Rickenbacker Nylon Bass Strings
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
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dano
Rickenbacker Nylon Bass Strings
I have just ordered a set of these strings for my fretless. I would like to hear from others who have used these strings. Are they black? how about the tone? Easy on the fingers? Less or more stress on the neck? How do these compare to other brands? I have roundwounds on her now and it sounds great but I'm concerned about wear and tear on the fretboard.
well......cant tell you about the RIC nylons, but i just bought some Rotosound Trubass 88 - unfortunatly not for my 4003 (gotta have the stainless rounds), but for a Fender Precision.
They are black, almost look like plastic piping. They are TOTALLY smooth, like a flatwound but no stickiness. As for tension, they are extremely low tension, as a result the guages are 65,75,100,115. Sounds massive, but they are looser than a set of 45-105 roundwounds. They are very fast to play with no finger noise whatsoever.
They sound very bassy with a very strong attack, and still have as much output as rounds. The only down side to these strings is that the are so fat that your nut may need to be slightly shaved, especially the G
I dont know anything about the RIC nylons, but if you dont like em, try the Roto's- they are fantastic
nylon (32.5 k)
They are black, almost look like plastic piping. They are TOTALLY smooth, like a flatwound but no stickiness. As for tension, they are extremely low tension, as a result the guages are 65,75,100,115. Sounds massive, but they are looser than a set of 45-105 roundwounds. They are very fast to play with no finger noise whatsoever.
They sound very bassy with a very strong attack, and still have as much output as rounds. The only down side to these strings is that the are so fat that your nut may need to be slightly shaved, especially the G
I dont know anything about the RIC nylons, but if you dont like em, try the Roto's- they are fantastic
nylon (32.5 k)
The email address shown is down, you can email me at septic_bullfrog@yahoo.co.uk
Dan,
I have the RIC Nylon tapewounds on my Akiko ('72 4001 Fretless) for a month already and I like them very much.
They are black with a little blue/cobalt hue.
Notice the interesting winding pattern of the E and A strings. The gauge is 45-56-77-103. They have a tender surface feel to the fingers, which I like a lot. They bite even less fingerboard than conventional flats.
Because of the RIC nylons' lighter tension, the excessive neck relief caused by the old flats (45-105) that had came with her were automatically corrected to just the right amount...saved the truss rod tweaking job for me.
The sound is warm with deep lows and some "air" above 5Khz. Not as loud as flats or rounds but definitely sweet. They just help tremendously in bring out the sonic personality of a fretless bass. I believe you will like them after putting them on.
The nylon wounds don't go all the way to the end of the strings. The length of each string is designed for a RIC bass. I suggest not cutting any ends of the strings but just insert them into the tuner slots, make an "L" and turn the keys to tune. There will naturally be 3 winds on each tuner post when your bass is tuned to pitch.
Nylon tapewounds are the best choice for fretless basses, in my humble opinion. So get ready for the sonic pleasure.
I have the RIC Nylon tapewounds on my Akiko ('72 4001 Fretless) for a month already and I like them very much.
They are black with a little blue/cobalt hue.
Notice the interesting winding pattern of the E and A strings. The gauge is 45-56-77-103. They have a tender surface feel to the fingers, which I like a lot. They bite even less fingerboard than conventional flats.
Because of the RIC nylons' lighter tension, the excessive neck relief caused by the old flats (45-105) that had came with her were automatically corrected to just the right amount...saved the truss rod tweaking job for me.
The sound is warm with deep lows and some "air" above 5Khz. Not as loud as flats or rounds but definitely sweet. They just help tremendously in bring out the sonic personality of a fretless bass. I believe you will like them after putting them on.
The nylon wounds don't go all the way to the end of the strings. The length of each string is designed for a RIC bass. I suggest not cutting any ends of the strings but just insert them into the tuner slots, make an "L" and turn the keys to tune. There will naturally be 3 winds on each tuner post when your bass is tuned to pitch.
Nylon tapewounds are the best choice for fretless basses, in my humble opinion. So get ready for the sonic pleasure.
Paul - the Ricky nylons sound cool, but the Rotos really are as loud and punchy as rounds
The email address shown is down, you can email me at septic_bullfrog@yahoo.co.uk
Yes, I believe that to be quite characteristic of Rotosound strings, Owen.
