Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi 4004 players. I usually gig with my 4004 Cii and my 4004L as a backup and I use the standard Rick stings (occasionally substituted with the Mangan clones). I like a nice warm medium tone with a very slight top end on it, so adjusting the tone often depends a bit on the room.

My questions is, how often do most of you keep your strings one before you changes them?

Depends entirely on how much I've been playing the bass. I never have a set period of time for changing strings. I change them when I feel that they need to be changed, which is when they sound too dead or look/feel too cruddy.

When I used rounds (GHS Boomers) I'd change them before every gig which was about twice a month. I switched to flats (D'Addario Chromes) and am going on two years now with the same level of brightness they had right out of the wrapper.....I just wipe 'em down with alcohol after every use.

I don't play a 4004, but overall?... I change my strings when accurate intonation starts getting a bit difficult to accomplish. I've found that my strings retain their brightness pretty well (I always wash my hands before picking a bass up)... it's the intonation difficulties that give me "the sign". On my main gigger (which sees action at least two nights a week), that usually translates into around 4-6 months; 4 months in the dirty, sweaty summer and 6 months in the dryer winter.

it's usually a looooong time between changes for me-i do not tend to sweat from my hands,so there is none of the corrosion from that,but i still wipe the strings and neck down anyway. the dr sunbeams on my 4004 and the flatwounds on my 4000 were installed november 2009,and both sets still sound like new to me. in fact,i usually only change strings if i am trying out a different set!

incubus2432 wrote:I just wipe 'em down with alcohol after every use.

Even better is naptha. I protect the unfinished fingerboards of the Cii from the naptha with a heavy duty sheet of plastic before I wipe down the strings. You'd be amazed at how long they last if you just start keeping after them before the brightness starts to fade.
Except of course, I have Chromes on my Cii FG and I really don't care about keeping a bright sound on them at all. I want the the old classic rock and R&B thump on that Cii.

bigbajo60 wrote:I change my strings when accurate intonation starts getting a bit difficult to accomplish.... it's the intonation difficulties that give me "the sign". On my main gigger (which sees action at least two nights a week), that usually translates into around 4-6 months; 4 months in the dirty, sweaty summer and 6 months in the dryer winter.

+1

As frequently as possible, at least least every second or third rehersal/gig, Nothing sounds better (IMHO) than NEW strings,

I'm really a flatwound fan mostly so I may not be the right person to listen to about roundwound zing, but, I have found that even when the strings sound dead acoustically, they still sound very zingy through the right rig. Case in point, my 4003's (quite dead) Circle K rounds sounded very treble-y at my last show in Denver through my MXR-M80 (no EQ besides the "color" button), TC Classic450 (EQ set flat, some light emulated tube warmth), and fEarful 15/6. I have clips on my band's web site that begin to capture this, although the recording was done with a Zoom H4 alone so it's a bit "through a glass darkly".

All good points. I especially agree with the idea of using EQ to bring the "zing" back on roundwounds. So, is Chris Squire's mentioning of changing strings every gig always true? And for every bass he brings with him? Last time I saw him play he used at least four.