Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I know paul used (uses) flats on the Hofner, but what about his other basses. The Rick sounds really beefy. What about the Wal?

This seems to me like a silly question.

Not silly at all..... I have no idea about Paul's basses, but I started using Pyramid flats on my Ric 6-string and I'm totally sold on them. Great sound.

He was most likely using flats on all his basses during the Beatle years. Sounds to me like he might have switched to rounds about the time of Back to the Egg. The Yamaha BB bass he was using in the late 70's - early 80's probably always had rounds on it.

I heard that all the Beatles were using flats in the early days, but I've never seen much discussion of it... even in the book "Beatles Gear". Pretty glaring omission if you ask me.

Perhaps exactly because of that. Hearsay of this sort is tough to verify in their case, what with John and Mal Evans being gone and Sir Paul just wanting his "long and thin"!

John would probably not have been a good source of this sort of tech stuff, anyway.

Should good reliable info crop up, I'm sure Mr. Babiuk would be eager to include it in a future edition.

I don't know about guitars but flatwounds were about the only thing available for bass during the 60's. When I first started I used to just walk in and say I need a set of bass strings and take whatever they gave me, usually Fenders I think and always flats.

Interesting. Maybe back in the late 50's / early 60's only flats were available. Weird though, since I thought that flats were HARDER to make.

For bass round wounds didn't really become popular until the early 70's. I think it's starting to go the other way again, there's a lot of flatwound players lately in all the bass forums, even here.

I new about the 60's and flats but I meant did he use them on his more "modern" basses... the Wal, Yamaha, his Fender. What about when he sent is 4001 to the factory to get fixed up.. did they put flats or rounds on it then?

Don't get these guys started with flats v rounds! Oh, boy...sheez LOL

He most likely had flats on his fender. His Fender really wasn't a "modern" bass, since he had it during the Beatle days. Based on the pics that I've seen of his jazz bass, it was most likely a 66 - 68 model.

I have read somewhere that he started using round wounds somewhere during the 70's like most other people did and now has a mix of strings on his basses.

Paul's left handed Jazz Bass is a 1966. That's the only year Fender used those oval button tuners on their basses.

I believe his right handed Jazz Bass is the one George is seen with in 1968 or so. Paul used it (upside down) on the Band On The Run sessions, and possibly others.

Scott,

Fender used those oval tuners as early as late 65 and into the late 60's. I have a 68 jazz w/ a February 68 neck date that still has the oval tuner's. It also has the earlier gold logo.

I've seen other 68 jazzes w/ the CBS logo and oval tuners.

The righty Jazz bass Paul played on Band on The Run was likely a 70's jazz. Take a look at the pickup spacing. It is wider than the 60's basses. Fender moved the treble pickup closer to the bridge in 71. Also, this bass has a black CBS Fender logo. George's had the earlier gold Fender logo.

You may be right on the Band on the Run bass. I was going by memory rather than looking it up.

Your '68 is a real oddball. I can't recall ever seeing anything other than a '66 with those reverse thread tuners, and '68 is really really late for a transitional logo. Are you sure there are no stamps or awl punches on the neck heel or body cavity indicating the neck was refretted and/or refinished?