Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just curious what most of you are playing on your 4004.

I keep it simple. I have one 4004 for rounds and another for flats.

Isn't that how it should be?

In a perfect world it would be so!

My world is far from perfect but that is what I, actually, do.

Jeffery, which one sports the flats?

The Snowglo has TI Jazz Flats on it.

I had flats on mine, but changed to half rounds.

Isaac wrote:I had flats on mine, but changed to half rounds.

Interesting.
What sound were you hoping to achieve and did you get there?

I used to use Half Rounds on my first newly purchased 4001 (mid '70s) back in my Top40/Disco daze, and decades later, on two of my Zon basses in the late '90s/early '00s.

T28 wrote:

Isaac wrote:I had flats on mine, but changed to half rounds.

Interesting.
What sound were you hoping to achieve and did you get there?

Personally, I prefer the sound of round wounds, but the leader of the band I was playing in insisted that I play the 4004 for its looks, and he prefers flats. I couldn't get a sound I liked with the flats (I did a thread on that a while back. Turned out that one of the pickups had an open coil, which messed everything up), so the flats were a compromise between what he wanted and what I wanted. It's not an ideal tone, from my perspective, but it suits the band, and that's ultimately more important.

I have Optima Golds on my 4004CII. It’s the first set I’ve put on it since I bought it, and just had to try them because of the look (gold hardware, gold strings). Sounds pretty good, but haven’t tried flats on it yet.

Hi Beams also on my (two) Cii

Rounds on both of mine.

I am using the original rounds that came with the bass in 2008. For whatever reason, this one set of strings does not seem to age.

bluewhale

If you use the HB1s in series wiring, I bet they sound awesome with thumpy flats. Probably the perfect setup for some dub music. Zingy rounds are wasted on those pickups (wired in series, anyway).