At long last: Ricks / strings'-guages question

[CageyPea]

Hi; I'm new to the Forum (and Register) here as over the course of this past year, I have finally achieved not only Rickenbacker bass ownership, but 200% so. Secretly I had always wanted a Rick, having been induced to the ways of Chris Squire at an early age (me; not him), but somehow for the next 25 years or so just never got around to it, or didn't have the $$$, or, well, was just content with my '85 Ibanez Roadstar II 5-string (which certainly still holds its own). I came to regret missing the production run of 4003s/5's, especially.

Last December I acquired a (now-well-ivoried) white '76 4001 from Guitar Center on 14th St. here in Manhattan. You know, for all the shots taken at Gtr Ctr for their mega-mart-like, small-dealer-crushing, quantity-over-quality approach (perhaps), they did me a real bona fide major solid: G.A.S.-ing like mad in mid-'11 for this bass thanks to my discovery of this video by the band Warpaint (it was her bass that caught my attention...no, really... ) I asked the "Vintage" section at that store to let me know if one ever etc., and five months later, they actually called me to let me know they got one in. Bonus points for actual follow-through!

Happy but having now tasted the manna, of course, I wanted to also salve the regret mentioned above. So I checked eBay and Google daily, diligently, missing an auction or two even, until -- lo! A Google result for an Australian bass forum, wherein a bassist in Perth was putting his beautiful Jetglo 4003s/5 "up on the 'Bay" (said bassist is around these forums too, I believe; and the bass was already in the Register (item# 20200; I have updated its entry)). I sat up at 3 a.m. EDT to win it, and when I did, I felt a quiet lifetime quest come complete.

Now that I'm onboard, I am wondering what the vox populi on the matter of string guages is. There are several threads about what brand or type of strings, but I find it peculiar that Rickenbacker themselves -- and Curt Mangan, who makes a special Rickenbacker set -- endorse a .105/.075/.055/.045 guaging. That seems heavy on the outside but too light on the inside! Is there something to be gained by having it so lite-guage in the middle? Nevertheless, I have followed that suggestion somewhat, having set them up with D'Addario XL's: .110 (tuned to low D)/.080/.060/.045 for the 4001 and .145 (low A)/.105/.080/.060/.045 for the 4003s/5.

Here is the original size version of my profile pic. BTW I also added the 4001 to the Register yesterday -- item# 28821.

Cheers,
Kevin P.

[coolingitdown]

First, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new acquisitions! That is a lovely pair of basses you have there.

Now, on to the question...

I'm not sure of the rationale behind those particular gauges that RIC chose, but I would assume it would have something to do with the tension being right for the neck, or perhaps with setting the intonation correctly. Just my speculation. Someone who knows better will likely chime in shortly if I'm wrong.

Regarding the gauges you chose, I must say that you chose well. I use sets of strings in those gauges, and the feel of them is nicely balanced and very playable, yet will typically not be too hard on the neck.

Enjoy!

[iiipopes]

I have used GHS Progressives in custom gauges 45-60-80-105 on my 4002 since @1993.

Unless you're really digging in, I'd suggest no more than a 140 on the B string, and if you use stainless, GHS SuperSteels come in custom gauges, including a 138 regular long that won't be too long for a B string.

[daveman]

Ebony and Ivory! Very, very nice.

[antonius]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the acquistion of those fine basses. I really envy you having the 4003s/5. It's my dream to get one of those one day...

I use D'Addario XL .045 / .060 / .080 / .105 with normal EADG tuning on my 1975 4001 - so similar to you really. The thinner inner strings make for more even tension between the strings, and in my experience it makes the E sound more big and meaty relative to the A string, which to my ear sounds better, at least on my bass. It also prevents excessive fret buzz on the E due to the higher tension of the thicker string - something that is needed on my bass. I had to have my fretboard levelled and re-fretted due to warping and am careful not to put too much stress on the neck, so this combination of gauges allows me to keeps the big E string without the overall tension being too much.

[CageyPea]

Ah; thanks for the welcomes and opinions! Glad to see I must have caught the collective-unconscious-vibe or something regarding those string guages; so far, so good, though I find that buying singles can be a bit of a gamble in that there's no telling how long a store may have had them sitting around -- in just those cardboard or paper sleeves, moreover -- whereas prepackaged sets are sealed.

antonius I too had the fretboard leveled and re-fretted on my 4001 for the same reasons, so I'm a bit more cautious about the strings on that one (though the repair tech who worked on it -- @ Peekamoose Guitars-- was just fine with that choice of guages).

iiipopes I tune the low B down to A, actually, so the .145 is more like normal tension at that pitch. However, it still is pretty fat, so I'm interested in going slightly lighter. .140's are hard to find, but I'll have to check out GHS Progressives as you suggest -- I haven't used them before.

[aceonbass]

I use the RotoSound Billy Sheehan set, which is essentially a Swing Bass set with a slightly lighter G string and heavier E string due to his use of Hipshot Drop-D tuners (which I also use). The gauges are .043/.065/.085/.110. Intonation's not a problem as I've modified all my E saddles for slightly greater travel.