Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

yep ... for the Squire/Geddy tone you need round wound strings, fret buzz, some treble, and some distortion ... and play aggressively ...

If you can't get or like too much fret buzz, try a bit of mid eq boost at about 1.25-1.5 KHz. That's what I do and it makes my Rick sing and snarl like crazy. I use a parametric eq and can really zero in on that 'clanky snarly' frequency.

"and play aggressively"

I'm always looking for that geddy tone so I really dig in and one time I was playing cygnus X-1 and I broke my big E string!!! I just gave it a hard whap and it snapped at the bridge...I was so surprised. That was the only string I ever broke.

as soon as i got my 4002.....i threw away the flats that were on it and installed new rotos..........i've used em ever since........and would never change.......

I used to break strings all of the time when I played Rush songs. It happened less often after I started using Badass tailpieces.

I play agressively but have only broken 1 string, an A, in 27 years. Maybe I've been lucky.
The only reason it broke was because it was about 8 months old, that's when I was young and poor! Oh how things have changed... LOL.

I used to break A strings at the saddle on a far too regular basis.
I don't play as hard now & have only broken a couple in the last few years.

String making has improved since the 70's. They last longer and have a lighter pull on the neck. They may also be stronger and more flexible.

I had 2 ric basses where the A string would pop out of the nut with aggressive playing ...

I broke a brand new Rotosound E string after about 4 hours of playing time...grrrrrrr...

Power fingers....

The A string on my '63 pops out when I play hard. The slightly bent headstock is to blame. Over the years that thin wood under the nut gave up to the strings just a little bit but it is enough to compel careful play.

I'm renowned - some might say notorious - for how heavy handed I am with strings. I've been known to break a few in my time, including, on one occasion, two strings during one song. Funnily enough though, I haven't broken a single string on my BadAss equiped bass.

I've been using that 40-100 Rotosound Swing gauge for about the past 18 months, although I use Nickel wound as they save the frets on some of my basses (never had a problem with fret wear on the Rickenbackers).

Geddy's definition of light is obviously different to mine, as he is claiming to use light gauge Rotosounds in interviews.

I've broken every brand of string I've ever tried, including one RIC A string (with the Hipshot installed).
Always the A, three E strings, & a few D strings. I'd taken to buying cheapo strings & keeping up to 30 spares (mostly D's & G's) from the previous packs in my bass case.

That's the reason I bought a back-up Fender: less down time between string breaks. The band leader/guitar player of my band at the time wouldn't notice I'd broken a string most times, so I'd have to labor on for a couple more songs (while trying to hold the lifeless. dangling A string out of the way) before I could do a quick change.

And, yes, I broke strings on the two Fenders I had every bit as often as on my Ricks.
It's just hard playing, & the fact that the A string has a more full tone for many notes, so gets proportionately more playing time.

It's good to see I'm not the only one who regularly mangles strings.