The RIC nylons are more scooped in the mid ranges (like a V-shaped frequency curve) making them less punchy than rounds. Good if you're looking for a mellower fretless tone.
Ain't it wonderful we're provided with diverse sound options by different brands of strings?
The RIC nylons are more scooped in the mid ranges (like a V-shaped frequency curve) making them less punchy than rounds. Good if you're looking for a mellower fretless tone.
Ain't it wonderful we're provided with diverse sound options by different brands of strings?
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dano
Thanks Paul and Owen for the info. I do like Rotosound strings and may try these someday. I was very impressed with the sound of the Ric strings that came on my V63, so I imagine I will be very happy with Ric's nylon set. "Mellower fretless tone" is exactly what I was looking for. I have heard the F***** nylons have a nice punchy tone similar to Rotos. Has anyone tried these?
Well, yes, on a mid 90s fretless Music Man I owned from late '97 to early 2002. That bass guitar was virtually perfect in every department, and the F***** nylon strings were a perfect match therefor. Also, many years ago I tried non-F***** nylon strings on my 4080 Rick with quite good results.
A Rickenbacker bass is much like the Jaguar E car - perennially ultra-fashionable.
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dano
Thanks, I don't think F***** strings will be going on any of my Ric's anytime soon, but when the Ric strings start to wear out (hopefully many years from now) I may experiment with different sets or I may purchase a set for a backup (never know when I'll break a string). Sergio, I was talking with Paul recently about being able to adjust the pole pieces on a re-issue horseshoe. I understand this can be done by carefully turning them counter clockwise to raise. Is this correct and once raised can you turn them clockwise to lower?
Dan:
Now you got me a bit confused. As far as I know, the re-issue horseshoe pickup has large magnetic slugs for polepieces which can not be adjusted. The only way to rectify volume differences across the strings on a Rick bass fitted with such a pickup is to add some sort of magnetically conductive washer(s) to the top of the polepieces (usually the ones for the G and the E strings) thereon. The polepiece height adjustment method you describe is valid for current high-gain pickups only. Yes, once raised any of the high-gain polepieces can be lowered, alas not any further than its original position.
Now you got me a bit confused. As far as I know, the re-issue horseshoe pickup has large magnetic slugs for polepieces which can not be adjusted. The only way to rectify volume differences across the strings on a Rick bass fitted with such a pickup is to add some sort of magnetically conductive washer(s) to the top of the polepieces (usually the ones for the G and the E strings) thereon. The polepiece height adjustment method you describe is valid for current high-gain pickups only. Yes, once raised any of the high-gain polepieces can be lowered, alas not any further than its original position.
A Rickenbacker bass is much like the Jaguar E car - perennially ultra-fashionable.
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dano
Sergio,
I have been able to raise and then lower all the pole pieces on my 98 4003FG except for the G position ones, they are all the way down against the pickup, is there any particular reason that you know of that would stop me from being able to raise them? I have given both of them a good firm twist and pull, I am afraid to break them if I try any harder.
I have been able to raise and then lower all the pole pieces on my 98 4003FG except for the G position ones, they are all the way down against the pickup, is there any particular reason that you know of that would stop me from being able to raise them? I have given both of them a good firm twist and pull, I am afraid to break them if I try any harder.
Hi.
Bob: never fear, you won't break the polepieces on your pickups. It's just that sometimes they are very hard to raise/remove, but you'll succeed eventually (you may have to remove the pickup from the guitar). Let me know how it goes.
Bob: never fear, you won't break the polepieces on your pickups. It's just that sometimes they are very hard to raise/remove, but you'll succeed eventually (you may have to remove the pickup from the guitar). Let me know how it goes.
A Rickenbacker bass is much like the Jaguar E car - perennially ultra-fashionable.
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dano
Interesting method of raising horseshoe polepieces Sergio. How would one apply a magnetically conductive washer to the polepiece? The G string polepiece is the only one I would want to raise. Bob, it might be that the polepiece was lowered a bit too much and is stuck. Sergio can offer a bit more insight, he is DA MAN!