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Here at Rattlesnake Cable Company, we field many calls and emails about the Rickenbacker® Rick-O-Sound feature. Usually, these calls are all related to the Rick-O-Sound (or Ric-O-Sound) functionality not behaving as expected. Over the years, I started to notice a trend in relation to these calls, and wanted to basically create a checklist of reasons why your Rick-O-Sound is not working correctly. Some are obvious, but I'm adding them since I do get calls for this.
This one is the obvious one. Many Rickenbacker® owners assume that all Rickenbackers have the Rick-O-Sound wiring. They do not! On your jack plate, you will need to see TWO output jacks. One is Standard, and the other is Rick-O-Sound. If the jack plate only has one output jack, that would be Standard only. Plugging a TRS cable into this jack into a splitter into two amps would get both pickups playing, but only in one amp.
You must use a TRS cable (with a splitter) or a TRS to Dual Mono Y-Cable for this to work. We recommend the TRS cable to Splitter option over the Y-Cable. Using a mono cable (a regular guitar cable) in the Rick-O-Sound into a splitter would give you neck pick up only and into one amp only.
Some people also get confused thinking they need two cables - one out of the Standard jack and another out of the Rick-O-Sound jack. By plugging in a cable in the Standard jack, you activate the shunt switch of that jack, that deactivates the Rick-O-Sound handling - That would make both jacks 'Standard' and you would not get any pickup separation. Both pickups would go to both amps regardless of selection.
It's important to test all factors of the Rick-O-Sound. Sometimes it's the simplest items that get overlooked. You may have the right cable(s), the right instrument, the right amps, etc. But you need to test all the pieces and prove they are, in fact, correct. The TRS cable is the one I see often. A person will buy our TRS to Dual Mono splitter but not the cable, because they see an old TRS cable in their old cable box. There is an assumption that this TRS cable works. I highly recommend that everyone have a cable tester in their guitar gearbox. Another problem is going with the TRS to Dual Mono Y-Cables, which are available. We don't offer those, and we recommend our TRS to Dual Mono Splitter Box. Y-Cables suffer durability issues on many levels. If you're running a splitter, you have to ensure that the mono lines going to the amps are functional as well. In problem-solving, I always start with the adage, "Start with what you know." Basically, prove that things work first before exploring the things that don't work. I know this TRS is good. I know this mono instrument cable is good, etc. That narrows things down for you.
Over the years, I've seen a few Rickenbackers. The owners always assume the Rick-O-Sound functionality was broken because only one pickup works when you plug a cable in there (see Item #2 above). But some Ricks in the past got modified. I've seen a few older Ricks that have been modified so that both jacks are 'Standard.' This was done because the musician was always tired of plugging into the wrong jack. A guitar tech or luthier just wired them the same way, and it doesn't matter. Then the instrument changes hands a few times, and that mod is forgotten, but clearly, the Rick-O-Sound functionality will not work until the wiring has been restored to factory settings.
Just like all vintage instruments, wires can get broken internally. The Rick-O-Sound wiring has a lot going on, and a lot is going on by the jacks. If there is a wire that is repeatedly hit with every plug insertion, over time, that slight movement can break the wire or break the solder contact. The jacks can get loose and wiring being twisted to a compromised state is another possibility. Often these are the easiest to identify and fix.
To me, this and #7 are the most common culprits. The mechanism that activates the Rick-O-Sound splitting of pickups is not at the Rick-O-Sound jack as you might expect. It's handled at the Standard jack. There is a lifter 'spring' similar to a pickup toggle switch that is pushed to a contact (shunt) when the tip of a plug goes in the standard jack. So, on older vintage instruments, this jack has been getting "hammered" over the years, even if the instrument has never used the Rick-O-Sound feature. That lifter could be damaged, or the shunt could be stuck or bent to always have contact. Similar to #5, the jack could have gotten loose, and the wiring twisted to put pressure on the shunt to always touch the spring - even if there is no plug inserted into that jack. If that's the case, plugging a TRS cable into the Rick-O-Sound jack would have signal to both amps but no separation. Both pickups would go in both amps regardless of what pickup is activated.
Another scenario is that there is 'gunk' in that jack over the years, and spring is 'stuck' to the shunt. In this case, you can probably separate it with a small screwdriver, but it may continue to stick intermittently. That can be easily addressed with some DeOxit
If the mono jack is damaged beyond repair or adjustment, you may need to replace it. That jack is the Switchcraft #13 or Switchcraft #13E jack.
Now, I've gotten calls from people who have purchased a brand new or very new Rickenbacker® with Rick-O-Sound and are not getting the pickup separation. This was always a mystery to me. How can something new cause this? The behavior still points to the Standard jack and the spring/shunt, but it makes no sense that this would be having issues. But recently, like fate, it happened to me. I purchased a like-new one and rarely played the 2014 Rickenbacker® 4003W. Once I plugged my TRS/Splitter, I noticed the same behavior. No pickup separation.
I took a look at the electronics and noticed immediately that the spring (lifter) was touching the shunt with or without the plug (see pics). But it was pressed tightly. It is not stuck via goop or bent, but it is very tight. I hopped on the Rickenbacker® Bass Guitars group on Facebook and posted my question. Immediately, I saw a person say they had this happen on their new Rick, and it was because the jack hole in the wood body was so tight that it was compressing the shunt against the spring. He filed it out to be a little bigger. I tried this same method, and that jack was very snug in the hole. I could feel the shunt compress as I pushed the jack in. By hogging that hole out, the shunt could go back to the proper position where the spring could engage and disengage, and everything worked as expected. This problem/solution is what led me to write this checklist. Now, my bass is a 2014 bass, which is not new, but in insanely great condition. There is no way that this would have worked on day one - and somehow missed QC leaving the factory, which is important to note.
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