Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all,
I recently restrung my 660/12 for the first time. The old strings were Pyramids and while they sounded great the guitar was almost unplayable. I found it almost impossible to fret a barre chord at the first fret, and my hands cramped like hell. I'm originally a bass player, so finger strength wasn't an issue.

The new strings are D'Addarios (roundwound)-

10 13 17 26w 36w 46w
10 13 08 12p 18p 26w

They play beautifully, but they don't jangle like the flatwounds. So I'm thinking of getting some narrow guage flats from other string sets and making up a suitable mix.

For example:
GHS stainless steel flatwound Custom x2 -
10 13 17 26w 36w 46w
Would leave me with just the -08-12p-18p-26w to find.

Has anyone ever tried this?
If so how did it work out?
Any thoughts on whether the 18 should be plain or wound?

Thanks, LK

Lee: Have you tried the RIC 12 string sets? I really like these compressed round wound strings that sound great to me. They are easy on the connective tissue and won't cramp your style.

Hi Peter, No I haven't. The Ric site doesn't mention them so I'll do a quick google for them. Thanks, LK.

I haven't tried them yet, but I think I'm going to try to switch to Dean Markley flats for my 12 and 6's. It's a bit of a pain to get Pyramids in Canada.

Corey-- Juststrings.com ships string sets to Canada with no problem. At least that's my understanding. Is there a hassle getting them through customs?

Lee: I agree with Peter the RIC compressed roundwound 10's sets are superb. They are very easy to play and sound like a cross between "vintage jangle" & "Beverly Hillbillies' twang" on a solidbody.
In regards to your question either a plain 18 or a plain 20 (my current choice) would work.
Actually I just checked the new string packages from RIC and they have wound 20's. Go figure??

Thanks guys - there's a lot more choice out there for strings than I had realised. Once these D'Addarios have lost their sparkle I'm going to do some serious comparison testing. I think the Ric strings with the 'wound 20' might be what I'm looking for.