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The strange and disturbing world of RICK-O-SOUND


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My new Rick will be arriving soon, and I fully intend to go all-out prog and make full use of the stereo output. I know Rickenbacker don't make the separate box required to split the signal anymore, the closest I can find is this:

[url="http://www.ricsrus.com/Accessories.html"]http://www.ricsrus.com/Accessories.html[/url]

£70 seems a bit much for what is basically a glorified stereo to mono converter, or is there more to it? Is there a cheaper option?

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[quote name='4000' post='1244681' date='May 25 2011, 07:43 PM']Make a stereo cable. It'll still work. Interestingly I've never done it myself despite having owned 12 Rics over 30 years![/quote]

Yep, in fact, I might have one here Mr Valdemar......

Like 4000, I've never used mine either.

C

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[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1244727' date='May 25 2011, 08:17 PM']I has OBBM make me a stereo to two mono jack cable. id the job with my dual mono basses.[/quote]

I read on some official Rick propaganda that use of any old stereo cable/y-splitter will result in 'unwanted hum and significant loss of treble' - anyone noticed this?

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As opposed to the "wanted" hum that appears to come as standard with rickys? :)

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1244735' date='May 25 2011, 08:24 PM']I read on some official Rick propaganda that use of any old stereo cable/y-splitter will result in 'unwanted hum and significant loss of treble' - anyone noticed this?[/quote]

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[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1244735' date='May 25 2011, 08:24 PM']I read on some official Rick propaganda that use of any old stereo cable/y-splitter will result in 'unwanted hum and significant loss of treble' - anyone noticed this?[/quote]

When I went into the studio with my old band I split the signal using Rickosound into a Mesa Boogie 400+ and my Ampeg SVT450 using a bog standard stereo splitter and it sounded immense. No such treble loss!

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None of this is real stereo though - it's two channel. Either splitting the pickups or by splitting the strings into 2 channels.

I did see an idea for stereo on a guitar with two pickups angled so that one was closest to the low E and the other closest to the high E which in theory would pan the strings across part of the stereo image. I could imagine that sounding good on strummed or finger-picked chords.

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[quote name='BigRedX' post='1244835' date='May 25 2011, 09:35 PM']I did see an idea for stereo on a guitar with two pickups angled so that one was closest to the low E and the other closest to the high E which in theory would pan the strings across part of the stereo image. I could imagine that sounding good on strummed or finger-picked chords.[/quote]

The Kramer Ripley in the 80's had a system where each string had a pickup & a pan pot - the output was stereo & the strings could be panned to anywhere in the stereo image.

God I remember some useless sh*te. :)

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[quote name='RhysP' post='1244839' date='May 25 2011, 09:39 PM']The Kramer Ripley in the 80's had a system where each string had a pickup & a pan pot - the output was stereo & the strings could be panned to anywhere in the stereo image.

God I remember some useless sh*te. :)[/quote]
Girl Gone Bad by Van Halen was called Ripley when Eddie wrote it, because, of course, he wrote it while playing a Ripley. I always hoped it was named after Ripley in Alien. Sadly much more prosaic a reason.

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[quote name='silddx' post='1245002' date='May 25 2011, 11:36 PM']Girl Gone Bad by Van Halen was called Ripley when Eddie wrote it, because, of course, he wrote it while playing a Ripley. I always hoped it was named after Ripley in Alien. Sadly much more prosaic a reason.[/quote]

I won't even ask what you thought [i]Kramer Vs Kramer [/i]was based on... :)

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[quote name='silddx' post='1245002' date='May 25 2011, 10:36 PM']Girl Gone Bad by Van Halen was called Ripley when Eddie wrote it, because, of course, he wrote it while playing a Ripley.[/quote]

"top Jimmy" also on the 1984 album IIRC features the Ripley guitar with the harmonic notes panned over stereo.
[url="http://www.vintagekramer.com/ripley.htm"]on googling I see they did a bass version too[/url]


Yes' "I've seen all good people" sounds like Chris Squire's Rick has the Rick-O-Sound outputs panned separately- or is it a guitar doubling his bassline?

Edited by SJA
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[quote name='SJA' post='1245490' date='May 26 2011, 12:43 PM']Yes' "I've seen all good people" sounds like Chris Squire's Rick has the Rick-O-Sound outputs panned separately- or is it a guitar doubling his bassline?[/quote]
Doubled on guitar.
Squire did that a lot, using Steve Howe's ES175 to double his bass parts.

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I've got two outputs on my Ric-a-like, taken out of a Hondo. If I try and use them I only get signal from one, the other does nothing.
I know nothing about Ric-o-sound, but had hoped it would send 2 signals, one from each pickup. It may be wired up wrong mind you...

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[quote name='Dave Vader' post='1245607' date='May 26 2011, 02:09 PM']I've got two outputs on my Ric-a-like, taken out of a Hondo. If I try and use them I only get signal from one, the other does nothing.
I know nothing about Ric-o-sound, but had hoped it would send 2 signals, one from each pickup. It may be wired up wrong mind you...[/quote]
That's how Ric does it too, the output socket nearest the bridge is mono and can have either neck, neck+bridge or bridge pickup depending on the selector switch position.

The output socket nearest your knees is wired using a stereo socket but it's done so that the bridge pickup goes down one wire and the neck down the other, with a common earth. So dual channel rather than stereo is a better description.

And to answer the OP, the official Ric box (now only 2nd hand) and all the clones that are on eBay are very simple splitters, nowt special about them. Parts cost from Maplins is probably about £10-£15, basically one stereo jack socket and two mono ones, a bit of wire and the box. But the simpler way is, as already mentioned, to ask OBBM to make you a stereo to 2xmono cable :)

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[quote name='stevebasshead' post='1245740' date='May 26 2011, 03:12 PM']That's how Ric does it too, the output socket nearest the bridge is mono and can have either neck, neck+bridge or bridge pickup depending on the selector switch position.

The output socket nearest your knees is wired using a stereo socket but it's done so that the bridge pickup goes down one wire and the neck down the other, with a common earth. So dual channel rather than stereo is a better description.[/quote]

Ah, so mine is wired wrong then. Get the output from the bridge pickup from the usual output, but the other output does nothing, it is silent. Will have to have a fiddle about...
Not that I ever use it anyway.

Oh, hang on, no I see what you mean, need a different lead to go from the stereo output.
The other one is normal... not using both at once like my home-made stereo tenor guitar, right. To the cable box......

(Edited for suddenly realising I was wrong)

Edited by Dave Vader
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Good stuff, yes, glad it's working fine. A stereo two 2xmono cable in the other socket will unleash some fairly unique sound options :) Can be done with only one amp too, so long as it has an FX return which is post-EQ, and if you have a separate pre-amp pedal or EQ pedal.

When I used an amp with an FX return on it I ran my neck pickup via selected FX into the normal amp input and the bridge pickup via other FX and a preamp pedal (for it's EQ) into the FX return. So I could EQ each pickup independantly. So distortion FX which otherwise lost the bottom end would be off one pickup with the bottom end retained via the other.

Admittedly it's more faff than most people can be bothered with and there's other ways to achieve similar effects now, but I do still like it.

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[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1244735' date='May 25 2011, 08:24 PM']I read on some official Rick propaganda that use of any old stereo cable/y-splitter will result in 'unwanted hum and significant loss of treble' - anyone noticed this?[/quote]

If you use a two core screened cable, you might get some fun, but the OBBM cable is individually screened.

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