Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Everybody,

How r things doing?

I was checking strings for my rick.

I had many options, but asking for prices and shipping, they will cost me a lot!!!

Luckily, I found these strings in a local store (THE ONLY MUSIC STORE THAT SUPPLIES THESE STRINGS, THE ONLY ONE...CAN U IMAGINE THAT????)

Rotosound-RS-77LD-Jazz-Bass-Monel-Flatwound-Bass-Guitar-Strings

My question is, will they work and fit well on my rick? (mapleglo 4003) Will I need to do some adjustments on my rick?


I hope you can answer my questions.

These are very stiff-feeling flats that tonally almost compare to rounds because of the upper-mid honk... are you sure you really want that?

The D string nut slot may need to be enlarged (some .065'' D strings don't fit the stock nut slot) and the truss rods may need to be tightened up a bit.

Hi, well ur description sounds scary to me and my rick. To be honest I didn't know that theese strings were so terrible. I am from Peru...and here ricks are really rare....but I am one of those rare guys who has one. FOr that reason here in Peru, we dont have any stores that sells fltawounds. The only store I found was the one that sells these strings.

What do u recommend?

Jorge, what sound/tone do you want to get?

Rotosound-RS-77LD are not "bad" strings, just not a traditional style flat wound. A lot of flats have a more thumpy sound, and if that's what you want, the RS-77LD won't really give it to you...

I'm looking for Macca tone (Beatles-era)

See if you can get TI Jazz Flats (JF344).

kokytomv wrote:I'm looking for Macca tone (Beatles-era)

Here are two good choices for that old-school flat sound:

Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats 344 (as Jeff posted)
LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats 760FX (a favorite of mine)

The TIs are a little brighter and have more sustain but both are great flats. Other options include D'Addario Chromes and Fender 9050s. I recommend these as well.
If you want something that truly thumps and not much else, GHS Precision Flats are a good choice.

Finally, if you want the old school sound, I think lighter gauges do a better job of it... unless you want to do Motown, in which case I would make the opposite recommendation.

Thanks, I'll invest more money then. I'm sure it will be worth it

About the labellas. I found a 760fx (extra long) and another one that says 760fx (extra light)....which one is the recommendable?

Don't get the extra long strings, those are for 35"-36" scale length instruments. The extra lights would be what I'd use as I prefer lower tension strings on most of my basses.

kokytomv wrote:I'm looking for Macca tone (Beatles-era)

Macca was using the Rick flats, and the current Optima 4099 strings are very, very close to the feel and tone of those old Rick/Maxima flats.

I have both sets (Maxima/Rick and Optima).

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/OP4099-4.htm

kokytomv wrote:About the labellas. I found a 760fx (extra long) and another one that says 760fx (extra light)....which one is the recommendable?

You want 760FX, not 760FX-EXL which is extra long scale.

I have the Rotos on a Ric and that bass is tuned down a half step and it makes the tension much better. They have a cool sound but they die pretty quick and sound kinda lifleless....not the good dead that we associate with flats like LaBella's ect.

I also have LaBella 760FL's and TI JF344's on two other Rics, love them both and recommend them both.....but to be honest...the LaBellas give me much more Macca than the TI's. But then again my TI's are on a fretless Ric.

You can not go wrong with the TI's or the LaBellas. I liked the Roto 77's at first but not so much about 3 weeks later. Bummer cuz I really did like them at first.

Sorry I need to amend my last post. Last weekends gig is what inspired my negative comments towards the Roto 77's. It was a particularly ****** room acoustically and that greatly colored my opinion of my bass tone. I jut spent three hours playing my bass today and those Roto 77s sound great on my 4003. They still do not have the classic flatwound tone but they do sound great on a Ric. But once again, mine is tuned down a half step and I think the tension might be a problem if my bass was tuned to pitch.