Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

and go straight into my amp....I know stupid question #45879. I accidentally did it the other night and it just seemed like the Ric was roaring...I had to keep adjusting the amp to tame her a bit. No problems and I dug the sound but just wondering what is the real difference if I plug into that and run straight into my amp?

The difference is only in how the pickups get connected to the cable.

For Rick-O-Sound, it is a stereo jack and will connect one pickup to the "tip", the other to the "ring" connection. If you use a mono cable/plug, it will short out the pickup that's connected to the "ring" (this is the bass or neck pickup).

When you use the Standard output, plugging in the cable closes a switch that connects both pickups together so that they come out together.

Now, one more difference you will get is that using the Rick-O-Sound jack, because it does not connect the two pickups together, the "loading" on the signals is less because you don't have both sets of volume and tone controls connected. This will still be the case if you use a mono cable, you'll just get the neck pickup without the loading of the bridge pickup's controls...

I thought you get just the BRIDGE pickup with a mono cable in the Rick-O-Sound jack(?)

bassduke49 wrote:I thought you get just the BRIDGE pickup with a mono cable in the Rick-O-Sound jack(?)

Could it be that's just on guitars? I did that once, and quickly realized what I had done.
JimK

No, it happens with basses too.

bassduke49 wrote:I thought you get just the BRIDGE pickup with a mono cable in the Rick-O-Sound jack(?)

Yes, you're right. I was going from my foggy old memory instead of looking at the schematic...


I did have it right in the first paragraph where I said it would short out the neck pickup. I guess my memory doesn't even last 2 paragraphs anymore...

duh....that is right.... I remember when I first got it I thought my front pup was bad because it did not work....then I looked and realized I had the cable in the Rickosound input. But man....it is a snarley mean sound....I like it.

That's why I always run Rick-O-Sound, using a stereo cable and 2 amps. I get the same effect for both pickups...

Try selecting just the Bridge pup, now try both outputs one then the other, you may find that although it's the same wiring the Mono has more wire to travel through and more signal to loose. I too only use the Stereo output, sometimes two amps or just two channels, but always the Stereo output.

Using the stereo output with only one cable and amp will give you only one pickup, too...hardly any sort of benefit.

More cable to travel through? So miniscule as to be insignificant. let's see...2" @186,000 mps=3.7 X 10 to the minus 73rd power or something like that....

That, plus a dirty switch contact that the Mono socket has, , maybe, but I was asking the Op to try a test, we may be able to find a problem.