Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello folks

this is my first post here, so thank you for having me!
i have a problem with a 2011 4003, that i was wondering if any of you may have had, or could help me diagnose.
the bass works fine when plugged in to the standard input jack, but if i try and use the rickosound input, i only have signal from the bridge pickup, and the neck pickup is dead. if i pull the input jack out a fraction, it works as normal.
i've opened up and don't see any signs of loose or disconnected wiring. the input jacks both look as they should, so i'm more than a little confused.
any help would be appreciated.
again, thank you for welcoming me to your board!

Welcome to the RRF, Calvin!

Are you using a stereo guitar cable when you try Rick-O-Sound?

If not, you can purchase one from Pick of the Ricks.

no, a standard guitar cable. does it need to be stereo for it to work for both pick ups?

Yup. has to be stereo, and only use the Rick-O-Sound output. Rick-O-Sound puts each pickup on a separate channel of the stereo cable...

calvin_tsh wrote:no, a standard guitar cable. does it need to be stereo for it to work for both pick ups?

Yes. The ROS jack is a TRS jack that requires a three conductor stereo cable to allow for the two separate outputs, one from each pickup.

ahhhh all makes sense now!
thank you very much!

This works great. (No affiliation)

all the responses are correct. Nobody quite directly explain why. Plugging a mono plug into the stereo ROS jack will make a short circuit on the neck pickup, hence you only hear the bridge PUP by plugging a mono plug into a stereo jack.

I'm new here also, thank you for having me onboard.

Is it possible to use the ROS jack with a stereo to mono adapter? Wondering if that's possible. My 4003 has a mono jack that "acts up" sometimes. Does it with 3 different chords, so I know it's not that. I need to get it to Ric for repair (warranty), but was wondering about the ROS jack as a backup.

Thank You

mrbassman54 wrote:I'm new here also, thank you for having me onboard.

Is it possible to use the ROS jack with a stereo to mono adapter? Wondering if that's possible. My 4003 has a mono jack that "acts up" sometimes. Does it with 3 different chords, so I know it's not that. I need to get it to Ric for repair (warranty), but was wondering about the ROS jack as a backup.

Thank You

Welcome Ken,

Sounds like either your mono socket has twisted? or the switch contact on the jack is not connecting properly and needs cleaning, Deoxit or Carbon Tet.

The "Standard" mono jack just has a switch in it that, when a plug is inserted shorts both of the pickup channels together. So, yes, a stereo to mono adapter will do the same thing when plugged into the Rick-O-Sound stereo jack.

But, as Seans said, it's likely that there's a problem with the switch and it needs to be cleaned or repositioned to make sure it works properly...

cjj wrote:The "Standard" mono jack just has a switch in it that, when a plug is inserted shorts both of the pickup channels together. So, yes, a stereo to mono adapter will do the same thing when plugged into the Rick-O-Sound stereo jack.

But, as Seans said, it's likely that there's a problem with the switch and it needs to be cleaned or repositioned to make sure it works properly...

Or his cables have the undersized plugs on them.

johnallg wrote:

cjj wrote:The "Standard" mono jack just has a switch in it that, when a plug is inserted shorts both of the pickup channels together. So, yes, a stereo to mono adapter will do the same thing when plugged into the Rick-O-Sound stereo jack.

But, as Seans said, it's likely that there's a problem with the switch and it needs to be cleaned or repositioned to make sure it works properly...

Or his cables have the undersized plugs on them.

Oh yeah, I never think of that 'cause I only use proper ones. But, some of the cheaper cables use Chinese plugs that are sized a bit small, probably some issue with metric vs. inch sizes...

cjj wrote:Oh yeah, I never think of that 'cause I only use proper ones. But, some of the cheaper cables use Chinese plugs that are sized a bit small, probably some issue with metric vs. inch sizes...

6mm vs. 0.250".

Reviving an old thread rather than creating a new one...

If the Rick-o-Sound is just a simple stereo output, then the individual pickups should technically give the same output as when using a mono cable in the regular output jack, no? I ask this because I discovered that when I plug a regular guitar cable into the ROS output jack, I'm getting a significantly higher output than I do in the other jack. This is strange because I've confirmed that only the bridge pickup is engaged (until I pull it out halfway, of course, and engage the neck pickup.) Check out these readings:

Regular (mono) output
-Bridge: 10.1k
-Neck: 8.6k
-Combined: 8.6k

ROS output
-Bridge: 19.4k

Does this make sense?