Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

...the Kramer SS with light blue end taping, ring like a piano and if you adjust your 4001 truss rods on them you can easily separate your fretboard from the neck overnight!

"Floppy DRs" It's good to know where they fit in the tension parameter.

Pete - what happened exactly with your bass? The Kramers created so much tension at pitch that it caused excessive bow on your neck?

walker wrote: Pete - what happened exactly with your bass? The Kramers created so much tension at pitch that it caused excessive bow on your neck?

....exactly, this was 35 years ago and I didn't have the slightest idea what I was doin'. The Kramers were obviously built for their Alu-necks. I had these strings as a present from the Frankfurt International Music Fair. They just sounded awesome!

Interesting. Do they still make them? They might be a good match for my older basses with back-bow tendencies.

walker wrote:"Floppy DRs" It's good to know where they fit in the tension parameter.

I should clarify that I was referring to Hi-Beams only and in these gauges: .45/.60/.80/.105. They're a high quality string with a great tone, but the feel was just too "loosey goosey" for me. The D'Addarios I picked up had the same great tone and the tension was perfect for me. I have a lighter touch but I still like to have a little resistance when I play.

Absolutely, Michael. Understood. I've been feeling the need for a little more resistance too, as well as hoping that a higher tension string will work better will my basses that have a tendency to backbow during dryer weather. The DRs play like butter, but when I really punch it, (which is most of the time) the sustain gets choked out a little bit, sometimes a lot. I may just raise the action a little, and I'm in the process of bending the neck forward a little to see if that helps, but if I can keep the comfortable range I'm used to just by switching strings, then that's the 'A' plan.

I've heard about Dean Markley 2674 Blue Steel, being similar to the old Kramers, but they are not seen in my regional GCs.

No, Kramer no longer has their own strings; they've been a subsidiary of Gibson since sometime in the '90s. The Dean Markleys sound
interesting; will have to give them a try on my Kramer ('78 450B lefty). Have 50-110 nickel flats on it now, and the sound is thunderous.

walker wrote:,,,, hoping that a higher tension string will work better will my basses that have a tendency to backbow during dryer weather.

have you tried a humidifier?

Yeah, Tom. I've got a little DIY in the case now, but it's not something I keep in the case year-round since it can mold up. I was late putting it in this year. I've also got a towel wrapped up in the case pushing down on the neck between the 9th & 12th fret to reset the curve of the neck. This method worked pretty well last year. I may just give it the more drastic heat press, though, so I won't have to do this every year. Right now the truss rods are just hanging loose with nothing to do.