Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

When your flats go flat? Hmm, I have had the Chromes on my 4005WB since October '03 and they are still doing fine!

I have the set of Black Diamond black tape-wound flats I used back in the early 70s. I took them and cleaned the years of dirt and oils off them with soap and water using a dish sponge with the scrub pad on it and then put them on the Kay Les Paul-looking bass I have and they still sound great. They were bought about 38-39 years ago. Pretty good millage.

I was quoting Paul about that, but now that I think of it I've never had to replace them before they break. 39 years on tapewounds? that's awesome. Are tapewounds only for fretless?

Tapewounds don't mind frets, no allergies there!

kiramdear wrote:I was quoting Paul about that, but now that I think of it I've never had to replace them before they break. 39 years on tapewounds? that's awesome. Are tapewounds only for fretless?

Kira, mind you they had a 33+ year hiatus in there....

What do you clean metal strings with?

Ummm....string cleaner...

Seriously, in dee ol daze, impecunious players would boil their strings, dry them out, and re-use them.

I give mine a wipedown with Dr. Stringfellow's Lem-Oil every couple of hours' playing time.

Note that if the strings are already surface-corroded, their days are numbered. No matter how shiny you get 'em polished up, there will already be microscopic fractures present, and their strength is already severely compromised. Wound strings, once the outer windings have been penetrated by a corrosive agent, will go dead; the only question is how quick and how corrosive.

The Lem-Oil provides somewhat of a barrier with its heavier oil (partial) content. Kind of like waxing your...car.

A friend gave me this, which he uses on guns and knives. I'm putting it on my flats every session or so, carefully avoiding the finish. It has a trace of mineral spirits.

This has probably been asked before, excuse me if it has.

I want to put TI Jazz Flats on my '06 4003, which has factory strings. Will this neccesitate a neck or saddle adjustment?

I'm so not a techie.

shamustwin wrote:This has probably been asked before, excuse me if it has.

I want to put TI Jazz Flats on my '06 4003, which has factory strings. Will this neccesitate a neck or saddle adjustment?

I'm so not a techie.

I'll take a stab: I'd guess probably not, unless your intonation was set up with much heavier strings. Even then it's an easy bridge saddle adjustment you can do yourself with a $20 tuner and a small screwdriver. Just test the 12th fret harmonic against the fretted note at the 12th and play with the screwdriver until the two notes jive.

That's barring any neck problems which I bet you don't have on a newer bass. action's easy, too. It's just trial and error and a little patience.

shamustwin wrote:This has probably been asked before, excuse me if it has.

I want to put TI Jazz Flats on my '06 4003, which has factory strings. Will this neccesitate a neck or saddle adjustment?

I'm so not a techie.

You'll know soon after you install the TI's if you'll have to make any adjustments.
You probably will have to adjust the intonation. I've never used the TI's Jazz Flats before, but I've heard they are low tension. If they are lower tension than the RIC strings, it's possible you might have to back off on the truss rods nuts a bit and/or raise the bridge a little. If you have to make these adjustments, do them before you make intonation adjustments.
If the output of the TI's seem different, you may also want to adjust the height of the pickups to what sounds best to your ears.

Jerry, you're going to love the TI JFs. I have them on my new 4003 and they feel wonderful. They are lower in tension and may take a bit of adjusting to them, but once past that...

Thanks, all.
I did put some on my V63, but literally only played it once, to record a tune about half a year ago. Didn't seem to have tuning problems.