Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a '97 Fender '65 DRRI that I got several months ago. Clean as a whistle, and sounds great. When I got it, everything worked perfectly. So far so good....

Well, I let a friend of mine borrow it for a very short performance, but it did involved moving it in the back seat of his car. He's a very good guy and I'm sure he took good care of it. But after he brought it back, I noticed that the Vibrato no longer works. I guess it could be the switch, but the Reverb side works fine. I did notice that when I turn the intensity all the way up, there is a significant volume decrease (even though there is no vibrato).

I think I'll try a new foot switch and see if that solves the problem. Beyond that, does anyone have suggestions or ideas on how to trouble shoot?

Loose (or blown) tube on the vibrato circuit?

I'm no expert, but I'd reseat all of the tubes to make sure none shook loose. (Pull each one out, check the pins for straightness, and reinstall them.) I used to haul my Bandmaster around in the backseat of my Dart with no problems, and I don't have any problems currently with hauling around my Kustom '36 Coupe tube amps.

Thanks guys...As it turns out, I think it was the foot switch (for which I'm thankful). I'm going to open it up and see if there's something obvious...like small mammals.

johneek wrote:... and see if there's something obvious...like small mammals.