Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Mark,
Hey do you have to use the Rick o Sound kit, or is there an everyday solution. Just bored and curious.

Jon

I made one years ago ...I got a BUDD box from an electronics supply house ,drilled three 3/8" holes in it ,one on the end and the other tow on opposite sides.
I also got one 1/4" Switchcraft jack -stereo

two mono 1/4" Switchcraft jacks

Two male Switchcraft end plugs

15 feet of braided shielded microphone cable .


I already had plenty of mono/standard guitar cords around .

With some solder ,a drill and one bit ...I made one .

It does not have the 'Cool' silkscreen on the box ,but it does the same thing .


I have thought for years,that I should use some vinyl letter transfers on it and overspray them to get the same look ....call it ---------------------------The EGO BOOSTER

Make that two

So,
A stereo to mono adapter would do the same thing? I thought I read you would get weird tones.

Jon

Jon: I got my splitter cable ar Radio Shack and if works just fine with my 4003 Silver bass, which plays like a dream. But I digress. Thus far, I have not observed any limitation with this inexpensive splitter cable either than it doesn't have a cool looking box.

All the Rick-O-Sound does is take the neck pickup and send it to one amp/location and send the bridge pickup to another amp/location.

In the 1950's with NO monitor systems on a stage and amps ,that at best were 40 watts and under ...you could almost talk on stage while playing!

To introduct a 'NEW' item ,almost everyone jumped on the new Stereo sound ....some successful ,other lame .
Rickenbacker has held fast to the system of choosing either mono or stereo .

I have one of these boxes made up to show or test circuits...I never use one live ,as I mic my amp(s) and I hate to lug the 2nd amp around ....I'm bad enough taking 2 to 5 guitars to a gig !

Here is the kit!

Does it depend on what model you have as to whether you need one or not?
Does a 4003 need one to go to two amps?

Mark: There is no need to have two amplifiers, althought that is the most straight forward separation. Two channels of the same amp will do, but one has to ask what the point would be of that arrangement. I put my 4003 through two separate bass amplifiers and the sound is quite an interesting one. Most often, however, I simply use it with mono and avoid the rick-o-sound function.

Hmm, wonder when Rick started using black cable on the ROS, instead of the old silver/grey stuff?
Note also, on Peter's pic, the hardwired cable comes off one long side of the box, and the 2 mono jacks are at opposing ends of the box.My ROS
box from 1970, has the grey cable, but with the cable hardwired to a short end of the box, and the mono jacks on each long side.I just pulled my ROS out after a long hiatus in storage, and plugged my '67 370-12 into my 2 new Fender Super reverb reissues, neck PU into one amp, and bridge into the other.I wish McGuinn would do this. He needs to get a fatter sound, IMO.My 12 string tone now is to die for[a hard call to make, as not much impresses me anymore, but this does...]

I've recently started playing live with two amps, splitting them between the output from my chorus pedal.
Hauling two amps is tough on the back but great for sound separation. But I need to find a Rick O Sound box to carry this to its logical conclusion. Are they still available from Rickenbacker or do you have to go the ebay/vintage route?

Gene: You can still get a Rick-O-Sound stereo kit for $68.00 US through Rickenbacker direct or from a dealer. The catalogue number is 970000. It is listed under Accessories in the Rickenbacker Parts section under the heading of Service of the Official Page.

I want to play through two amps:
(neck?) standard (dry) - to 15"
(bridge?) ROS (through effects) - to 12"

So, is the ROS unit needed to do this from a 4003?
Will two mono cables be OK? (I don't have two amps to find out for myself yet)

No Mark. You will need a stereo to mono splitter cable with a stereo plug coming from the Rick-O-Sound output that leads to two mono plugs, each of which is plugged into a separate channel or amplifier.