The Rickenbacker 5th (Mixer / Blend) Knob - Explained
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- Опубліковано 6 лис 2019
- The Rickenbacker 5th knob is continually explained incorrectly all across UA-cam, so here's my poor attempt to explain it correctly. Keep in mind some values have changed, see the pinned comment for more info.
Gear used:
- Rickenbacker 330 - 2016 Jetglo
w/ Winfield accent vibrato tailpiece (& original R tailpiece)
- 1976 Silverface Fender Twin Reverb amplifier (in custom cab)
w/Jensen Special Design speakers.
- Shure SM58 for the guitar amp (grill removed)
- Audio-Technica AT2020 mic for voiceover
- Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD Interface
- Macbook Pro
- Garageband
- Nikon D3300 Camera - stock Nikkor VR 18-55 lens
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Best explanation on this subject that I have seen anywhere.
After the video, I measured the resistance of the pickups:
Bridge pickup is 11.32k Ω, the neck pickup is 11.14k Ω, so they're actually pretty close to even with the bridge even being slightly higher, but resistance isn't everything. The perceived extra volume due to the neck pickup being more bassy and full sounding still persists very slightly, but it really reinforces the idea that the 5th knob is a really redundant knob on current models now that the neck pickup isn't much louder than the bridge like it used to be in the vintage models.
Also, more info that has changed, Rickenbacker used to use 250k pots on their volume (with a 0.0047uF cap hi-pass filter on the bridge pickup side), 500k on their tone pots, and 500k on the 5th knob. The official schematic on their site, dated 1990, has all the knobs at 330k with a 500k 5th knob. Currently though, all pots Rickenbacker use are 330k as of 2019 (it may change by the time you read this).
I have just tried the 0.0047uF hi-pass filter cap on the bridge pickup and the 5th knob suddenly makes a lot more sense in terms of level control between pickups. If you want a very "chimey" Rickenbacker sound try the 0.0047 cap because it really nails that trebly jangle, but there is a large volume drop by adding it in. The neck pickup is wayyyy louder. I can see why they stopped putting that cap in guitars, so I removed it, it's just a much more versatile guitar without it, but if your Ric is not nailing the "jangle" the way you hoped it would, this may be a mod you should try, and possibly even reverting pot values to the 250k/500k vintage specs. I may add the cap back in with a push/pull knob as a switch to turn it on or off. If I do decide to do that, I'll likely film a how-to and demo video for those that want to try it.
Sold my 330 cause it was not jangly sounding and that was with a Matchless amp. Oh well 🐕🎸
The 5th knob makes a lot more sense in models that have a stereo output, like the 360. On my non-stereo output Ric's, I level the bridge and neck outputs by shimming the bridge pickup.
Very helpful video. I’m just bonding with my first 360 and this helped me to understand the guitar much better. Especially the diagram of the signal path. Thank you. It is probably also with mentioning that with Rickenbacher’s Rik-O-Sound twin output set up, which not all their guitars are fitted with but which makes for very easy stereo amping, the 5th knob also acts as a blending control that assignes the relative strength of the signal from the bridge pick up, which will all go to one amp, and the neck pick up which will all go to the other amp. Plus of course any effects you might have put in front of either amp. That’s what Ric-O-Sound does. This gives the player a great deal of additional control, at the finger tip, as to how the signal is split between the two amps and makes it that much easier to find the real sweet spots as you are playing, rather than having to stop and fiddle with the volume controls yourself, or get someone else to dial changes in for you. I’ve come to really appreciate the 5th knob, even if it is there for perhaps now slightly redundant reasons.
That definitely helped make sense of it. I think that was a much clearer explanation than what Rickenbacker has in their documentation. I was able to figure it out from Rickenbacker’s information, but your video sure made it a lot easier. Thanks!
FINALLY, someone explains the 5th knob clearly and accurately. Rickenbacker doesn't even know how to explain it in their own instructions, and no one else has before this video as well! Thanks!
That's why I finally made a video, nobody was explaining it correctly in a lot of other videos I was seeing, even on big channels. I didn't want to become a UA-camr or anything, I just wanted to put the info out there for other people who wanted to know what the elusive knob actually does because people make it out to be so mysterious when it's actually just a stupid resistor.
@@widowspeak5973 Do you happen to know how the 5th knob works on 3 pickup models? I assume it operates on both the neck and middle pickups but not the bridge pickup?
@@PaxAmor1 correct. it works the same as the neck volume knob but doesn't go all the way to zero
Thanks, that's the first explanation of the 5th knob I've ever heard that makes sense! 👍
You've only made one video?!? This video is so well made, I went over to your channel thinking there must be scads of great stuff, but no ☹️
Regardless, this video is awesome. Please make more videos 🙂
I'm an enigma... or I'm just extremely ADHD and I'm busy hyper-focusing on other things. I might eventually make more. Thank you though!
omg really?
