Prowl wrote:You can't play punk with flats. The bass will sort of just "plarp and blarp" on the down and up pick, and the up pick will be very noticeable. Flats really are not the way to go here.
I tend to agree with this, unless you are looking for that "Neat Neat Neat" sound the Damned got on their first record in 1976.I'm sure there are other exceptions, but I'd really think about an inexpensive set of rounds you can jackhammer and not worry about pludding out.
Also, there isn't much in the way of hardware rattle that a tube of superglue and/or a matchbook cover won't fix. Check the tuners as well, as the flat part you turn can sometimes break loose of the post enough to rattle like an empty boxcar.
Prowl wrote:You can't play punk with flats. The bass will sort of just "plarp and blarp" on the down and up pick, and the up pick will be very noticeable.
Upstrokes when playing punk? What is the world coming to?????
"I don't want to sound incredulous but I can't believe it" Rex Mossop
Prowl wrote:You can't play punk with flats. The bass will sort of just "plarp and blarp" on the down and up pick, and the up pick will be very noticeable.
Upstrokes when playing punk? What is the world coming to?????
Prowl wrote:You can't play punk with flats. The bass will sort of just "plarp and blarp" on the down and up pick, and the up pick will be very noticeable. Go with something round wound. I use a standard gauge D'Addario string and sometimes a standard Rotosound set. I also plug into the Rick O Sound jack and only use my bridge pickup. I use a heavy gauge pick and I play behind the bridge pick up cover. I also Eq and compress my sound. If I want a bit more bite I roll the tone knob up a little bit. Flats really are not the way to go here.
I pretty much do all of the things...except the "up pick" not sure what that means Anyway, I think the Chrome flats would work but I gotta get the rattle out of the E string.
Newbie butting in here with a first post; IMHO +1 to all other ageing punks who've written about about flats being, well, just wrong. Try cranking up yer action and then getting really snarly ~ personal preference sees D'Addario Pro Steels (generally 105-45 for what that's worth) on my 4001 & 4003. Yeah, they'll eventually tear your frets to bits but they're reasonably priced & seem to complement Rics the way that Rotosound did back in the day.
Can't seem to get my head around this recent trend of flatwounds, especially on Rics, but there again I'm one of those guys who was turned on to the 4001 by punk rock (anyone else here remember Paul Gray playing on The Black Album? The list of great players from that great era is endless & surely catalogued on this forum somewhere).
Anyway, get that strap lengthened, wind up all the knobs and consign those flats to the bin (or to an old p-bass for those moments that you feel the peer pressure of current trends is beating your common sense into submission).
Thanks for the welcome Joey, glad that I've found my way here at last. Have to agree with you about the string/fret thang. The reason I mentioned PS's grinding tendencies is that they do seem a great deal more aggressive in terms of both sound & fret-wear than most other steels. Having said that, I wouldn't trade 'em for any others. No endorsements or any other payola involved here, I just think that they give my Rics a bit more of my idea of the Rick O Sound.
Looking forward to scouting around the site to see what others have to say string-wise. Meanwhile, at the risk of seeming tedious; Marc S ~ lose the flats for the punk gig. I doubt that you'll miss them
up picking is the return stroke from a down pick. You know, like strumming a guitar. In any case, again going with flat wound strings with this genre of music is not a good idea tonally and technique wise. Flats have less give than rounds. Thus resulting in you having to hit the string harder, resulting in wearing the wrist down, resulting in all sorts of problems later. If you like the warm sound of the flats there are other ways to get it. I'm a solid mid range player and certainly not a punk rocker but I know with a good amp setting and a proper EQ you can get the sound you want with out burning your wrist out and wearing your frets down. The brightness of the Chromes will last you about a week or so depending on how often you play. After that it will go the way of mud and proceed to get muddier as the strings die.
marc61 wrote:My son really wants me using the 4003 for our group. Here's my issues after the first rehearsal with it...The pickups are just not strong enough. I need a super hot bridge pickup. Also, the E string seems to have a huge drop off in volume. Right now the bass is strung with flats (they have purple windings on the end, I don't know what kind they are). To me overall it sounds very thumpy but, I need a much brighter sound without losing bottom
Suggestions?
As an aging punk rocker, this is how to do it.
GET THE FLATS OFF IT !
I use stock RIC roundwounds. You can use Rotosounds if you want even more bite. I personally find they lack warmth on a RIC.
There you go
Now, eq the amp with the middle knocked out a bit and turn up. A mixture of 4x10 cabs work well for fast recovery time for punchy 16th notes.
Trust me, that setup has let me knock out punk rock for the last 30 odd years.
Garath is dead right. I Played a 4001 in punk rock bands for many years. Use Rotosounds or GHS Boomers, and do the big "smiley face" eq, with the mids cut out. The bass will sound like razor wire if you listen to it on its own, but will sound great in the context of the band. You have to push that clanging 2-6k top end to cut through the classic "wall 'o' midrange guitar that most punk bands use. If you have the possibility, use a crossover and split the sound above about 250 hz to a tube guitar amp ( I used a 50 W JMP marshall) That work great.
everyone's technique varies. 
