new 4003FG

[woodyng]

Beautiful bass,John! There are quite a few threads here concerning flat wounds,and there is quite a lot of buzz about Fender's new 9050's, as being a good fit for 4000 series basses.

[ricmic]

Congrats on your new bass Bro. Mark

[Johntheson]

Have the 9050cl's become available yet? I read a post here about someone having seen them at NAMM, but I can't seem to find them through Google.
Thanks everyone for the compliments on the new bass.
John

[aceonbass]

Most flats seem to feel about the same, so it may really just come down to tension for you. I like D'Addario Chromes on my new 4004, but they are a little tighter than something like Thomastik-Infeld.

[johnallg]

John, she's a beauty! Congrats.

[ram]

Congrats John, sweet looking bass! And Welcome to the +Forum!

[s4001]

Very nice. The latest offerings are top notch, and this is another example.

[MaplegloMatt]

I agree...the latest offerings are top notch. That Fireglo is beautiful. I also play alot of the same style of music you do and just put on a set of GHS Precision Flats light guage. I love 'em. They've got the tone I'm after and nice, lowish, tension. Priced right too (about $24.00).

[Johntheson]

Which set of the chromes do you guys recommend? I'd like a set that closely resembles the tension that the stock Ric strings have. Again thank you for the kind comments on the bass. I know you are all Ric lovers, so any pictures are like Ric porn to you. I had a chance today to really spend some time with the bass, and Rics are without a doubt, a very unique instrument. I played it un-amped for a while also, and the tone, and feel of the instrument is like nothing I've ever felt before. I'm extremely glad that I was able to get the Ric.
John

[johnallg]

.... and (the) feel of the instrument is like nothing I've ever felt before. ......

That was my first experiences when I got my first Rick bass. It was really eye-opening.

[aceonbass]

Without a doubt, a very unique instrument. The feel of the instrument is like nothing I've ever felt before.

That's what SHE said

[woodyng]

*Rimshot!

[Johntheson]

I opened the door for that one.

[cjj]

Congrats! That's a beautiful Fireglo!

[coolingitdown]

If it's a Beatles/British invasion-type tone you're after, the best strings to get are the Thomastik-Infeld JF344 set. The tone is UNBELIEVABLE! My 2010 Fireglo 4003 (your bass's twin!) was able to nail a pretty close approximation of Paul McCartney's tone without too much knob turning. The set nails the vintage vibe perfectly.

The big drawback to that set is that the .070 gauge A string is extremely floppy, and the set as a whole does not have a very balanced feel (or tone, some would say).

I currently have La Bella Deep Talkin' Flats on my 4003, and I really enjoy them. They have some great growl and very aggressive tone, especially for flats. I'm in a hard rock band, though, so I'm using them for something completely different than you.

I haven't tried them yet, but the Fender 9050CL set is (as you've undoubtedly read) superior in feel and balance, and the tone is getting great reviews. They are supposedly hitting shelves here in the next couple of weeks, so just keep looking!