With this wiring, we’ll replace the standard mono output jack with a stereo jack to make engaging the preamp module much more comfortable. Die-hard Ricky King fans can naturally make a custom plate like the one on his original guitar. Between the 5-way switch and the controls is enough space to place both mini toggle switches. You also must decide where to place the two switches, or if you want to substitute them with two push-pull or push-push pots. Usually Strats with the swimming-pool routing offer plenty of space for this.
I don’t think Ricky King was very popular in the United States, but his personal Stratocaster wiring is an interesting one, so I think you’ll have fun with this.ĭepending on your Strat and the size of the preamp, you’ll have to decide where to place the unit and the battery. If not, it’s a fine and modern upgrade, resulting in the same tone. To combine both mods, I’ll use a feature without knowing if this was originally used in Ricky King’s guitar.
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The second switch you’ll recognize as a good, old 7-sound Stratocaster mod to get the two additional pickup combinations: bridge plus neck and all three pickups together, both in parallel. Both are possible, and my own guess is it’s a Rangemaster-based circuit with silicon instead of the old traditional germanium transistors.
From the timeline, we can’t be sure if it was an old-school discrete transistor-based circuit like the famous Rangemaster or a modern one using an IC circuit like the good old LM741 that was used in the MXR Distortion Plus.
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The trademark Ricky King sound was always ultra clean and free of any overdrive and distortion, so the boost was for sure moderate. We don’t know exactly how much is being boosted, and we don’t know what exact circuit was used. Keeping the timeline in mind-we’re talking about the mid ’70s-and from the description (boost plus EQ), I’m pretty sure we’re talking about a treble-booster circuit with a fixed boost because there’s no additional element to control the boost level. One of the switches engaged an onboard preamp that boosted both the volume and treble. With this description, it’s not too difficult to re-engineer the original Ricky King wiring from the era when he recorded his greatest hits. With the second switch I was able to engage all possible pickup combinations.” In my later guitars, the additional metal plate with the two switches was no longer present and the only toggle switch I used was directly built into the pickguard. This was long ago, and I don’t have the original preamp anymore. The preamp also made technical problems from time to time, which was another reason to remove it. You can have the same operation by using an external booster and EQ pedal, so this feature was later removed. This little unit was developed and built by one of the studio technicians, and the necessary 9V battery was also placed inside the guitar. “With one of the switches, I was able to engage a little preamp inside the guitar to influence the volume and the high frequencies. I asked Ricky King about the secret of these two additional switches, and this was his answer (translated from German): Across his catalog of 30 records, he’s sold more than 6 million copies and hopefully will continue making music for years to come. The Ventures and Swedish instrumental band the Spotnicks are also big influences, and you and you can clearly hear this in his playing style and in his trademark guitar tone. Inspired by Hank Marvin, King chose a Stratocaster as his go-to instrument long ago-he’s often called the German Hank Marvin, which I think says it all. King started his career as studio player in the ’70s and remains an active performer. I don’t think Ricky King was very popular in the United States, but his personal Stratocaster wiring is an interesting one, so I think you’ll have fun with this. Born in 1946, Ricky King is a well-known German instrumental guitarist who was very popular in Europe during the ’70s and ’80s, with some top-charting hits like “Verde,” “Le Rêve,” “Mare,” and “Hale, Hey Louise.” King, whose real name is Hans Lingenfelder, was also famous for his “toothpaste smile” when performing. This month we’ll have a look at a special Stratocaster wiring that’s known as the Ricky King wiring.
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