Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Richard, I've used GHS Precision Flatwounds on the MMT with no problem.

I think you'll also need Paul's fingers to replicate his tone. Remember when Stevie Ray Vaughan used (E=).012 strings and high action to get Albert King's tone? And Albert King used .009 to get that fat tone.

It's this easy...

Beatle Hofner-Selmer strings were made by Pyramid.

The Beatles were given unlimited supply of these Beatle brand strings (flats and rounds) until Brian Epstein died in 1967.

The Beatles were supplied with Fender strings by 1968.

McCartney experimented with Rotosound strings towards the end of The Beatles.

I use, although it doesn't sound too orthodox, Labella flat wound strings for both 4001s and Hofner 501 and I think I get that Sgt. Pepper's sound with my 4001s, anyway with the Hofner and Labella I get the early Beatle sound. But there's something that we must not forget, the playing, here lies the secret I think.

...along with a long recording chain that you would have to match to help get THE sound.

you're right Jeff

I'm wondering if they ever changed strings!

Probably only if they had too.

My guess is McCartney didn't. Seems he liked the thump of old strings. He's even said he doesn't know what strings he uses, that their old. But that could be a ruse to not endorse any particular brand.

Yeah - I remember that Labella was the standard string in the flat wound days. I was starting out and bought this cheapie Japanese bass that looked like an ES335. It was a "Princeton" I think. Anyway - after a while I took it in for strings and they gave me flat Labellas. It was so twangy I was upset and took it back for something else!!!!!!!!!!!! I complained my bass sounded like a banjo!

Of course - what did I know back then!

But the reality was that Labellas had a twang. Wish I knew then what I know now.

- Ziggy -

Surprised that no one ever mentions the fact that Paul actually tried to make the 4001S SOUND like the Hofner. The sound he was always after with the Beatles recordings was Hofnerish. Treble absent, but strong even volume in all the high registers, G string most noticable. Listen to Benefit of Mr Kite on the Anthology. Supposedly its the Rick, but boy the tone is pure Hofner to my ears. Comments?

Paul was just trying to emulate the bass sounds he heard on American LP's. Motown and Brian Wilson's DI techniques.

Paul reached the vertex with his neck-thru 4001S along with Geoff Emerick's "against the grain" recording methods.

The Hofner simulations are purely the person playing the instrument.

You're right Karl, that was something that got them very busy for a long time, anyway, there is an early british edition (I guess the 1st.) of Rubber Soul album, called the "Loud Cut version" wich has the bass sound pretty much higher than subsequent editions, I red somewhere that the bass was lowered then to avoid problems with 60's turntables.

The standard bass sound of the 60's was a bass with a lot of bottom and no twang. Flatwound P bass was the studio standard back then, they were used on 99% of the records you hear from the 60's, everyone played them. Most flatwounds have some twang right out of the box, I read once from one of the pioneers (bass player from Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes) that the standard practise in those days was to get a new set of flatwound strings (probaly Labella) and coat them with oil or something to keep them from rusting and and put them on an old bass in the closet and they would be ready to play in about a year. This is why you will read about McCartney saying that he didn't have the money for a Fender and bought the Hofner instead, they were THE bass back then to the point of where on many records if an electric bass was used instead of the usual upright the instrument was called "Fender Bass" although this was more common in the 50's with jazz. The point of this long winded post is that he wasn't trying to make the Ric sound like the Hofner, he was just making it sound like basses sounded back then. Rickenbackers are much more even than a P bass as far as the higher notes being as loud as the low notes, many P basses are bottom heavy like an upright.