Using Rickenbacker Strings on Your Rickenbacker
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
"Has anyone ever try Fender Stainless Steel Flats on a Ric bass? If so, comments? "
Robert, I have been using these strings you mention on my reworked 4001V63.As far as I know, Fender only offers these in the one guage. I like them myself, they are very smooth feeling, though I think they have a bit more "metallic"[no reference to metal music intended here] tone to them than,say, GHS Brite Flats, orD'Addario Chromes.I wouldn't mind trying the Pyramids, but I 'm not into the big $$ they want for those.
Robert, I have been using these strings you mention on my reworked 4001V63.As far as I know, Fender only offers these in the one guage. I like them myself, they are very smooth feeling, though I think they have a bit more "metallic"[no reference to metal music intended here] tone to them than,say, GHS Brite Flats, orD'Addario Chromes.I wouldn't mind trying the Pyramids, but I 'm not into the big $$ they want for those.
Dr. If you find D'Addario Chromes to be satisfactory I think you would be very pleased with Pyramids. These strings also last a very long time and feel great to play. I have had them on my 4003 for a long time and continue to like the sound and feel of them. When durability is factored in, I think you will find that you can play Pyramids for the same price overall.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
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"When durability is factored in, I think you will find that you can play Pyramids for the same price overall."
Peter; thanks for that input, however, as bass is a secondary instrument I mess with,and my Rick is not the only bass I own, the Chromes or Brite flats Still have lasted 3 or 4 years,and for the price of Pyramids, I can restring 2 or even 3 of my basses.OTOH, my '67 370-12 Only uses Pyramids.
Peter; thanks for that input, however, as bass is a secondary instrument I mess with,and my Rick is not the only bass I own, the Chromes or Brite flats Still have lasted 3 or 4 years,and for the price of Pyramids, I can restring 2 or even 3 of my basses.OTOH, my '67 370-12 Only uses Pyramids.
I've been skeptical on Flatwounds, since I've had a set once on a Mexican made Jazz bass. When I tuned up, the first 5 notes on each string were fine. But, after that, I didn't get the correct notes. When I got fed up with that and chose to trade that bass in, I was told "Because they're flats, not rounds." I believe it must of been the intonation must be set differently. I've played other basses with flats, and I do prefer them over rounds, but at the time, I didn't want to mess around with a "Less than Perfect" bass to begin with. My question is do I have to change the intonation every time I change from rounds to flats and vise versa?
""My question is do I have to change the intonation every time I change from rounds to flats and vise versa?
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I cant see any logical reason why flats would be any different as far as pitch is concerned.
They have a flatter tone imo but thats preference.It seems to me that the problem was the cheap guitar. Either the fretting was wrong, the bridge was in the wrong position, the neck was warped or a combination of all 3. I used to use Burns black bison plastic tape wound strings and loved them
John
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I cant see any logical reason why flats would be any different as far as pitch is concerned.
They have a flatter tone imo but thats preference.It seems to me that the problem was the cheap guitar. Either the fretting was wrong, the bridge was in the wrong position, the neck was warped or a combination of all 3. I used to use Burns black bison plastic tape wound strings and loved them
John
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Mike_D.
It was a long wait. Almost 35 years because of various circumstances. But now, within the past eight months (since early Nov.'00 approx.) I've been very fortunate in that I've aquired two Rickenbacker guitars. The first one, a birthday gift from my wife, is a new '99 360/6 FG. The second, purchased in April '01, a new '99 325v59 Turquoise that I saw and couldn't resist. Since the strings that were on these guitars when I got them were certainly the factory strings, I orderded strings in the recommended gauges from RIC and immediately improved the tone of both and the intonation of the 325. However, I've noticed that the Rick strings don't play as smoothly and as a result are somewhat noisier than some other brands of strings that I've used on other guitars. Has anyone else noticed this? As much as I like the tone of the Rick strings on these guitars, I'm tempted to try something a little smoother and quieter. Does anyone have recommendations on strings that will approximate or better the tone of the Rick strings but with the improved feel I'm looking for? I'm strictly a round-wound player. As ever, best regards to all.
I agree re the Rick strings - they are a little noisier than the Pyramids. And, looking at the earlier posts above, I had to re-intonate my guitar (660/12) when I switched from the Pyramid flats (also from an earlier post). I like the Rick strings better than the Pyramids (I can hear the cries of "Blasphemy!" now!) I have always used D'Addario on all my other guitars. Have ordered a couple packs of their electric 12 set, which are same guages as Rick's by the way, and will be experimenting in the coming weeks.
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Mike_D.
Hello All, I know that some of you are probly wondering; "after so many years, how is it that this guy is still asking about strings?" Well I'll tell you. I'm a creature of habit, and until I got the Ricks I played Gibson's; a Les Paul Custom, black Fretless Wonder bought new in '69 that I still play; and an ES-330 (sadly, 20 yrs. gone, aquired in '71 thru a trade for a '60 Olds Super 88), and I strung them both with Ernie Ball Reg. Slinky 10's. I still like those strings on the L.P. although I've started using the Classic Rock pure nickel Slinky 10's. They do have a warmer tone and I think I'll stay with them for awhile. (Hang in here fellas, I'm gettin' to it.) Anyways, (here it is) I hate changing strings!! There, I said it. I know it's not a hard job. And it takes only a few minutes. But I hate it. It almost ranks right up there with moving the amps.
