Strings for a Rick 12

[collin]

I've always used DiAddario.

+1

I use 9-42 six string sets and build up a custom super light 12-string set. DiAddario sounds great and are affordable.

[Folkie]

For the past few years I've sworn by TI flats on my 360-12V64 ... custom sets that I put together based on a long ago post somewhere. Now that the POTR custom sets are available I'm going to try those. I just love the action, feel, and sound of flats on a 12 string.

For years I stayed away from flatwounds, because of how expensive they were, and because I didn't understand the principles by which they affect tone on a 12-string. In a thread here about a year ago, Todd Bradshaw explained to me that the flats tend to dull the sound of the low courses and therefore accentuate the sound of the octave strings. This was exactly what I was looking for, and I couldn't believe what a difference they made. I feel they are essential to capturing THAT sixties sound which so many of us are looking for. Now that I've tried them, I would never use anything else.

Robert

[dylumph]

I've been using Pyramid Golds for years and have no complaints.

[benjamin672]

Hm, interesting. I have a set of Rickenbacker strings just sitting around but after reading this thread and doing some research, I think I'll try and find some Mangans next.

[stsang]

Hm, interesting. I have a set of Rickenbacker strings just sitting around but after reading this thread and doing some research, I think I'll try and find some Mangans next.

Please share your experiences with the Mangans. I'm really curious to hear if/how they are different from the stock Rickenbacker strings. (BTW, I am a very happy user of TI flats on my Rick360/12.)

[JakeK]

I've tried the Mangans before, and they're pretty good, if you're strictly a roundwound guy. They stay in tune pretty well and offer a great alternative to the TIs.

[benjamin672]

Please share your experiences with the Mangans. I'm really curious to hear if/how they are different from the stock Rickenbacker strings. (BTW, I am a very happy user of TI flats on my Rick360/12.)

Will do. So many options to explore here -- I probably change strings more often than is necessary but it's so nice to have a freshly strung guitar..

[stsang]

I've tried the Mangans before, and they're pretty good, if you're strictly a roundwound guy. They stay in tune pretty well and offer a great alternative to the TIs.

I finally got round to trying out a set of Curt Mangans and I'm impressed too! I got the FusionMatched Nickel Wound strings with gauges: 10/10 13/13 20w/10 26/13 34/20w 42/26 - very lightweight. I installed them on my '02 360/12 and I love the light feel of the strings - wild bends are no problem now. They sound great too - bright, good volume but still warm with nice harmonics and great sustain. Of course they don't have the very pure/clean "vintage 60s" tone that you can only get from flatwounds. Happily, with the Curt Mangans I don't seem to have any intonation problems with the low E and G strings. So I think I'll keep these strings on my '02 360/12 and TI flats on my 360/12c63. That way I get quite a sharp contrast in feel and sound between these two Rics. (The Curt Mangans are also considerably cheaper than the TI flats.)

[paologregorio]

Rick Strings, or D'Addario's; I love the Rick strings on my new Rick 12 string.

[stsang]

Rick Strings, or D'Addario's; I love the Rick strings on my new Rick 12 string.

I sometimes wonder if the new Ric strings, the D'Addarios and the Curt Mangans are actually all the same strings... My last Ric set was the older compressed roundwound set. I should give the new Ric strings a try out too.

[stsang]

Rick Strings, or D'Addario's; I love the Rick strings on my new Rick 12 string.

I sometimes wonder if the new Ric strings, the D'Addarios and the Curt Mangans are actually all the same strings... My last Ric set was the older compressed roundwound set. I should give the new Ric strings a try out too.

I must be going nuts... I had the Ric strings on my new 360/12c63. They sounded really good IIRC.

[iiipopes]

MAIN CONSIDERATION: make sure your set has a wound unison G string to intonate properly with the octave G string. The TI flats and the RIC set do. Most other sets don't. You can get D'addario singles in 17w, 18w, 19w, or 20w and evens on up if need be.

SECOND CONSIDERATION: the low E string pair is variable, depending on the set. The TI flats and the RIC set intonate fine. Any conventional roundwound, like D'Addario, will have core stretch dynamics that the octave may not intonate properly with the unison low E and require an offset saddle to be custom filed, like I did for my 360-12WB FG ckbd.

[chefothefuture]

I've been custom gaging D'Addario Chromes in the gages that the original (red box) strings were.

Might give the POTR set a try, but I don't like the 44 for a low E.
The original spec was 38/26.
With the Chromes, 40/26 seems to balance a little better.

[iiipopes]

Might give the POTR set a try, but I don't like the 44 for a low E.

Remember that the flat pure nickel ribbon wrap doesn't have any gaps like rounds do, so even though the gauging might be different, the overall mass and intonation characteristics will be similar. I really liked the way they played, but my hand perspiration literally eats nickel, so if I used them, it would be very expensive to have them pit out and break prematurely, and have my fingertips turn black from the nickel corroding off the strings.

My custom set of D'Addario XL:
9-9 11 1/2-11 1/2 17w-8 22w-10 30w-13 40w-20w
occasionally, if I'm playing a lot, I'll change the D A E pairs to:
24w-10 32w-14 42w-22w

[chefothefuture]

Might give the POTR set a try, but I don't like the 44 for a low E.

Remember that the flat pure nickel ribbon wrap doesn't have any gaps like rounds do, so even though the gauging might be different, the overall mass and intonation characteristics will be similar. I really liked the way they played, but my hand perspiration literally eats nickel, so if I used them, it would be very expensive to have them pit out and break prematurely, and have my fingertips turn black from the nickel corroding off the strings.

My custom set of D'Addario XL:
9-9 11 1/2-11 1/2 17w-8 22w-10 30w-13 40w-20w
occasionally, if I'm playing a lot, I'll change the D A E pairs to:
24w-10 32w-14 42w-22w

The original strings as made by Maxima (or VC Squire) for the 12s were flatwound. So yes, the Roundwounds are fairly different.
I don't have the specs in front of me but IIRC, the original "red box" flatwound set was:
10/10, 13/13, 10/20fw, 13/26fw, 16/32fw, 26fw/38fw.
I might be off on the A pair and D pair... but only by .002 on the low strings.