Need help or parts to rework my Ricky B8

[Mike Bonnice]

I have the Rickenbacher bakelite eight-string model shown in the photo. I really like to play it, but I find the location of the tone knob bothersome. It's the black knob in the photo. My right hands want to be there. I want to move the knob and potentiometer to the other side. The re-wiring will be no problem.

What I need is a spare cover plate for the side that has the volume knob (the chicken head). I'd drill holes in the plate to be able to place both the tone and volume on that side.

I don't want to drill my existing plate because that's bad juju for such a rare instrument. I'm looking for maybe one real chrome plate from a parts guitar, or maybe some alternative plate, maybe 3D printed. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Jack Hanson]

What a wonderful instrument! You're not the Lone Ranger when it comes to your dislike of a knob on the bass side of the pickup. An alternative would be to eliminate the tone pot and plug the hole (or not), and replace the volume pot with a dual concentric pot. I did that on an early Gibson BR-6 and was quite happy with the results. I've also replaced the single pot on a few early postwar Kalamazoo KEHs with a dual-concentric pot, effectively adding a tone control without a radical change to the instrument.

[Marvin Born]

Look into stacked pots, vol on top and tone on the bottom. Then install a hole filler in the old tone pot position. Doing this would get want and allow going back to original any time.

[Mike Bonnice]

Thanks for the suggestions, I ordered a dual stacked concentric pot and knobs from Antique Electronic Supply. I set it up next week and see how it turns out.

The pots are readily available, the knobs are the challenge.

[Marvin Born]

Check Stewart Macddonald, in Athens, OH, 800 848 2273. They have a nice web site and lots of knobs.

[Jack Hanson]

...the knobs are the challenge.

The black metal knurled knobs that I used on the instruments pictured above are Allparts MK-0138-003.

Plastic knobs are available from Fender. These are the knobs they install on some Jazz Basses. The bottom knob is a 0049412049, and the top knob is a 0049411049.

Both are readily available. Hope this helps. Good luck with your project!

[Mark Perrodin]

most hardware stores sell these chrome hole plugs if you want to fill the hole

[Mike Bonnice]

Here's the result. I love the playability now.

The parts were available locally:

- A dual concentric pot, 500k + 500K. I got it from the parts rack at my local guitar repair shop, by Allparts. I also got the Fender version but those pots are 250K+500K, I didn't see a reason to change the volume pot resistance from what I already had installed.

- The bottom knob as a new spare part for the Fender bass from Antique Electronic Supply in Tempe, AZ.

- The top knob is a chicken head knob from my local Ace hardware store. The chicken head knob fits a 1/4" shaft, the shaft on the dual concentric pot is 3/16". I cut a short stub of 1/4" copper tubing, filed the interior so it fit the shaft, then soldered it to the shaft. The Fender top knob is too small for my taste but it would have fit.

- The old hole is filled with a chrome plug from the hardware store.

What makes this guitar playable now is the responsiveness of the chicken head knob for making volume changes, and the ability to tweak the tone knob with my right pinky to get a quick tone adjustment. I don't need to grab either knob with two fingers for twisting.

Thanks for the tips.

As an aside, a friend offered to use his 3D printer to make a plate that would accomodate holes for two knobs. He said it could be chrome plated. I won't be doing that for this mod, but I'll remember it for other opportunities.

[Eric Dahlhoff]

Good job!
For what it's worth, I think that Todd Clinesmith can supply dual/concentric knobs. He puts them on some laps steels that he makes.