Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

hey,Alvio,that sounded NICE! the flats were crisp,had a great bark AND growl,and none of that clanky business....

Thanx, Woody! All we can do is what we can do!

Hey Alvaro, which LaBellas? That's the sound I remember Peter's C64 having.

Hey John!

IIRC, what I've got on there is a set of these:

La Bella Electric Bass Guitar Deep Talkin' Bass
Stainless Steel Flat Wound
Light (.043 - .104)
760FL

They're the ones with the red silks. I had tried the next gauge up at one point (black silks), but didn't get the 'open tonality' of the lighter set.

bigbajo60 wrote:Hey John!

IIRC, what I've got on there is a set of these:

La Bella Electric Bass Guitar Deep Talkin' Bass
Stainless Steel Flat Wound
Light (.043 - .104)
760FL

They're the ones with the red silks. I had tried the next gauge up at one point (black silks), but didn't get the 'open tonality' of the lighter set.

Thanks Alvaro!

On my 4001 i already tried TI Flats, i found them to be great tone-wise, but in all sets i mounted (both in the rick or in my p bass) i experienced that the E string was sounding differently (in a bad way) from the others.

Now on my 4003 i have Chromes Flats, those strings are more hi-tension than the TI Flats, they are more even sounding than TI Flats, but IMO they tend to sound less "rick" than the TI Flats.

I guess it's time to try some La Bella's or some Rotosound 77 Flats. What is in your opinion the best between the two ? Consider that i love the classic Macca Bass Tone (Sgt. Pepper over all). Also i know that La Bellas and Rotos are the highest tension flats in the market. Will 4003 neck handle that tension ?

Buon giorno Mattia!

I had the opportunity to have a set of the Roto 77's on my bass before going to the LaBella's. They didn't stay on there for very long only because I had a very difficult time getting the D string to intonate correctly. I can report that while the tone of the Roto's had a lovely openness, the feel of the strings under hand was very stiff/tight. The LaBella's feel a bit more supple, and have enough of that clarity and open tone to satisfy my preferences.

As for how the LaBella's affect the neck, I can only tell you I've got the fretboard on my C64S dialed in as straight as can be, without seeming to require any extreme settings on the truss rods.

And speaking as a Macca fan myself, I feel that I can get a McCartney tone off of the LaBella's very easily (...but that's just what my ears tell me)!

bigbajo60, thanks for the suggestions.

I've found this guy...



He's nailing totally the Macca tone with LaBella 760FX and mute ... I'm really impressed.

bigbajo60 wrote:.....

And speaking as a Macca fan myself, I feel that I can get a McCartney tone off of the LaBella's very easily (...but that's just what my ears tell me)!

The C64 I sent to England had the LaBella red silks and it had the classic Macca tone. Probably the strings, the wood, and the pickups all contributing.

Just watched the video - that's the tone I got on the C64.

johnallg wrote:Just watched the video - that's the tone I got on the C64.

Yeah ... i'd like to find some lefty C64 or V63 at a reasonable price ...

I just put a set of TI flats on my 72 4001.
They are very close to the original Maximas. That's what I was looking for; the low tension with a little metallic ring.
That said, they're certainly kinder to the older necks and truss rods.
My set is even in tone, but perhaps the uneven tone reported earlier is closer to the Maximas LOL!
I remember getting a dead string from the "Red Box" on an occasion or three....

I have tried and tried and tried to like flats over the last 20 years and I always go back to rounds. The last set I bought were TI jazz flats (for a Fender Jazz), but I never tried them on a Rickenbacker. This thread has inspired me to try!

BobHyde wrote:...The last set I bought were TI jazz flats (for a Fender Jazz)

I had TI JFs on my former AV '62 Jazz Bass, what a fantastic tone!

I had them on my former 4005WB, too, and have a set waiting to go on my '73 4001 (to eventually replace the TI JRs on it).

I like the TIs so much I've even restrung my Starfire with a set.
Even using the guitar flats on my Capri....

So this brings into view two differing points on Flatwound use.
There are many who are looking for the "Macca" tone, and those who are looking for the feel and look of the Maximas (I fall into the latter....).
On my Starfire they do approximate the tone Jack and Phil got from Pyramids back in the day....

chefothefuture wrote:I like the TIs so much I've even restrung my Starfire with a set.
On my Starfire they do approximate the tone Jack and Phil got from Pyramids back in the day....

That´s funny. I had TI´s on my Starfire, then I went back to Pyramids and I think TI´s sounded more like Casady/Lesh tone and we all know they used Pyramid strings. TI´s sound different from Pyramids but still they sound more like Pyramids than Pyramids...I´m confused. Maybe I should change back to TI´s.