Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I know this topic has been somewhat covered before, but I just wanted to get a little more specific.

Since I'm not happy with the Fender 11 250's I have on my 360 now, I just ordered a pack of the Pyramid Gold Flats (10-42's). I've heard that these produce more of the classic "jangle", is this true? My experience so far has been that Fender 250's = generic tones and the factory Ric strings = a bit too much brightness with not enough twang for my tastes.

As a rhythm player who likes to do Peter Buckish riffs and jangle, I'm looking for a mix of a lot of things from my strings. How do you guys find the Pyramid Flats from a versatility standpoint? (I like a mix of brightness and depth/drone).

Hello, Corey: I used a set of Fender Flat wounds on my old 64 Ric 360/12 MG, (they were a little less expensive)but didn't like the tone. The flats alone just made it sound rather dull; but, I did manage to compromise and use flats one the primary 6, and round-wound set for the octave 6...It was actually a "broader" spectrum of sound. (I perfer the RIC strings better, anyway.) Good luck and keep strumming! AL A.

Corey, this is just my humble suggestion, but if you happen not to like the Pyramid Gold flats on your 360, then you might want to try a set of Thomastik-Infeld Power Bright roundwounds. I've got a fresh set of custom gauge Power Brights on my 360/12V64 and I LOVE 'em! Bright and powerful! I was skeptical that roundwounds would produce the tone I was looking for, but these Thomastik-Infeld Power Brights sure did the trick. I encourage you to try a set on your 360 just for the heck of it.

Thanks for the info, Jeffery. I'll give 'em a test run at some point, since I'm always interested in trying something new.

You're welcome, Corey. I hope they work out for you like they did me.

Truth is, I am totally sold on the high quality and tone of Pyramid Gold and Thomastik-Infeld strings. The special alloys used in these strings really seem to bring out the very best in Ric guitars and basses. As far as I know, no American produced string utilizes the same alloy formula, and this is what I think puts the German/Austrian brands above all the rest.

However, YMMV......