Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

For those who own or have tried it, what is the perceived difference in sound between an original McGuinn 12 with built in comp and playing the same guitar with comp off through a jangle box? I am thinking that there is some discrepancy between the two, even though they are in the same "ball park".

From what I have seen on YOUTUBE, the original comp through the 11-12 toasters makes them sound like richly "crushed" sustained vintage 7.4 60s toasters, while the JB through a hot-toastered 360 12 just sounds like a compressed hot toaster. My perception at least.

Any thoughts?

Happy Thanksgiving All

Not sure what you mean with your descriptions. Can you use concrete terms that relate to frequency, attack, etc?

I guess what I am saying is that the original McGuinn on board comp seems to transform the hot pickups in a droning Sitar way that the JB doesn't exactly do through a hot-toastered 360 12. It must be that unique chip that Mr. Hall says is no longer around.

The reason I ask is that several "Holy Grail" McGuinn owners have stated that the J BOX does the same thing as the on board comp, but that has not been my personal experience. I wonder if the missing ingredient is adding that .0047 to the circuit of a 12k 12er.

The NANO JB (set at about 3 oclock and 3 oclock) I have does have the added treble boost but still falls short of the 12k 370 12.Missing is something like that "crushed" effect that swells in and out that sounds like a "shlizzling cymbal" with that odd SWAMI sitar effects pedal. Describing what I "hear" as the "nail it" sound seems like something else than the usual adjectives.

donnellbw wrote:...several "Holy Grail" McGuinn owners have stated that the J BOX does the same thing as the on board comp, but that has not been my personal experience...

Have these "Holy Grail" McGuinn owners done side-by-side comparisons using guitars with identical (as close as can be expected, anyway) pickups and strings? I take it you have done so, which separates you from these other "Holy Grail" McGuinn owners?

Sorry for any confusion. My "personal experience" is only with a 12k toaster 360 12 with TI flats through a Jangle Box. I have not done a side by side with a 370 12 McGuinn for comparison. Only audio comparison to what I hear on my gear through a 50 watt tube Ampeg 2 x 12 combo compared to the various audio clips played on the "Holy Grail" with the comp on -no clips I can find of a 370 12, comp off, through a JB.

Got it. I wonder what RRF member have done a direct comparison between the two.

I have a black Jangle box running through a Fender Mustang III set to Fender 60's Twin on the treble (bridge) pickup and the bass set to a customized Laney Cub 10 Valve amp. IMHO the jangle comes from the metal finger pics on the G B and E strings....and a whole lot of compression. Essentially, it's McGuinn's metal finger picking (which is rusty in places) and a whole lot of compression.
I absolutely love the Byrds and the sound that McGuinn perhaps single handedly created for a whole generation...or two or three. I just don't think it's all down to Rickenbacker.

I used to be a 'holy grail' Mcguinn owner, and found the guitar to sound NOT AT ALL as the one on the Byrd recordings.
Its a good guitar in its own right, but no Byrd sound comes out of it.
Probably that wasn't what was intended? Don't know, I just rely on my ears. Someone else might claim the opposite,
I'm repeating myself today, but get a 360-12 Carl Wilson and a tube compressor. That will get you there.

Amber wrote:... love the Byrds and the sound that McGuinn perhaps single handedly created for a whole generation...or two or three. I just don't think it's all down to Rickenbacker.

wim wrote:... but get a 360-12 Carl Wilson and a tube compressor. That will get you there.

I could never achieve the sound that McGuinn created, nor would I even try. I want to be myself and I dare to be different. Unconventional, you bet. I've been known to play some Hank Williams tunes with my 360/12 Carl Wilson through a JangleBox into a Victoria Victoriette. I also like the sound that I have whenever I'm playing Bob Seger's Turn The Page with the same setup.

wmthor wrote:

Amber wrote:...I also like the sound that I have whenever I'm playing Bob Seger's Turn The Page with the same setup.

Have you tried "Turn, Turn, Turn the Page"?

jps wrote:Have you tried "Turn, Turn, Turn the Page"?

Interesting thought.