Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

A few months back I got 45-100 d'addario nickel round wound strings that were long scale to put on my 72' 4001. The action was sweet and I really liked the strings so I got some new ones today... but noticed a set that were in medium scale so I tried them out instead.

Rics are medium scale are they not? Well the D, A, and E strings all had the strings change thickness about midway between the nut and first fret (you know what I mean) once they were trimmed and wound. This resulted in the strings being too low for the A and E strings and terrible buzzing when playing the string open. I solved the problem by boosting the height of the strings at the nut by placing a sliver of cut G string in the V of each nut.

Still... the strings are changing thickness at the first fret... and I can feel it.

I won't be buying medium scales again. Anyone else have similar issues? Or better fixes?

John, do you mean medium scale or medium gauge?

There's a bit of controversy over what is officially Medium scale. It's usually around 32".
Ricks are 33.5". That would make a Rick to me a full scale
bass. But what do I know....

Sorry to hear about that, John (Drysdale)! D'Addario measures string length from the nut to the ball end (http://www.daddario.com/DADFaqAnswer.aspx?ID=762) so your Rick probably qualifies as "long scale" once all is said and done.

One way (probably the most accurate way) to measure scale is to measure from the inside face of the nut to the 12 fret and then double that distance. In the case of a Rickenbacker bass the nut to 12 fret measurement is 16 5/8". That doubled is 33 1/4". This is the true scale of a Rickenbacker bass. While not the 34" that Fender popularized, is still considered to be long scale. Short scale typically being 30" and medium being 32".

That is the correct way to measure scale length, Ted.

I have always used long scale strings with no problems.

Joey, I do mean medium scale (the strings say soft guage, medium scale).

So rics are a small large scale, or a large medium scale. That would probably be why I never had issues with long scale strings. Live and learn I guess. The medium scale strings will stay on till I can afford to get more.

My guess is that the 4001/4003 bridge design requires that long-scale strings be used - if I remember correctly (don't have a Ric on hand at the moment) the distance from where the ball-ends rest and the bridge saddles is of a significant length. That distance isn't part of the scale length, but still has to be taken into account. Basses that string through the body can also have this problem. So a short-scale bass, like a Fender Mustang Bass, may require medium-scale strings...

Scott: Many people still measure all the way to the bridge saddles, taking the average saddle position. This measurement is close but error prone.

It's about 2" from the ball end to the saddle on a stock RIC tailpiece. So you need at least 35 1/4" of full thickness of string to properly fit the nut, give or take 1/8 or so for intonation adjustments of course.

long scale is 34" (ie fender), a rick is 33.25 or 33.5 or something... in other words technically shorter but you still use long scale strings. Medium Scale is 32" i dont know of many basses with that scale but i know some of the new burns basses are that scale. 30" is short scale (gibson EB0...fender mustang, musicmaster etc) although as far as i know some 30" basses need the 32" scale strings due to tailpiece length

in other words what Ted said

D'Addario identifies their string packages by simply adding the letter L, M or S at the end of the product code for the scale.

XL-170-L (long scale for 33" and up)
XL-170-M (medium for 31-32")
XL-160-S (short for 30")

Check you're packaging John. Your 4001 will always need Long Scale strings. No matter what the brand.

Yeah, the packaging said medium scale... and I remembered ric's being called medium scale (33 1/4) but I just figured it would be fine.

my bad, oh well. They still sound fine. It is the day after and I am still alive.