Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Can anyone tell me the difference between old Ric string sets #4440 and #4441
The old Ric string boxes I still have from the 80's all say set #4441
I've read through some old posts that say 4001's came stock with set #4440
Possibly a lighter or heavier gauge

what kind are they? 4440 is the really smooth flatwound type.

The strings I still have from the 80's (set #4441) are the super smooth flatwounds with the purple silk

I have a set of the 4440s with purple silks. Metal flats. I've not seen the 4441s.

I also have a set of the black tapewounds, 4445; currently on my April '73 4001FL.

FretlessOnly wrote:I have a set of the 4440s with purple silks. Metal flats. I've not seen the 4441s.

I also have a set of the black tapewounds, 4445; currently on my April '73 4001FL.

OOOH, love those black tapewounds!

Do the black tapewounds have gold silk?

I'll double-check when I get home - there are no silks on the winding ends as I recall; there may be black silks at the tailpiece end. No gold though.

These tapewounds are unlike most others I've tried (Fender, Rotos, Labella); unstrung, they are very soft and pliable, but they firm up nice when brought to tension. I think the NOS set I bought may have outlived its shelf-life however; the G is fairly bright, but the sound becomes much more muffled as you go from the D to A to E. The E is virtually inaudible acoustically. Plugged in, it has thump, but no other real timbre.

Well, I stand corrected, Ken. There are no silk wrappings on the tailpiece end, but it appears that there are silk wrappings on the headstock end. Actually, the way it looks to me is that the strings are silk wrapped under the tape and the strings taper at the winding end. As a result, the black silk is exposed on the part of the string that wraps around the post (with an inch or so of silk just south of each post). That's what it looks like to me, and judging from their tone, that adds up for me. Although I'm not sure that my set is representative of the overall tone of these, as I indicated above.

My first Rick a '68 4000 came new with black tapewounds with gold silk. You can just make them out if you click on the pic and enlarge it. On another note notice how light the fretboard was in that era.

Rotosound TruBass 88s are black with gold silk at both ends.