Another odd one

[gtrguy]

Unique 40yo guitar headed for my setup bench today (Aria RS-850).
Neck thru, 18V active electronics, Middle PUP is a dummy passive one for hum canceling.
You know where the inspiration came from!

[lbpesq]

They made two versions of the RS-850.  One, like your’s, with the 3+3 headstock, and the other, like mine, with a Fender-like 6 in-line headstock.  Cool guitars that, unlike most other late 70s-early 80s Alembic inspired instruments, actually attempted to replicate the electronics.   Close, but no cigar!

Bill, tgo

[gtrguy]

This is a Youtube video of one. Sounds pretty good...

[gtrguy]

I got the same loud click when switching the selector on the lower horn. Is there a cap or something I could wire in to eliminate that?

[JimmyJ]

I have no idea how the electronics are wired in this machine but the pickup selector should simply short the outputs of the individual channels and then both of them in the standby position.  Transient noise when doing that can often point to some DC current in the signal chain which shouldn't be there.  That can also come from whatever the first thing downstream is like a pedal or an amp.

And that's as far as my knowledge gets me.      A cap might be the simple answer but I don't know enough to know.

Jimmy J

[lbpesq]

This thread inspired me to pull out my RS-850, oil the fret-board, throw on some new strings, and play it at rehearsal with my Dead band yesterday.    WOW!  Sounded GREAT.  A lot closer to the real thing than I remembered.  Great low end response, big FULL chords, lots of power and definition on my low E and A strings, like what you would expect from an Alembic Series guitar.   Very ergonomic with a Strat-like thin neck, just the way I like it.  By the way, regarding the above discussion, the PU selector switch on the lower horn, unlike Alembic, does not have a mute position.  Also, I didn't notice mine clicking when I switched PUs.  The LPFs are less dramatic than Alembic's, which IMHO works well for guitar, while the 3-way Qs seem to be more dramatic than on an Alembic. 

Bill,tgo

[gtrguy]

I played a gig with mine 2 weekends back and had a great time. I do notice you have to very careful with overdrive pedals and channels, as it is super easy to push them into a non-musical sounding tone. I swapped out my Catalinbread "Dirty Little Secret" pedal for my "Cool Cat' transparent overdrive (the original one that was a direct copy of the Timmy) and that did the trick. I just hope to gawd that I never have to open the hood on this guitar and try to work on it.

[lbpesq]

Mine sounds sweet through my Sarno Earth Drive.

Bill, tgo