Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I agree with Ted ... How can you tell flat wound strings are old? ... back when I used to use flats the only reason for changing them was if you broke one ... a new thud sounds like an old thud to me ...

The Pyramids I use on my fretless 3000 definitely have bright edge to the sound even with the humbucker in it. It's definitely not a thud but a very distinct,good traditional '60's bass sound ala Carol King and "Duck"Dunn. I used it exclusively at one of our practice sessions and my guitar player thought it was the best sounding bass he ever heard.

can anyone original 60's/70's rick flat wounds by the silk color

I remember being the proud owner of a new 4001 in 1977 and feeling as though I absolutely had to follow the instructions on that red cardboard box... so Rickenbacker "Electro" flats it was for the first 3 years...

"a new thud sounds like an old thud to me ..."

My recollection is a bit different concerning the "Electro"s... they were definitely much brighter the first week or two... almost "twangy"! But then they definitely would begin to "thud" like a good set of flats should! Not my particular cup of tea, but hey... at least I owned a 4001!

When I bought my 1968 4001 in 1973 it had the tape wound strings on it ... I always thought it came from the factory that way ... was this the case?

Do you mean tape wound like the old Labella black nylon tape wound strings?

I remember that red box well,my mom used to pick me up a set every christmas back in the 70s.

my first ric had tape wound strings ... underneath the tape was a rusted round wound string ...

Yes, as I recall, the Labellas were rounds with a black nylon outer wrap that made them look and feel like flats.

I thought the tapewound strings were offered only with the fretless models. That's my recollection of it, anyway...

well i bought the ric used so I don't know if the strings were original equipment ...

Thanks for all the info guys!

The seller has added this:

"I WAS CONTACTED BY RICKENBACKER AND INFORMED THAT THE EARLIEST DATE ON THESE STRINGS WOULD BE JUNE 1981."

I bought a new Ric in 77 and it had regular flats on it, not tapewounds. I promptly threw them away and put Rotos on it the second I got home.
If you can't tell the difference between new and old flats all I can say is it must have been a long time since you've used them. Some of the new flats are so bright out of the box you'd swear they were RW's.
I read an article in Bassplayer mag in which a pro from the 60's said they used to put their new flatwounds on an old bass with vasoline on them so they didn't rust and put them in a closet for about a year until they got properly thumped out.

The new GHS flats remind me of the sound of the flats that were on original on the old 4001's, clanky and they stay that way.

I use Labella nylons on my fretless J. They sound and feel great.