Very recently, someone recommended that I string the J-160E with 13's. They were way too tense and pulled the action up. Maybe they're ok for strictly flatpickers, but I fingerpick alot too and they felt really stiff. Luckily I had a set of 12's in the string drawer and I changed 'em again! You can imagine how I felt about changing strings twice on the same guitar within a couple of hours! (BTW, I use Martin Marquis strings on the box guitars. I've used them for years. Like I said, a creature of habit.)
Over at Voxtalks there's a thread where many players are recommending Pyramid flatwound '13's for Rick 325's. But I just can't see it. I think the Rick 12's are quite heavy enough on that guitar. They're comfortable, although a little noisy.
Stephen, please let us know how your D'Addario experiment works out. If it's successful maybe I will also try them, and have a spare set of Ricky strings standing by. However, I'm already uncomfortable with just the thought of changing the strings twice on a Rick 325. I hope all this wasn't too long-winded. As always, best regards to all.
Very recently, someone recommended that I string the J-160E with 13's. They were way too tense and pulled the action up. Maybe they're ok for strictly flatpickers, but I fingerpick alot too and they felt really stiff. Luckily I had a set of 12's in the string drawer and I changed 'em again! You can imagine how I felt about changing strings twice on the same guitar within a couple of hours! (BTW, I use Martin Marquis strings on the box guitars. I've used them for years. Like I said, a creature of habit.)
Over at Voxtalks there's a thread where many players are recommending Pyramid flatwound '13's for Rick 325's. But I just can't see it. I think the Rick 12's are quite heavy enough on that guitar. They're comfortable, although a little noisy.
Stephen, please let us know how your D'Addario experiment works out. If it's successful maybe I will also try them, and have a spare set of Ricky strings standing by. However, I'm already uncomfortable with just the thought of changing the strings twice on a Rick 325. I hope all this wasn't too long-winded. As always, best regards to all.
Mike D: It always pays, in my view, to experiment with different types of strings on your instruments. I find that Rickenbacker strings are great on the Model 325 and 350 and I would use 12s on the 325. For a full scale Rickenbacker with toaster pickups I find that Gibson sonomatic strings are great.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
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I just recently put my Fender Stainless Steel Flats on my 4001. I didn't have to change the intonation, as I mentioned before that I was a bit leary of. IMO, it sounds a lot better than rounds! But, that's my opinion. The only concern that I have is that the tuning machine on my A string seems VERY tight to turn. The other 3 are a little tighter, but not as tight as the A string. What's up with that?
"concern that I have is that the tuning machine on my A string seems VERY tight to turn. The other 3 are a little tighter, but not as tight as the A string. What's up with that?"
Try checking for this; do you have a lot of winds on the string post all the way down the shaft to the edge of the shaft bushing?This might cause the problem you mention.
Try checking for this; do you have a lot of winds on the string post all the way down the shaft to the edge of the shaft bushing?This might cause the problem you mention.
Let me add my two cents to this .
If you take a guitar that has a 25&1/2" scale (Fender Stat,Tele,etc) and put on a set of .009 to .042 strings you will find that comparing a guitar with a 24&3/4" scale (a Gibson Les Paul ,SG,ES-335 etc) will have about the same feel.The bends will be very similar.
If you reverse this ,you will notice that it is harder to bend the strings.
The shorter the scale ...the heavier the string .
Go play a jaguar with any gauge of string .They are 24" scale .
Play a Jazzmaster ,Strat Tele ...they have the longer scale .If the strings are the same gauge the Jaguar will feel like it has rubber bands on it .
The shorter scales have less tension on the strings.
As far as amount of wrappings ,I put one wrap over the hole in the post ,and two under .Because the post has an hourglass shape ,the string as it is tightened constricts around and squeezes the tail of the string going through the hole .
One on top .two on the bottom .It's easy .When it breaks ...there is NO knot to undo.
If you take a guitar that has a 25&1/2" scale (Fender Stat,Tele,etc) and put on a set of .009 to .042 strings you will find that comparing a guitar with a 24&3/4" scale (a Gibson Les Paul ,SG,ES-335 etc) will have about the same feel.The bends will be very similar.
If you reverse this ,you will notice that it is harder to bend the strings.
The shorter the scale ...the heavier the string .
Go play a jaguar with any gauge of string .They are 24" scale .
Play a Jazzmaster ,Strat Tele ...they have the longer scale .If the strings are the same gauge the Jaguar will feel like it has rubber bands on it .
The shorter scales have less tension on the strings.
As far as amount of wrappings ,I put one wrap over the hole in the post ,and two under .Because the post has an hourglass shape ,the string as it is tightened constricts around and squeezes the tail of the string going through the hole .
One on top .two on the bottom .It's easy .When it breaks ...there is NO knot to undo.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!