Big time 4001 intonation problem!

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 9:43 pm

Hi Owen. Well, it might be a 0% chance, unless someone quickly repainted it, but your bass seems to have the same issues that the one I used to have had. My current Rick bass sounds great and intonates well, except for if I try to tune it in dropped D. If I do that, then I can't get the dropped D string to sound as if it is in tune at all. I was thinking of trying TI flats on it as I used to use them on my other one and the intonation was much improved. Currently, I'm using Rotosound roundwounds.

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 12:00 am

Greg- the finish is well worn and binding is truely yellow. It is the original Finish!!

Yeah im curious about TI flats. Id try them but the high price stops me from doing so.

I too use Rotosound roundwounds - cant beat them. As they are made here in the UK they re the cheapest available.

Actually i have Nickel roundwound strings on my 4001 ( i have a 4003 too) they are GHS right now. They help make the 4001's thinner sound more bassy IMHO

big_g · Post by **big_g** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 7:31 am

Owen, have you tried the Rotosound flats? The Steve Harris set is cool, but a very heavy gauge.
I haven't tried other gauge Roto flat wound.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 10:37 am

If you guys are getting a thin sound from your 4001's decap and flatwound! All the punch comes from the decapped treble pickup. I have two 4001's here, one has TI flats and the other has (I think) Ric nickle rounds, the trick for me to making these basses sound good and having presence in a band format was bypassing the cap. I bring the treble pickup up close to the strings, and get all my punch and presence from it, I get the boom from the bass pickup, but 90% of the sound comes from the treble pickup.
But then again I am not looking for that extremely trebly sound that a lot of people here like. But I can get a lot of treble on the one with the round wounds just by cranking the tones to the max on it and backing off on the bass pickup a little more than I usually do. I get the classic Ric sound like that.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 10:46 am

One more thing, I think TI flats seem very similar to the original flats that came with these basses. The tension seems to be just right for 4001's, and they are actually very trebly and keep their tone for a long time, longer than Rot's. I just raise the action and they play just like any other string. And I think also that a lot of problems people have with 4001's can be traced to having strings with too much tension on these basses. With TI's these basses can breathe, you don't have to crank up the truss rods really tight like with most other strings, they actually vibrate better and sound more even up the neck to me. And the high cost is offset by their longevity to me. When I used to use Rotosounds RW's I use to change them at least every two months, I've had some on one 4001 now for at least three months and it still sounds good, a little less trebly but no where near dead, as I thought in another post.

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 11:13 am

hahaha rot's!!!

The roto flats sounded er.....well rotty

they were uneven, the E went twang like a roundwound (?!?)

So i generously rubbed a cloth soaked in malt vinegar over the strings to speed up the deadening and voila! they are nice and meaty and feel great!

i stuck them on my P bass tho, the sucked on my 4003-- tho i first put them on the 4003--- and quickly swapped em

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 11:18 am

I bought two sets of those a few years ago, (the regular ones not the Steve Harris sets) and they all sounded good, except that the G string was dead in both sets. Rots was a typo, (yeah right)

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 10:51 pm

I like the TI flats a lot. Everything I've recorded so far on bass has been with a '73 Rick with TI flats. I'll have to see how my new one sounds compared to the other. Currently I have the Rot roundwounds on mine, but I may go back to the TI flats to see if it intonates better when I drop D. I need to get my other bass finished so I can have one with each!

big_g · Post by **big_g** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 6:25 am

I like D'Addario Chromes, after I break them in a bit, and get rid of the bright sound. They sound a lot like the T.I.'s then.
I like the sound but not the low tension of the T.I.'s on my Ric. That's why I'm going with the Chromes.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 10:59 am

Yeah, I have to raise my action because of the decreased tension with the TI's, but after I do that, they play like any other string, and feel the same to me.
I'd like to try the Chromes, but doubt I can find them in Perú.

big_g · Post by **big_g** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 6:05 pm

They're brighter, like the T.I.'s, maybe a little brighter, at first. Like any good flat wound, you have to play 'em and let the strings age and settle in, to get the best flatwound tone.
Just the opposite of round wounds, I don't like the D'addario Bright Flats and Half-Rounds, they just sound like dead roundwounds.The other thing I like about Chromes, they're pretty cheap, compared to the T.I.'s and the Pyramid Golds.

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Fri Sep 19, 2003 9:57 am

I've been using T.I. Jazz flats on my v63 for quite a while now, although it took some rather major trussrod adjustments because they are MUCH lower tension than the Roto Swing Bass that Squire uses... Still it gives me a wonderful tone, and Bob nailed it right on the head, they are very trebly, just not that chattering grinding Squire-type of trebly you get with Rotos rounds.... I can tell you that the T. I.s are gonna stay on my bass, becuase I like the contrasting tone. You can't play roundwounds for EVERYTHING (I can't believe I just wrote that!)
One thing I really like playing on my Rick with the T.I. flats is Bach.... Whether it is unplugged or plugged in, it is so much fun to play that stuff on a Rick bass with flats!