Hey JackBass,
I've done a fair bit of research and experimenting since my post above about using just one amp with the Rick-O-Sound, and like you, I wanted to add a bit of dirt to my bridge pickup and leave the neck pickup clean to get closer to Geddy Lee's older Ricky sound.
My Ricky is a Rickenfaker, so first I had to rewire the electronics from a mono output to the Rick-O-Sound wiring and 2 output jacks, which I completed with the help of some online wiring diagrams, a stereo 1/4" jack and a dual-mono switching 1/4" jack. I also purchased a stereo 1/4" cable. But I needed a gadget to split the signal from the 1/4" stereo cable to 2 mono signals from each pickup. I found this gadget from Rattlesnake Cables.
TRS to Dual Mono Splitter | Rattlesnake Cable Company (rattlesnakecables.com)
It's a super solid, well-built gadget, and they provide great tech support! I had a couple of questions and I got replies back in less than half and hour.
Now that I had the signal split from the 2 pickups, I sent the bridge signal to an OD pedal. Currently I am using a Bad Monkey OD pedal but I have pre-ordered the Tech21 MP40 pedal for this task. The neck pickup signal was left untouched.
Now comes the tricky part. How to recombine these 2 mono signals into a single output that could go to 1 amp? I read so many posts saying you must have 2 amps, so I wondered if my idea would really work.
In my tote bin full of old forgotten gadgets I had an old Rolls active mini mixer with 4 inputs and 1 output. You could use a simple ABY combining box, but the cool thing about using a mini mixer is that you can adjust the volume level of the 2 signals so their volumes are more even after being recombined. I connected the output from the bridge pickup's OD pedal to mixer channel 1, and the neck pickup signal to channel 2. The output from the mixer went to my amps' input. And hey, it worked! Well, there was one problem. One of the pickups was out of phase, so when the pickup selector was in the middle position the sound was very thin. The bridge pickup was brand new and custom-made so I left it alone. I checked the neck pickup to see if I could flip the magnet but the bottom plate was riveted to the top chrome shield, so instead I just reversed the wiring. Not recommended, but until I figure out a way to flip the magnet without destroying the neck pickup, this is my only option. Reversing the wiring of the neck pickup fixed the phasing problem and now I had the Rick-O-Sound option working properly and it sounds fantastic. Tight clean lows from the neck combined with a little dirt from the bridge pickup. Just what Dr. Geddy ordered!
Now that I've got the basic foundation stuff working, I'd like to add other pedals, and I want to be able to use my Jazz bass with the same amp, so I am building a pedal board that will have the Rattlesnake splitter box, an OD pedal for each bass, an ABY pedal so I can switch between basses, and a shared tuner, compressor and noise gate. Here's a map of what that will look like:
I'll post more pics when I get the pedalboard completed, but I hope that gives you an idea of how you can slim down your rig so you can use the Rick-O-Sound with just one amp!
Andy
I realize this is an old thread but I need some help from my expierenced cats. I'm don't know a ton about amps going direct pre amp power amps recording etc... I'm in a touring act that goes overseas to europe alot. We usually have to rent gear and bring the least amount possible. This gig requires my bass to have distortion. Sort of a type o negative vibe. I love going stereo with distortion it's sounds great having a distorted amp or channel and a clean amp or channel and blending the two. Personally I'm a huge Chris Squire fan and that's the tone Im after. I have a early 70s Rick 4001 I put an original vintage horseshoe pickup in the bridge alongside a original toaster in the neck. Being from the 70s it has Rick O Sound and that's how I want to use it. I heard Chris put gain on his toaster and kept the Horseshoe pickup clean. So here's my question on and problem. Like I said bringing gear is difficult overseas on tour. We usually rent the gear. I have an EBS endorsement but I can't always rely on getting exactly what I want. Getting two separate amp heads and speakers probably won't always work. I thought about getting 2 seperate 2x10s since they are easier to carry and running each into a seperate head. Then running through the ricksound my toaster into one head with a 2x10 can and my Horseshoe into the other head and 2x10 cabinet. Everything is always miked up as these are usually big venues. But like I said the gear I get is not always reliable. I might not be able to always get two heads and cabs. Hears my question. Can I use my Rick O Sound output to run say my Horseshoe into my bass amp and then run my toaster through a pedal pre amp or something like that then going direct into the pa or sound system so all I need is one amp. One amp and using a separate DI into the sound system without an amp for a stereo sound. I hope that makes sense. It's that possible and can I make the direct into the PA sound good with a pre amp or something not to big and easy to travel with ? Like maybe a tech 21 geddy lee sansamp straight into the direct box into the venue sound system or PA ? What do you guys recommend to get a good direct sound into the venue PA/sound system ? Could I get my distorted sound to sound good through the direct into the venue output ? And use my bass amp for a good clean bass sound ? Or vice versa run distortion through my amp and go clean through the direct box into the venue pa sound system. Which pickup do you think would sound best through the direct box into the PA ? Basically I want to go stereo using one amp and a direct box into the venue PA as my second channel to go stereo. Using one with distortion the other clean with some light delay and effects. Maybe using a pedal pre amp or something not to bulky to fly with to put before going direct so I have some control over the direct sound on stage and can make the direct sound as good as possible. Also should I anticipate sound guys getting upset I'm doing this for any reason ? Any reason to think a venue wouldn't allow me to do this ? As you can tell I don't know much about amps and all that from the long winded paragraph it took to explain my situation. If anyone has an easier way that sounds better I would be beyond grateful. Traveling overseas I'm stuck with the amp that is there and distortion is a must so I really badly want to go stereo through my rick o sound for a chris Squire or Paul D'Armour from Tool Vibe. But any extra gear to go direct a direct box or pre amp has to be manageable to bring on a plane and lug back and forth. Hope somebody out there can understand my ramblings and help me. I would be extremely grateful. Thanks for your patience reading this. All the best
. Keep the faith!
