Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I am soon to have a 1973 4001. I aint seen it yet in person, but its been well used over the past 30 yrs. If the frets are somewhat worn (it is an old bass) - id prefer to use flats on it, as i intended to play it a ton. I use rotosound roundwounds 45-105 on my 4003.

I need:

A tension (feel - maybe not Ib's and all that) as the roto rounds

A bright sound

Long lasting- if i can get a set of flats to last yrs then great.

I hear good thinks about Pyramids, and Roto flats are easy for me to get hold of (im in england)

Owen, back in January 2001 I printed a page from the Forum and saved it. Writers were talking about GHS Precision Flats and had good things to say.

I use nickel round wound strings ... they are a little softer than steel and cheaper too ... I am a little out of the loop on flats ... I used to use them a long time ago ... but I am hooked on round wounds since 1973 ...

The nylon flats are sort of a different feel and sound and the half rounds are interesting as well

The Rotosound Steve Harris set is pretty good, their Rotosounds. I would imagine all of their flats are good. There is always Thomasik Enfield.
Their made in Austria, and they are the one of the largest manufacturer of Acoustic Bass strings.

Their flats are a little lighter in tension and just a little brighter sounding.

I am a loyal Rotosound user and have used just about every Rotosound string type there is. Rotosound flats on a RIC play and sound quite good. They have an early Roger Waters' type sound with warm, wooly sustain that growls like a fretless rather then decays.
Just as important, their customer service is excellent.

Several members of the forum recomend Pyramid Flatwounds for a more beatlesque sound & feel.

LaBella "Deep Talking" Flats are excellent quality & live up to their description.

Thomastik Infeld Jazz flats. Buy one set and you'll probably never have to change them in your lifetime. All 4 of my basses use them. Won't leave home without them! Simply awesome strings that are well worth the money - usually around $36.

I have Thomastick-Infields on a 79 4001 and they are bright, they sound good, almost like Ric's original equipment strings years ago. They have a nice feel to them if you like light gauge strings. They are nice for throwing your fingers around the fretboard and bending notes.
I sat in with my old loud punk rock a billy band the other night and the Pyramids while not as bright are great for thick solid bottom, they cut right through, and you can play the hell out of the bass if you want, they are not delicate strings like TI's. These two are the best sounding and playing flats I have tried, and I have tried many of the popular brands.

I've never tried the LaBella flats though and mean to, they have been around for years and a lot of pros use them.

I use the Rotosound flats(45-105) on my 4001V63 and they sound great, and they last a good long time. I don't think you can go wrong with them. The customer service is very good too. I highly recommend them.

hmmmm.....so much to choose from

I have been using D'Addario Chromes(40-95)on and off for a couple of years. I have them on my '73 4001 and they sound great.

Owen,
I know you prefer beefier (more tension) and punchy strings. So I recommend the Roto flats that are easy for you to access in England. But do try the TI Jazz Flats JF344 (43-59-70-100) if you can get a set. The light tension of them might help if you don't want to mess around and tighten the rods of your '73, which I suppose is quite necessary when you put on the heavier tensioned Rotos.

The TI's are very very good that I have them on both my Shadow and '98 now...light tensioned but sound real big and bright. Love the twang of the E string! I have Pyramid flats on my 30.5" scale Epiphone Viola Bass and they feel stiffer than the TI's while providing a more vintage sound which contains more mid and less lows and highs.

I currently have Roto flats on my Michael Kelly acoustic bass guitar. I wish they could be lighter tensioned though they do sound punchy and solid.

IMHO, it's all a matter of compromise and balance between sound/playability/rod maintenence.

Paul - looks like im gonna have to mess with the 73'3 rods anyway - no matter what strings I choose.

From the auction photos - the bass appears to be strung with Fender flats - Agh! talk about high tension!!!!

Then I would suggest trying the easy-to-access Rotos for a while first and then put on a set of TI's and see which is the ultimate for your '73.
Experimenting and comparing different strings on the same bass is quite a fun trip anyway. It's also a lot cheaper than buying new amps to find out if they have the sounds you're looking for.

I say: Try Them All and Bon Voyage!