Rounds Made my Dec '72 a Monster

[FretlessOnly]

Seriously. I bought this bass here about two years ago (it's either a year and a half or two and a half; my memory isn't what it used to be):

I played a fretted Rick from '80-mid '90s and then foolishly sold it for a Roland D-50 keyboard and Fender SS Stage 185 amp in '97. I was playing double bass exclusively at the time and fretted basses weren't in my future, or so I thought. I then got into FL basses and played them after I more or less dropped DB (at least from a performance standpoint) after a debilitating ulnar nerve injury in 2002. Slowly, the urge for a fretted bass crept in, and I remembered how much I dug my '80 4001.

In any case, I've had DA Chromes on this Dec '72 since I got it, and I was rather underwhelmed with it. The other day I got the bug to hit up JustStrings, and on a whim, I got a nickel wound set of Fender 7150Ls. Not the best round set by any stretch, but something to test on the '72 w/o too much tension. The bass was apparently well-fed, because it started growling at me! This thing is an absolute beast. Back when I got this, I had Jim Mouradian wire in a push/pull pot for the bridge pickup (which is a convoluted journey in and of itself; finally a period-correct hi-gain instead of those RIHSs). This bass is an absolute monster now with a very wide tonal palette.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

now you're learning !!!

[jps]

Try TI Jazz Rounds if you like low tension but great sounding and feeling strings.

[ilan]

Try TI Jazz Rounds if you like low tension but great sounding and feeling strings.

Exactly. TI Rounds made my '73 a monster!

[antonius]

There is a monster within every Rickenbacker, just waiting to be unleashed

[jps]

The bottom end is a bit shy in this video (boost it at your end) but it will give you an idea of what two year old TI Jazz Rounds sound like on my March '73 4001.

[Ashgray]

Very nice - those TI Jazz Rounds sound just great, with plenty of grunt! If I hadn't already just bought a set of Rotosound PSDs for my 4001 V63, I'd be tempted to give the Jazz Rounds a go.

I've just replaced the strings on my recently purchased 4001 fretless with Elixir Nanowebs, which was fitted with round wounds on delivery - what a difference! I've been using Elixir Nanowebs for some time now on my six string fretless and personally haven't found anything to match them for turning fretless basses into monsters.

[FretlessOnly]

Those would be the JR344 set? 0.043-0.089 seems like a potentially weak E. What's the balance like? Are they reasonably gentle on the frets?

[jps]

Correct, JR344. I have no weak E string issues, these are very balanced sounding. It does take some getting used to the very low tension if you are used to using bridge cables for strings. The outer wrap wire is smaller in diameter than other strings and feels almost like flatwounds to many folks who have played my basses with these strings on them. Due to this and that they are nickel strings fret wear should be minimal.

[badeggs]

It does take some getting used to the very low tension if you are used to using bridge cables for strings.

Low-tension strings feel like wet noodles! Sign me up for the bridge cables...

[FretlessOnly]

Yeah, I'm a bridge cable guy myself. If it doesn't fight back like Stan Jonathan I'm generally not interested.

Google Stan Jonathan Pierre Bouchard on youtube if you need a reference.

[Kiddwad57]

Nice to hear and watch the Karma Kings. Bass sounds great and the vintage Rodgers drumset is awesome!

[woodyng]

I'm more the Goldilocks type with strings,i find the daddarios to be too stiff,and the ti's too loose...though they both sound great! For me,either dr's or circle k rw's have the just the feel i prefer.

+1 for the Karma Kings clip! You both have sweet vintage 4001's!

[rickenbrother]

Welcome to using roundwound strings on a Rick, John. The D'Addario EPS170 ProSteels set makes my '73 4001 a monster.

[jps]

..the vintage Rodgers drumset is awesome!

Same age as the bass so they lock in well together.