jack1953 wrote:I hear that Cassius is Da MAN when it comes to strings, so if you're around Cassius I'd appreciate your expertise as well.
Who told you?? I had no idea anybody valued my opinion... maybe I'm just loud enough to seem important.
My advice on strings is to just take a few "extra" things into consideration that the manufacturers rarely do themselves: try to balance the strings so the tension on each is similar, and try to stick with gauges that will give you a loud enough G string and a resonant enough E string. A too small G will sound thin in my experience--I'm talking less than .040''. A too large E will also have trouble because it won't ring well (too much mass), but at the same time a small E will flop around and have no definition. I recommend anything from .095-.105'' for E strings, no more or less if you can help it. Finally to achieve string-to-string balance you can *usually* follow the "4/3 Rule": a .060'' string is 4/3 bigger than a .045'' string, so usually a D and G string (respectively) made from the same core and wrap in these particular gauges will have the same tension. And so on. Just realize that the 4/3 Rule is just a guide, not a hard-and-fast (but it IS very reliable in my experience).
In general, GHS is the easiest company to deal with getting custom singles. I really like their Super Steels for roundwound punch and use a 44-58-78-105 set and it is almost flawlessy balanced, and has a wonderful roundwound tone.
My favorite flats are LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats in these gauges: 43-56-77-104. This is available from JustStrings as singles but is expensive. Alternatively this prepackaged set is a close second: 760FL.
+1 on the stock Rick strings Jack - I use them exclusively on my '78 and I'm really happy with the tone and playability of these strings.
Josh - question for you - are you using those LaBellas on both your fretless and fretted basses? If only fretless, just curious if you'd do the same custom string set on your fretted. I'm thinking of giving the LaBellas a whirl on my C64 (currrently using TI 344s) but JustStrings does not list the tension in lbs for the LaBellas - just the TI's. The guages of the LaBella 760FL set are a little fatter in the E/A/D than the TIs but I don't know whether I'll need a slight neck adjustment after putting these on. I figured I'd try their packaged set before doing singles.
SMR 78 wrote:Josh - question for you - are you using those LaBellas on both your fretless and fretted basses?
Have had them on a fretted for a brief spell just to hear the result. They were crunchier than other flats, at least when played aggressively. As far as the gauging goes, yeah, I'd keep it pretty similar--the idea being just to aim for tensional balance. If anything the whole set might need to change but I'm not sure how many other well-balanced sets of DTFs are even possible to make with singles, as it was a long time ago that I figured that one out.
I have tried a lot of strings on my 4003's and prefer either the stock Rickenbacker strings or the Curt Mangan strings specially guagued 45-55-75-105 for 4003's and sold thru the Pick of the Ricks website. I've had a set of the Mangan strings on for 3 months now and am still digging the tone. And they are reasonably priced.
i've been using DR sunbeams on both my rick basses,as well as my jazz bass-they are very bright sounding, polished nickle roundwound roundcore strings,that are very easy on the fingers and frets. you can get a very smooth tone from them,but with your treble cranked up the crunch is there if you want it. i have the 40-100 gauge on the cii and a 45-105 on the jazz. i replaced them on the 4000 with some vintage maxima flatwounds for a different sound. the dr's are relatively inexpensive and last forever....
