Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Dear board mates!
I recently purchased a 1976 4001 fg equipped with flatwound strings.
I have read a lot about roundwound tension and possible damage of the neck.
May somebody give some feedback about roundwound sizes and brands that could fit without damage risk?

All 4001 necks are different but I have had good luck with DR Sunbeam 100-40 set. Tey are nickel wound and are low tension.
I have them on a couple of my 4001 basses and soon they will be on more of them.

I've been using The D"Addario XL-170 roundwound set of my Ricks for over 25 years as well as the set of the same gauge which is now the EPS-170 set. I've never had a problem with my 4001 basses using these sets of strings. You probably wouldn't have any trouble with the DR set that Steve mentions either as these sets of strings are low to moderate in tension. You just need your 4001 setup properly.
Roundwound strings do not necessarily have more tension than flatwound strings. Actually, most sets of flatwound strings have more tension than roundwound strings of the same gauge.
String tension is influenced by the overall construction, alloys used and gauge.

I currently have Thomastik-Infeld (TI) JR344 Jazz Rounds on my July '73 4001; these have the lowest tension in the galaxy as far as roundwound strings go. They do take bit of getting used to if you play hard, you have to lighten your touch, which in reality, is a good thing, musically speaking.

Round wound strings are NOT a threat to Rickenbacker necks. I don't know who started it but there is a misconception that rounds inherently pull harder than flats. This is simply not true. There is more to the story than the outer wrap of the string. Consider that Chris Squire used Rotos on a 60's (read: fragile) Rick for years. Geddy Lee used them too. Anyone who has ever used them can tell you that Fender flats from the 70's would probably have folded a 4001 in half. Some LaBella flats also loaded up the neck in a big way. I used Rotos on my Ricks from 1979 until I switched to DRs in the late 90's and NEVER had a neck problem. Now, Rotos did eat up my frets and did not last very long. Often there would be one really false string in the pack and that is why I switched to DRs. I have a set of DR High Beams on my '63 4001 and have had for about 4 years.

The most important this is that you make sure you know the proper way to adjust your Rickenbacker truss rods. Don't rely on your tech to work it out. Most don't have a clue. Learn it yourself and avoid a lot of trouble.

I used to use standard Rickenbacker strings on my 77 4001, and never had any trouble. Sounded fine. Definitely on the trebley side, but that's to be expected. However, I switched to TI Jazz flats out of curiosity, and found I prefer the tone, feel and lower tension they provide.

rickfan60 wrote: Often there would be one really false string in the pack and that is why I switched to DRs.

That's exactly why I switched to D'Addario strings.

Hi there guys!
I really appreciate your responses !
I do use light DRs on my Fender jazz and I feel like they will fit perfect on my RIC too.
By the way RIC is the best bass in the universe!!!!
I would describe Set up as "medium low" with neck completely straight and strings height compromised for medium pick and finger playing.
Is there something else that I could take care of?
Thnx!!!

Rotosound RS66's ate the frets on my old '77 4001 pretty bad too. I now use DR's on my 4003, and V63. Hey Ted, the Hi-Beams on my 4003 have been real nice to the frets. How are they on your '63 4001?

No problems at all Randy. Though I am considering putting as set of nickel Low Riders on her or even some TI flats.

Ted, the nickel Lo-Riders are the smoothest feeling nickel RW string I've ever played. I think you'll like them. I've never played the Sunbeams, but I'd expect them to be a nickel version of the Hi-Beams. The DR flats are supposed to be a low tension round core string like the TI's.