Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Please see "nylon strings" post under "Rickenbackers and strings".

My 1968 came with those ... I tried them again in the 1980's ... cool sound and feel ... they are more alive than some flatwounds ...

But I had to realize ... I am a round wound Chris Squire/Geddy Lee kind of guy ... I like the aggressive edgy sound ... as opposed to the smooth jazzy sound of nylon flats ...

when you take the nylon coating off you have a round wound string underneath

I'm with you Jeff, I've been wanting to try the TI flatwounds everones been raving about lately, but I dont think I could make the transition.

Since I first tried them, I've used only nylon tape wounds on my F**d*r fretless J. Don't think I'd ever try them on a fretted instrument.

TI Flats sound really, really great on my Fender P-Basses. However, my RIC is still strung with rounds. I used to have Pyramids on my RIC but I yearned for the Geddy growl, so the rounds went back on. I may try TIs on my RIC someday just for grins.

Okay, I'm a flats guy. My V63 has Pyramids and the '76 4001 currently has Daddario chromes. Looks as if most of you want the Squire/Lee tones. So maybe not the best place to ask about nylons. One post even says "don't think I'd ever try them on a fretted". Why? What got me curious about nylons was seeing Cyndi Lauper on Letterman several months back. Her bass player was using a Ric that appeared to be strung with nylons. (might have been mistaken) Had a very nice sound. Not the "thump" of flats or the "clang" of roundwounds. Did anyone else see this performance? If so, was it nylon strings or something else?

I get a very nice growly tone out of my 4004Cii with TI flats and my '73 4001 with Chromes.

Hi Gary,

W. Wittman is the bass palyer in question in your last post about Cyndi Lauper, hopefully he will chime in sometime soon and answer your question. Although they may have been the new DR or other Black Round Wounds that are out there at the present time. I use Pyramid, and TI flats on my RICs and Rotosound or La Bella Nylon Tapes on the 4005. Matter of fact the only RW strung RIC I have right now is the 4001C64S MG with factory RW's.

I would agree with your brief comment about not having the deep thumpy boom or clang, it sounds more organic than that. More like a Plunk than a Thunk. Pick and finger tones seem more articulated too.

Jeffrey,
I agree. I can also get a pretty darn aggressive tone out of either of my Rics strung with flats.

Steve,
sounds like you've used nylon strings on the 4005 for a while. Being unfamiliar with them, one of my biggest concerns has been getting a gauge that will work. After a couple quick searches on the web, the gauges seem to run guite large for some reason. Also, thanks for the note on Mr.Wittman. That would be very cool if the guy that got me started on this were to post on the subject.

Gary, I have used LaBella tapewounds on my (fretted) Gibson EB-0L for many years. The gauges are large because the nylon wrap is thicker than comparable steel wraps. Despite the size, they are medium tension strings and easy for me to play. They last for years.

Like any other string, you may find them great on one bass and not so great on another.

Dave,
Thanks for the info. Do they seat in the nut? I guess that's where I have the most concern. I don't want to widen the slots to accept them.

Gary,
I have the Rickenbacker Nylon Tapewounds (S 899, 45-56-77-103) on my '72 4001 Fretless. I love them! They play smooth and don't lack brightness at all. Quite loud, acoustically. http://www.rickbeat.com/gallery/paulyan/pages/Balance%20362k.htm

As the standard RIC bass gauge is 45-55-75-105, your existing nut should present no problem with the tapewounds.

Gary, it depends. The tape is not rigid like steel and I did not have to widen the slots on my Gibson. But if your RIC has never been widened, you may need to, especially on the A and D.

Thanks to everyone for responding. I'll take a look at the Ric brand nylon tapes. Any other suggestions or if anyone else out there uses 'em, I'd be most interested in hearing opinions on sound and brands.

I tried the roto sound tape wounds but couldnt get the large e string to intonate on the ric bridge..so i got a set of 45-65-85-105 from a place in the u.k.(www.status-graphite.com) The tone is rather dark/muddy sounding and less thump then most flatwounds but still has sort of a upright vibe going with them...also the tension on them was very low and had to loosen the truss rods...seems like they use a very light gauge round wound the and then wrap it with the nylon coating..nice sounding strings though and didnt have to file the nut..think the cost + shipping came out to $35.00