Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi All

Have a second owner '66 RIC model 345, 6 string, 2 toaster pickups, 5 controls pots, mono, manufactured Sept. 1966. Removed pickup cards to "see" what value capacitors and pots installed. 2 caps, which appear to be not originals, with a value of 0.05uf /600Vdc, radial type are used. (yes 0.05uf) Can someone tell me if 0.05uf caps used in RICs 1960's? My plan is replace with 0.047uf axial type. The pots values used for bass volume, treble volume, bass tone, treble tone are 330K, p/n 07343, and the mixer, 250K, p/n 07342, as per the schematic drawing 19512 for mono output according to RICs website for model 345. The drawing list models covered shows model 340 but not the 345. So I'm trying to find out if different pot values were used.

Welcome! Pics would help.

FYI,
330 = the base model
335 = add the Accent vibrato
340 = add a third pickup
345 = add both

Back then, they would mark the inside of the cavity with the most possible upgrades, like 345, even though most of them wound up as 330's or something in between. Nothing at all wrong with it, that's just how they did it. Awesome guitar, I'm sure!

Those pot values are all wrong for any 60's Rick, while the part #'s and pot values indicate the current under spec pots used in all Ricks. The tone and mixer pots are supposed to be 500k, while the volume pots are 250k. The tone caps were Ajax "Blue Caps" rated at .047uF, although the Astron caps that RIC used in the 50's were .050uF. Both of these caps were axial caps. 60's RIC guitars often (but not always) had a .0047uF bass cut cap in the bridge pickup circuit to give a bit more jangle to that pickup. I stock all of the correct parts, and build harnesses for this, as well as other RIC guitars and basses.

I am in the process of documenting this RIC 345 on what I find and what needs to be done.
The "toaster" pickups have no markings to determine if originals. The shield wiring from the pickups appear to be new..
Anyone knows if the shielded cables had any markings on the '60s RICs? This was the reason for questions pots and cap values in the '60s

My next question is who was the manufacture for the pots used in
the "60's? Current RICs have CTS as the manufacture.

Regarding the 0.0047uf cap on the bridge pickup - RIC's schematic number 19511 does show this cap (C3 on schematic) with note that it was replaced
with a shunt on newer models.

I am working on uploading pictures to meet the Forum picture size of 1280 x 1280 pixel size.

Thank you to all on replies