Thanks for letting me know lol
So the 5th knob is a volume cut for the neck pickup. Great explanation!
Off On A Bit Of A Tangent Here; You're R Tailpiece Looks O.k. Having Recently Received My 2019 RIC 381/12v69FG, After A 3 Year Wait, I Noticed That The Chrome Finish On The R Tailpiece Was Very Rough, With Bits Of File Sticking Out From It, & It Was Slightly Off Centre! Otherwise A Beauty! I Already Have A 350v63JG With The Trapeze Tailpiece, & No Such Problems. ThankYou For Explaining The 5th Dial Correctly. Cheers, Mike, NewZealand.
If it's new and through a dealer, I'd email Rickenbacker about it. You might need to mail it back for a replacement, but I'm sure they'd offer it if it was in warranty.
Fantastic explanation. Thank you.
That was the best video I've ever seen describing what the blend knob does! You should do more vids! Thank you.
Thanks - I would love to make more eventually, life complications are in the way currently. I have one follow-up video that is half finished but I don't have my gear to complete it right now, hopefully soon
@@widowspeak5973 I appreciate the life complication thing. It gets in the way of everything.
The settings on most of my Rickenbackers: With the selector switch set to the middle position (both pickups on) both volume settings the same, preferably high. Then with the neck tone to full bass and the bridge tone to full treble you can then control the tone through the whole range of the pickups just by using the 5th knob.
you're just adjusting the volume of the neck pickup. That's all it does
Same here. I found each pickuup unusable on its own.
The 4 main controls on full and the 5th knob fully treble and them come back a bit to put some more bass and volume in.
Long time ago I had a 345 model which had three pickups (and a vibrato). So 5-th knob was a volume for the middle pickup. That was very useful: I could use all picks in all combinations. Each one sapperatly, in any pairs and all three at once.
Its gold this information....
Thanks bro... ❤
THANKS A MILLION! i finally got it !
Great video
thank you
On my 3rd Rick ,nice to actually know what the 5th does .
When I get my over all volume set for the guitar, the 5th nob let's me roll on or off a little more low end without messing around with the overall volume of the guitar. So things don't get louder as the night goes on. I've got a 1980 mdl. 620 and 90's 360 12 string.
5th knob works great on my 1998 Rick in the mid Position.A 3 pickup Guitar
I was trying to concentrate on the explanation, but Paul Weller kept interrupting me, going, “This is the modern world!” in that “Cockney” accent of his…
thank you!
The big question is what the fifth knob does that can’t be done with the ordinary neck pickup???
As far as I can see: nothing.
I put a 033 cap across the terminals on mine which turned it into a high pass filter/bass control for the neck pickup.
I’m very pleased with that mod.
That sounds like a cool mod, I might try that before I run off and buy a toaster for the neck pickup since I have a ton of cheap caps lying around. That mod would cost nothing but 10 mins of time and 10 cents of parts - beats nearly $200 on a toaster if this can make me happy. Thanks for the tip!
Alright, I've gone and done it. I just spent about an hour messing with different cap values to see what sounded the best for me - I alligator clipped them in so I could swap them around. I ended up liking a really small value, 470pF. It didn't end up making it shine on its own, like, "wow, this sounds amazing," but I thought it made the neck pickup blend a lot nicer with the bridge. I soldered it in but I'll probably still end up getting a toaster for the neck. For the time being though, this does make the neck pickup much less muddy and I'm digging the middle position so much more. Thanks for putting this thought into my head!
I done it in a 620 a long time ago before sell it and buy the 330 and always thought that appear to affect a little to the bridge pickup too reducing the output buy maybe is only in my imagination.
@@javierico3817 If it was the 5th knob, that isn't at all connected to the bridge pickup, so probably your imagination unless that one was wired slightly differently. Somebody could've modded it before you got it.
@@widowspeak5973 Just performed the exact same mod with same value cap on my 620 and it does tame the woofy-ness without making the neck pickup sound totally different. I suppose I could change the cap value to make the neck output tinnier/thinner but really I'm OK with just not having it sound like someone rear end is sitting on my amp's speaker.
Please do a video on how to change it to a master
I 've got a 360 made in 1986 and the neck pickup is clearly much louder when i put this knob all the way up. Thanks for the explication though.
maybe yours is wired backwards, which makes more sense. For anyone reading this that wants to mod theirs that way, just keep the center wire where it is and move the other wire to the opposite lug and it will operate like a more traditional type of volume control
It seems to change the tone a bit. I had a R 360 once I wish I kept. I now have a 620 and a 355 JL full scale both of which have th e5 th knob. Would it be a good idea to require both for master volume. I like the idea.
Thank you very much for this information. By chance is this information available in a printer format? I just purchased a 360 6 string and am a bit confused and concerned that something is wrong with my guitar because when I have the selector in the up position I get no sound.
Thanks. And the 'Off-side rule'?
