Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've tried searching but am struggling to find anything. Would they have been Pyramids?

OK, if no one is gonna jump in then I’ll venture my best guess. Since McCartney received the bass in ‘65 and The Beatles we notorious for changing strings only we necessary, I say they were whatever stock strings Rickenbacker was using at the time. Based on photos I’ve seen it looks like by the time he was recording Sgt Pepper the strings were changed as there are loose ends around the tuning pegs that aren’t trimmed.

Rickenbacker basses would have come from the factory with Maxima S440 flatwound strings. These do occasionally come up for sale, NOS. I bought and sold a set a few years back without ever installing them.

Here's a thread about the Optima 4440 strings, which are based on the Maximas: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=414072&hilit=optima

Thanks guys. I'm aware of the various recording tricks used (played faster, recording slowed down etc. etc.) but it's my favourite Macca tone by far. Love the part too.

Were the Maximas lower tension than the flats Ric would have been using in 1980? My 1980 4001 (stolen in '86, s/n TC915) came with flats from the factory but I seem to remember they were pretty stiff, although the frankly ludicrous action didn't help.

You could use TI flats or if you can grab some Optima 4440’s. The Optimas are pretty similar to the original Maximas but that’s always debateable. Either or you can’t go wrong. I doubt Paul really had the strings changed anyways. Have you paid attention to his jazz bass on the White Album? Sounds like he’s hitting his strings with a wet rag.

bassman4001 wrote:Have you paid attention to his jazz bass on the White Album? Sounds like he’s hitting his strings with a wet rag.

So THAT's the trick! Thank you!!

(I love all the White Album bass sounds.)

The strings on the JB would have been fairly new at the time also.

daveman wrote:

bassman4001 wrote:Have you paid attention to his jazz bass on the White Album? Sounds like he’s hitting his strings with a wet rag.

So THAT's the trick! Thank you!!

(I love all the White Album bass sounds.)

I do too. Very great tones (unique with the Jazz). IMO his 4001S outshines the JB and John/George's playing on the Bass VI.

I’ve been thinking about putting TI flats on my Azure ‘72. TI flats are so expensiveness here though (going on 3 times the price of a set of Rotos); fine if you like them but a bit of an expensive experiment if you don’t know.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I like the response and tone of the Roto's on my '67, but I know the old girl would like the TI's better. I just have a hard time changing my picking attack to the lower tension strings.

The thing with the TI's is that they never die. I've had a set on my 4001c64s from 2006 up till 2016. Never changed them. They seemed to get better with age. So really 10 years with a set of string is pretty damn good. They were 65.00 at the time when I bought them so they were a great investment. I switched them to the Optima 4440's and those have been on her since 2016 and they still respond great.

bassman4001 wrote:The thing with the TI's is that they never die. I've had a set on my 4001c64s from 2006 up till 2016. Never changed them. They seemed to get better with age. So really 10 years with a set of string is pretty damn good. They were 65.00 at the time when I bought them so they were a great investment. I switched them to the Optima 4440's and those have been on her since 2016 and they still respond great.

My worry is putting them on and not liking the tone, in which case they wouldn’t be such a great investment.

You’r certainly right if they sound good though!

henry5 wrote:

bassman4001 wrote:The thing with the TI's is that they never die. I've had a set on my 4001c64s from 2006 up till 2016. Never changed them. They seemed to get better with age. So really 10 years with a set of string is pretty damn good. They were 65.00 at the time when I bought them so they were a great investment. I switched them to the Optima 4440's and those have been on her since 2016 and they still respond great.

My worry is putting them on and not liking the tone, in which case they wouldn’t be such a great investment.

You’r certainly right if they sound good though!

I'm pretty sure you'll like them.

Can't go wrong with TI's. I have them for years on three of my basses, a Jazz, a Guild B-302 and a 4001V63.
They sound lovely, they last long and with the right settings they match the Macca tone very well.
As a finger player I also like their smooth touch.
Just try them and save big time on the long run

This is the sound I get with my 4001C64 with TI JF344 flats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUpGBa51JGA[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUpGBa51JGA