Has anyone ever tried Rotosound RS99 "Piano" strings?

[Oz_Greg]

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I have a set of Rotosound RS99 Piano strings on my Fender P bass. I love the "chiming" sort of tone they produce.

Has anyone here every tried them on a Rickenbacker 4001/4003 bass?

As everyone is aware, the 4000 series basses are renowned for their piano-like tone. I'm thinking seriously of trying a set of RS99s on my own 4001.

Your thoughts?

Greg

[Lefty4003S8]

What year 4001??? What guage is the set???

I know that SOME, not all 4001's can handle Rotos.......I guess it depends on the guage.
Personally, I would not try them on my 4001. LOVE the sound of them though!!!!!!!









Do not drink from the toilet when taking Lyrica

[iiipopes]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/rotos ... ***-96851/
http://www.rotosound.com/psd_99.php

[DriftSpace]

I recently played a 4003 with some DR Jonas Hellborg strings installed; those are made more like piano strings than traditional bass strings, with a single wrap of pure nickel over a round high-carbon steel core. They were nice to play, and had some of the best tone I had heard from a bass string. They come in 40-60-80-100, and I have been able to find sets for $25.

I've heard some 4001s have problems with "modern" string tension, but the Hellborg strings do just fine on a 4003.

[woodyng]

That sounds interesting,i've used the same gauge in dr sunbeams and dr fatbeams on 2 of my Ric basses,seems to be friendly feeling,tension-wise. I may have to check the Hellborg DR strings out. I have'nt used rotosounds in decades,but i used to like their "superwound" strings,which featured an exposed string core over the the bridge.

[pag]

I tried the first type of Rotosound piano style core contact strings in the late 70s.
If you use a plectrum doing 16ths in a loud thrashing band (which I did at the time with an RM!),then
you might not like them.
I found that the core broke a few times on the D and even A strings.
If you are happy with the feel of the strings you already use....
Check your amp/guitar tones to see if you can cure it that way...sometimes a different speaker
setup is the answer.

[Oz_Greg]

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What year 4001??? What guage is the set???

Year ......It's a 1980 model.

Gauge ...... They only come in 45, 65, 85, 105.

[Oz_Greg]

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Thanks for the responses guys.

Sounds like very few have ever tried them on a Rick.

[jps]

I did try the early version of these strings in the mid '70s, I think they were called Super Bass or something like that. IIRC, the "ball" ends slid onto the end of the core wire and were clamped down with hex screws.

[Colonel Sanders]

What year 4001??? What guage is the set???

I know that SOME, not all 4001's can handle Rotos.......I guess it depends on the guage.
Personally, I would not try them on my 4001. LOVE the sound of them though!!!!!!!

The Swing 66 regular gauge from Rotosound (105 to 45) should do OK on any 4001 from 1972 and beyond. It actually should do fine on many 4001 pre 72. They only have 152 lbs of tension. The post 72 4001 necks are pretty strong, being made from quarter sawn maple and reinforced with a shedua strip! The old saying that 4001 have a weak neck is a bit overdone.

Now fret wear with rotos maybe more of a concern, depending of your playing style!

[Oz_Greg]

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The Swing 66 regular gauge from Rotosound (105 to 45) should do OK on any 4001 from 1972 and beyond.

Thanks Colonel, but it's the RS99s I'm specifically asking about.

[cassius987]

These seem like a cool concept. You would want to measure the normal length from the saddle to the ball end of your regular strings and then try to replicate it with these... also knowing the saddles will probably scoot forward a bit due to the taper core, to adjust for intonation.

[badeggs]

The old saying that 4001 have a weak neck is a bit overdone.

Thank you! Too many people think if you don't put low-tension flatwound noodles on a pre-73 4001 that the neck will simply explode from the stress. If it hasn't cracked yet, odds are it's not going to, regardless of what you string it with...