I can hear it (I tried it on two different amps with different cords). That's not the way th HB's are on the 650D, are they? The bridge pu knob was also off and in the case but that was an easy fix.

I was also surpise, but pleased, to find that the neck is longer than my 620 and 660. I was not expecting that.

Thanks in advance as I need to decide on doing a return, exchange or have RIC deal with it.

There should not be a big difference in volume between the two pickups. If anything the neck should be a bit louder due to the fact that the strings should have more movement in that position. Both pickups are the same (not a hotter one for the bridge).

Might be a bad solder joint on the switch, pot, or pickup itself.

I agree with Ken and Mike but would add that it could also be a bad neck volume pot or even a bad neck pickup. My 650C has reasonably balanced output, but I've adjusted the neck pickup a bit lower to make it so. Sounds like yours has a problem. If you have access to an ohm meter (cheap DMM is fine) you can do a non-invasive test which may help determine what's wrong.

Set your meter to read ohms (in the 20k+ range if it isn't auto-ranging). Plug a short guitar cord into the output jack and clip one meter lead to the tip of the free end and the other to the sleeve part (the black plastic ring separates the two). If you don't have alligator clips you can just tape one to the sleeve and hold the other one in the groove near the tip (just a reminder that we're talking about guitar cords here ). Turn up both of the volume knobs and switch to the bridge pickup. Your meter should read something around 15k. Turning the bridge volume down should cause the reading to drop--eventually reaching near 0 at the lowest volume setting.

Now switch to the neck pickup and note the resistance reading. Is it lower or higher than 15k (anything in the 13k-16k range is probably OK)? If it's higher you probably have a bad solder joint somewhere. If it's lower you may have a bad pickup. What happens when you turn the neck volume down?

In any case, if it's new I would strongly consider having it repaired under warranty even though I'm a DIY fanatic. It would suck to void the warranty and then find out it's a bad pickup. Good luck with it!

A P

Thanks guys for the input. I talked to RIC today and any and all of it would be covered under warranty. It is a pretty new bird made this month so I am a little surprised. I am reading else where that the 650D's are a bit fussy, shall we say?

Also, the control knobs keep coming undone from their mounting shafts no matter how much I tighten them down.

Some superglue next?

Forget the superglue--it's a hack. Be sure you're using the correct-sized tool for those knobs. There's a trick you can use, too...using a small triangular or half-round file. notch the aluminum pot shaft slightly at the spot where the set screw contacts the shaft. Replace, making sure the screw sits over the notch, and re-tighten. Won't slip anymore...

Thanks Paul - will do!

I have a jewlers regular screwdriver that fits perfectly. Your notch technique should do the trick.

I was joking about the superglue but I did consider some epoxy (no - not really).

I got the 650D back from RIC today and the invoice says that they replaced the bridge pickup. They now both sound strong and even. It was two weeks from out the door and back. The warranty process was real straight forward and I couldn't be happier. It was also neat to get to chat a bit with Kenny and place a voice to an avatar.

I am really liking this guitars wide and smooth natural wood 24 fret neck. I wonder, has anybody out there put hi-gains or VP's in a 650?

Good to hear all worked out well and to your satisfaction. I have a 650S which is my 'go-to' guitar for six string.

I too just obtained a 650D, and the pickups sound great to me. But I did notice the volume/tone knob issue when I noticed that they were not all lined up together, so I tried to do so. Very little screw tolerance there. Paul's notch trick should do nicely. I'll try it as soon as I have time.

Another solution might be to set the max vol/tone more toward the floor (as opposed to more toward the input jack), so the upper knobs don't get in the way of adjusting the lower knobs, as the diagonal configuration makes good screwdriver access difficult. But I'd have to try that to see if it's a good fix.

I've never had a problem with the knobs on mine.

320capt wrote:I got the 650D back from RIC today ...... has anybody out there put hi-gains or VP's in a 650?

A Forumite Cole did a real nice job on his 650-C that he put for sale back in Feb 2007

He replaced the HBs with High Gains (that I had surgucally removed from my 360-12) and he substitutued White TRC and pickguard on the Colorado instead of the silver and black/silver. Looked pretty sharp the traditional white trim against the jetglo black body and the stark Maple fretboard looked cool.

Check the archives for poics

320capt wrote: I am really liking this guitars wide and smooth natural wood 24 fret neck. I wonder, has anybody out there put hi-gains or VP's in a 650?

I put high gains my former 650C but they had toaster covers on them. I used two bridge pickups to better match up with the wider string spacing on the 650. I preferred the sound of the high gains over the stock HB's.

Ken,

The VP covers and gold pick guard look sharp! What do you have on it for a TRC?

The original, sprayed gold with black lettering.