Great explanation! So, on a stock 370/12 three pickup model (I'm NOT referring to the RM Signature 370/12, which has its own unique knob wiring) - in which the neck and middle pickups are coupled together in their wiring - is the the 5th knob wired to reduce the output of both the middle and neck pickups together when the 5th knob is "turned up", or is the 5th knob in the stock 370/12 wired to reduce just the output of the neck pickup and not the middle pickup? And in the 370/12, is the disparity in output between the middle pickup vs the bridge pickup the same as the disparity in output between the neck pickup and bridge pickup? Thanks in advance!
Typically all versions of 3 pickup Rics have the neck and middle wired together
Thanks for the explanation! I have a question. I have the three pickup 1993Plus and it seems the fifth knob does impact the bridge pickup. Do you know if the wiring is different on the 1993Plus?
I actually don't know that, but the schematics of every 5 knob, 3 pickup model seems to have the neck and middle wired in together and they should both be wired together like they're both the neck pickup. I can't find a 1993Plus schematic specifically though. Are you also sure it wasn't modded by a previous owner?
another mod is to turn it into a bass cut for the neck pickup.
That's a great use, but I actually switched my neck pickup to a toaster and I find the 5th knob acts as a bass cut and it's pretty damn useful now to perfectly balance the pickups. Like I can get a stratty quack if I dial in the 5th knob correctly.
No, it's more like a 'Balance' knob on your living room Stereo.
i have a 330 too, could you please tell me your pickups height, mine sound a bit muddy. im a experienced guitar player but this pickups are driving me crazy!! too much bass.great video!! if you changes the 5th knob to master volume there is some effect in the sound?? more crisp?? or not?
Do you have calipers? I can give some pretty precise measurements with feeler gauges and measuring the space between the tops of pole pieces to the bottom side of strings with calipers. I can tell you they are extremely close, much closer than any other guitar I've ever had, especially the bridge pickup. The neck is slightly lower. I also move the pole pieces to match the radius of the neck as a starting point and tweak each string from there.
The master volume would actually allow some highs to bleed off to ground, so it might not be the best option in your case. The 5th knob in its factory state doesn't create a path to ground and allows all the highs to remain in the signal chain. If you did decide to try the master volume thing, it'd probably be best to swap out the 5th knob's pot to a higher value like a 1M (A/log taper) which will preserve more of the signal and likely won't allow any noticeable highs to bleed off. Using the pot that's currently in that position might make your guitar even muddier.
I will say I do find the neck pickup to be too bassy for my tastes as well, my favorite configuration is a toaster in the neck and hi-gain in the bridge. I will be ordering a toaster soon to make that change. I think the toaster in the neck remains chimey and is much thinner sounding than the hi-gain, in a good way though. It's how I had my old 360.
Yes i have please tell me the values
Im thinking in order a toaster too!!
The creamery (pickup maker) makes toaster replacements at very good price
@@javierico3817 I'll have to get back to you on the dimensions for the pickup heights as I just went and started moving things around since the weather started getting hotter, I needed a truss rod adjustment and bridge height adjustment, I haven't had a chance to dial in the pickups yet.
I have had my eye on those creamery pickups. Very tempting though I might just go with a toaster straight from Ric since I liked the results last time of mixing one of their toasters with a hi-gain in the bridge.
Thank you for analysing it from a technical point of view. Rickenbacker guitars seems a religious cult. And I am a Beatles fan!! To me, looks like rickenbacker has a very bad and confusing electronics arrangement - maybe another company would have redesigned it a long time ago, but oh no not rickenbacker. The owner's attitude looks like "oh i got a 2 year waiting list, therefore i am doing it right. Noiseless pickups? Higher production? Nah, let's for this year release a golden pickguard. Or a bizarre F-hole. That will do."
I believe that the company actually wanted to change the functionality of it but the purists lose their shit when a change is made that goes away from vintage spec, or they cry and beg until it gets switched back, which isn't always a bad thing. I'm glad they returned to the slimmer 60's style headstocks in 2007 after years of people asking for them. I'm personally not a fan of the 90's - early 2000's "Gumby" headstocks.
A black accent vibrato ?
From Winfield. I put it on and take it off sometimes.
This was a stupid idea, just turn the neck volume pot down.
Why wouldn't you just turn down the volume knob and balance it that way? Seems so pointless
Personally I'd just take it out of the circuit all together would probably leave it as. Dummy knob just for looks lol
I actually really see it as useful now that I play with more fuzz, it helps give some good variety in tones that you don't get with the regular volume knob. I swapped the neck pickup to a toaster and it plays nicer with the hi-gain bridge too
Rickenbacker does a lot of dumb things and they will never change. Tradition is a terrible thing? I know how to do a lot of this stuff much better in every way but i am not going to tell you unless i get paid big time for it. Just like a big fat CEO does, you know?
Thank you. I was looking for this information. But I still wonder, why didn't Rickenbacker just underwound the neck pickup or a hotter bridge pickup and balanced the output like every other guitar manufacturer?