Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I believe that flatwounds are lower-tensed than roundwounds but my knowledge stops there. Which brands of rounds are kinder to my (4001's)neck and (my)fingers, and ditto for flatwounds? Has anyone broken it down for us, pound for pound?

I once saw in the net a comparing table containing all the brands/models/gauges of strings, indicating the different tensions...

the modern flatwounds are higher tension than the roundwounds

kiramdear wrote:I believe that flatwounds are lower-tensed than roundwounds but my knowledge stops there. Which brands of rounds are kinder to my (4001's)neck and (my)fingers, and ditto for flatwounds? Has anyone broken it down for us, pound for pound?

Hi Kira,

Different makers offer high tension flats, low tension rounds - it's a bit confusing. Back when rounds first appeared, they were higher tension than the flats available, but the game has moved on.

Tomastik Infeld make low tension rounds as well as flats. D'addario have lighter gauge rounds and flats as well, but I find them a tad heavier than the TIs. Rotos and Fender flats seem to be the highest tension strings around, though I'm sure there are others. Stainless rounds of any tension will be harder on your frets than nickel. I prefer a mid-gauge round (usually GHS Boomers), and they haven't destroyed the neck on my '74 4000, but if you want to stay safe, stay light.

That's great

It looks like she's been strung with rounds for a long time, by the parallel grooves on the frets and chewing on the board in the lowest frets. I really don't want to have her refretted because she's dreamy to play. I just don't want things to get worse. I have flats on my hofner-style backup instrument which sound great and are easy to play. You're not the first to recommend T-I's so I think I'll try to find them online. The Chrome lights sound like a cheaper and more accessible alternative and they're what I put on my backup. But either way, it's time to start babying my baby a little bit. Neither one of us is getting any younger

AFAIK the highest tension strings are LaBella "Original 1954 - James Jamerson Set", .052 - .110 Flatwounds. Guaranteed to bow even the toughest Fender neck.

The lowest tension are Thomastik-Infeld Nickel Round Wound Roundcore ("Jazz Rounds"), .043 - .089. They have even less tension than TI Jazz Flats! Here's a table of the tensions in lbs.

Interesting to see the G string is quoted as having the most tension on those TI's....

I always thought the D pulled the most.

Thanks Ilan,

Wow, that's not what I expected. Why would I assume the lowest one had the highest tension? Dunno, I always have.
I'm definitely switching over to flats though, to forestall any more wear and tear on the frets.

But flats aren't fun...

Kira, I use rounds on my '75 4001 and it has the best tone of any of my 5 Ricks. The neck adjusts fully with them. I use the D'Addario EXL-170 Regular Lights - they are nickle and easy on the frets.
http://www.daddario.com/DADProdDetail.a ... XL170&ID=2
You can get a set for $17 online from sweetwater.com, or $18 at a GC.

Kira: A great question on so many levels.

The construction of the string is the major determining factor and as some have pointed out already some flats have higher tension than others. Tuned to the same pitch, D'Addario Chrome flats exert greater tension than Thomastik Infeld strings.

As to which strings pull hardest, there is a definitive answer in my view, it is the heart-strings.

I say get some Chromes!!! A lot of us like them. The TI's seem WAY to "floppy" to me...

Charly: While we are on the subject, what in your view is the difference in tone between the Thomastik and the Chromes?

Sorry Peter, I didn't buy them. They seemed WAY too floppy out of the pkg!!

I think the Chromes have the best highs of the flats I have tried. I can get some nice snarl out of the bridge pup!!

I just put on some Chromes light flatwounds and I'm very pleased with the playing and the sound. They seem of a similar tension to the stainless rounds I just took off, but they're buttery smooth I don't guess I would want them any floppier. They're quite brighter than I expected (happily) and there's no shortage of snarl I still have to roll a little off the treble tone or the sound is a bit clangy. In other words, they're perfect. I guess I wasn't as concerned about tension as I was about the roughness of rounds after all, as the neck shows no signs of instability.

This package (D'Addario Chromes ECB81, reg.light) reports the following:
#1-G: 45.7 lb.
#2-D: 52.0 lb.
#3-A: 43.7 lb.
#4-E: 38.4 lb.

So, I'm sold for the moment and lovin' these new strings. Thanks, guys

I've used the Ti flats for quite a while now, and I've never felt they were floppy. I was using pyramids before the Ti flats. Pyramids have a lot more tension than Ti flats, but when I made the switch, I didn't notice the Ti strings feeling floppy.