Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I am looking to get the maximum amount of punch, sustain, and brightness out of my Rick. I have the stock strings on them, which I'm told are the standard Ric strings. I was wondering if I would get any more punch, sustain, and brightness from any of these brands? I don't want to go to the expense of other strings since the bass is only 4 months old, unless I get a strong consensus that I would get a noticeable difference.

D'Addario Pro Steels
Dean Markley Blue Steels
Rotosound Swing Bass 66
DR Hi Beams

Thanks in advance,
Jack

The RIC strings that are on your 4003 are nickel roundwounds (nickel out wrap). All of the string sets that you have listed are stainless steel sets (stainless steel outer wrap). The difference is that that stainless steel strings are brighter and have more output than the nickel strings. The stainless steel strings will produce more finger noise than nickel. Stainless steel roundwounds also have a greater potential to wear your frets faster. Which one is better? Everyone will name their personal preference, with what works best with their bass, playing technique, amp and other gear. You should try a few different types and brands of strings over a course of time to find out which set you prefer.
Sustain has more to do with the overall construction of the bass and how well it's set up, rather than the strings.

What Joey said...

My faves are D'Addario XL170s (nickel - so no more wear than that of Ric strings) bright and affordable, and avaliable as well. I guess my second fave are Ric strings....

It's actually hilarious to see a "string" thread regarding ROUNDWOUNDS.

So basically, stay away from steel because of the finger noise? I guess without going to steel, I probably won't get much more brightness than the Ric strings? Where Cassius when you need him????

Jack

jack1953 wrote:So basically, stay away from steel because of the finger noise?

Jack

It depends on the music that you are playing and your playing technique. If you add overdrive/distortion to your sound, then some finger noise really doesn't matter too much. If you need really articulate and clean sound, it does matter.

ram wrote:My faves are D'Addario XL170s (nickel - so no more wear than that of Ric strings) bright and affordable, and available as well.

There's plenty of brightness in this set. They are my faves as well.

jack1953 wrote:Where Cassius when you need him????

As I said via PM earlier, I strongly suggest the Balanced 106 set by Circle K. I could go into all the details of why but there is so much these strings have going on, it would become a TLDR (too long, didn't read). The quick capsule: nickel/steel hybrid with loads of harmonics, medium tension evenly across all strings, and a light feel to the touch. The gauges are not that different from RIC stock strings... .043'' .058'' .080'' .106''

I have gotten to know one of Circle K's owners but not well enough to make me biased... yet. I'm very impressed with how committed the owners are to making a consistent, remarkable, reliable string and their awareness of issues of tension balance and feel.

cassius987 wrote: I strongly suggest the Balanced 106 set by Circle K.

That would be the Balanced Standard 106. No?

Joshua, roughly how long do a set of the Circle K's last?

Hello,
I have tried several strings too at the moment I am very happy with the Ernie Ball string Coated that I paid about a million $ (edit : very expensive I think it really was nearly 100$ for 4string) at my local guitar shop (in France). I did use previously the Earnie ball super slinky (not coated) and they lost their brightness very fast , the ghs boomers brightness was gone in a few hours and were muddy , d'addario XL are pretty good I use them on my MM at the moment and if anything they're a little too polyvalent a little too flattish sound .

The funny thing with the Ernie Ball coated is that when they were new they were too bright (and I'm endlessly looking for brightness) and after many hours now it really pulls it off very well on my 4003 , a lot of punch , brightness and growl . So much so that at the moment I enjoy more the sound of the Rick than the MM stingray with D'addarios and that means a lot because I really don't usually like the Rick I even hesitated at selling it here at one time and now there's no way I'll get rid of it .
From my little experience I found the d'addario XL to be very close to the stock rickenbacker's string .

Hope it helps

Jonathan

shannow wrote:From my little experience I found the d'addario XL to be very close to the stock rickenbacker's string .

Yes, I tend to agree. The D'Addario XL170s seem a little stiffer (which I like) than the Ric strings do.

prestoj wrote:

cassius987 wrote: I strongly suggest the Balanced 106 set by Circle K.

That would be the Balanced Standard 106. No?

Yeah.

ram wrote:Joshua, roughly how long do a set of the Circle K's last?

I'm only on my first set, have been for close to two months, but I can already tell these are long-lived strings. They don't lose their brightness, and their flexible nature allows them to take a beating without really showing any wear for it. I'm really impressed.