I just received two new sets of Rickenbacker strings - 10-42 compressed round wounds. I've been using D'Addario round wounds on my 650D since I bought it 3 years ago, and wanted to try the original factory strings again.
Everything was going fine until I replaced the A string - the new one is dull, both in sound and appearance. Unfortunately, the one in the second pack is the same, and both low Es are, to a lesser extent. They don't so much 'twang' as 'thud'. My suspicion is that these may have been sitting around for quite a while.
Here's the curious thing. Through an amp, the dullness is much less marked, and these things actually sound really pretty good. There's clearly something amiss with both the A strings, which I'm probably stuck with ("no warranties or returns on strings"), but I'm surprised that the disappointing unplugged sound should translate into such a pleasing amplified sound.
I'm not sure I've explained this very well - if anyone can figure out what I'm talking about, I'd be interested in your observations.
Oh, and Merry Christmas to one and all!
New strings - dead A....
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
G'Day David,
I'm only a novice compared to the majority of guys who respond here, but I'll pass on this observation I had for what it's worth. I had a similar problem with flat wounds, I'm very fussy about playing my Rick with dirty hands and to try and prolong the life of the strings, always use a piece of cheese cloth and hook it under the strings to wipe them down, when I'm finished. This one time after fitting new strings I noticed a similar thing, I wasn't really happy about it as I love that jangly(?) sound. When it came time clean the strings and put the guitar away, I noticed the dead wound string had a black residue coming off onto the cloth. After several goes it started to dissipate. On the next occassion I played the guitar, it sounded better and after a couple more cleans wasn't too bad. Give this a try - you've got nothing to loose!
Cheers
Ron
I'm only a novice compared to the majority of guys who respond here, but I'll pass on this observation I had for what it's worth. I had a similar problem with flat wounds, I'm very fussy about playing my Rick with dirty hands and to try and prolong the life of the strings, always use a piece of cheese cloth and hook it under the strings to wipe them down, when I'm finished. This one time after fitting new strings I noticed a similar thing, I wasn't really happy about it as I love that jangly(?) sound. When it came time clean the strings and put the guitar away, I noticed the dead wound string had a black residue coming off onto the cloth. After several goes it started to dissipate. On the next occassion I played the guitar, it sounded better and after a couple more cleans wasn't too bad. Give this a try - you've got nothing to loose!
Cheers
Ron
Life wasn't meant to be easy
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bluespckr
Yeah, even "new" strings can have some corrosion, depending on how long they've been on the shelf (or on an unsold guitar). I noticed the same thing with the factory strings that came with my new Ric 360/6 that arrived last week (Dec. 23). The guitar was completed in September, so the logic would say that the strings that came on it were three months old and unplayed. The A and E were "thud" sounding dead. I changed them out to my preferred gauge -- 10-46 round wounds -- and that took care of the problem. However, I noticed that the strings I took off had spotty but very visible corrosion or pitting spots on them -- like freckles! Anyway, it's good to have extra sets of strings around, but unless you're going to change them every two or three days (exageration there), it's good not to have a huge stock on hand. Your local climate can muck 'em up without you ever playing them.
That's exactly the case with these. The vendor says that they are fresh stock, and that no-one else has complained - but the A in both sets is corroded, and one of the bottom Es is equally bad. You can tell just by looking at them on the guitar.
I've gone back to my 10-46 round wounds also, and consider the $17 I'm out, a write-off. Incidentally, the round-wounds were purchased about a year ago (I bought a 12-pack), and were fresh as new in D'Addario's 'corrosion intercept' packaging (aka a sealed plastic bag).
I've gone back to my 10-46 round wounds also, and consider the $17 I'm out, a write-off. Incidentally, the round-wounds were purchased about a year ago (I bought a 12-pack), and were fresh as new in D'Addario's 'corrosion intercept' packaging (aka a sealed plastic bag).
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bluespckr
It's funny, but with my short, skinny fingers, I've always played a hyrbid 09-46 set on things like Strats and Gibsons. But the 10-46 sets feel and sound great on my Ric. The step up in gauge from a 09 to a 10 makes a huge difference in sound, and I find I can milk those puppies as easily as I did the 09's on the other guitars. To me the 10-46 round wounds are a perfect marriage for a Ric ... at least the 360.