Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Quite easy question:
In the direction of the top of the guitar, or the player, or...?
What is the original factory set up?
And the same question for the 5th knob's middle position.

On my bought-new 620-12 the knobs (including the 5th knob) are set up so that when the guitar in playing position and the knobs are turned up all the way (all the way clockwise) the dots point down at the floor. I don't recall ever removing the knobs on this guitar so I assume that's how the folks at the factory put them on.

From the player's perspective this makes the knobs appear to be in 12:00 position when fully on, since the player is of course looking at the guitar upside down.

The 5th knob is set up this way too, which results in the dot being around the 7:00 position from this same perspective when the knob is set at its halfway point.

What Jonathan said. From a new Rick on POTR website:

http://www.pickofthericks.com/product_i ... -22551.jpg

Many thanks!!!

So mine are 90° "earlier" (top of the guitar is top position of the knobs, middle position of the fifth knob, too)

I will keep that, though.

Interesting that on the Rose Morris catalogue 1964, the 1999/8/7 and 6 all seem to be pointing to the headstock, but the 1995 is pointing to the driver 10 oclock.

Interesting that on the Rose Morris catalogue 1964, the 1999/8/7 and 6 all seem to be pointing to the headstock, but the 1995 is pointing to the driver 10 oclock.

We can't really tell much from photos, since there is no way of knowing how far the knobs were turned when the picture was taken. I tend to leave my main four knobs turned full-on most of the time, but I don't think we can necessarily assume that was the case for the guitars in the pictures.

Fortunately, this is one of these things where there is no right or wrong answer -- you can put 'em on any way you like and it will play and sound just as good.

I am curious because I switched (long time ago) to cookers.
These knobs are very fine when You use different presets. Even from a distance of meters You can see how they are adjusted. (Others hate the cookers for that, I know!)

I found some interesting presets that are describable as geometrical figures. But talking to others I need some reference. Now I know that an "original" quadrangle is a cross on my guitar (and vice versa). To memorise the different "times" of five knobs is too much on stage, IMHO.

Sorry, weird information...

jdawe wrote:The 5th knob is set up this way too, which results in the dot being around the 7:00 position from this same perspective when the knob is set at its halfway point.

To turn my fifth knob all the way up, I think I actually turn it counter-clockwise - the opposite of the other four knobs. Unless I'm remembering wrong, the result is that the fifth knob's halfway point is around 5 o'clock.

You're quite right about the fifth knob - it is backwards from the others, so you get minimum neck p/u volume when it is all the way clockwise rather than maximum. However, at least on my 12 string the fifth knob is set up like the other knobs, so that the dot is at 12:00 when turned fully clockwise, which puts the midpoint at around 7:00 and the max at around 1:00.

Hotzenplotz wrote:I am curious because I switched (long time ago) to cookers.
I found some interesting presets that are describable as geometrical figures.

Yeah, the look of the direction the oven knobs are pointing is kind of important to me. When I switched to the oven knobs, before I put them on I set my volumes and tones to where I like it, and then I put on the knobs so they were all pointing in a direction that was pleasing to my eye.

Yep! I did the same (and forgot how it was before).

Why should I look at the ugly (!) screw holes in most cases when there are grooves (that I carefully filled with white paint) at the knobs?

That's unfair you guys, how are we and others supposed to copy your sound settings now

That was not my intention! What do You want to know?

I am sure I am using settings that are already well known since decades.
This is more about better reminding and about aesthetics for cooker knob users.

BTW: Strings, amp, speaker(s), pedal(s), spacings - a lot of things that create/ change the sound, too.

Regardless of every setting: Nothing is more open than 85%, never.

From what I've gathered, the knobs were pointed in any direction from about 1991 or 1992, when they all got a uniform look.

I always turned the indicators facing up towards me (in playing position), that way at a glance, I could tell where my knob settings where.