Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey, I just bought a Montezuma Brown 4003 (it'll always be Autumnglo to me) about five months ago, and, for the first time in my life, I am considering putting flatwound strings on a bass of mine instead of roundwounds. No one else has given me any info on what brands make good flatwounds, so I have no idea what brand to purchase. All I know is that as of right now, I am not willing to shell out $70 for a set of Pyramid strings. Does anyone have any suggestions for good flatwound bass strings around the $30 range?

Dean Markley makes some good Bass Flatwounds.

I have D'Addario Chromes on all my Ricks in a 40-55-75-95 set. The super light set normally comes with a 60 for the D string but I like the lighter 55. TI Jazz Flats are also a very popular set of flatwounds that are also light in tension. I don't know what kind of tension you are looking for, but lighter gauge strings produce a truer sound with better harmonics and overtones. As the strings get heavier in tension, you lose the brightness and flexibility of the string.

I like the Chromes too. I use the 45-65-80-100 sets on my Ricks, as well as my Fender Jazz Bass. They sound and feel great, and last a long time without going dead and thuddy. They are priced reasonably too.

Well, thanks for the help. I actually ended up getting a set of Rotosound RS77s (45--105) because I got an incredibly good deal on them from a local music store. And, of course, I am now having mixed feelings about these strings. Well, actually, specifically the E string. The other three sound terrific; they are smooth, easy, loud, and punchy . . . but the E . . . whoa . . . I've tried everything, and I can't get a decent sound out of it . . . it sounds like it has a mute on it or something, but I checked the bridge mute, and it's all the way off. I raised the pickups for more volume . . . no noticeable change with the E. Do strings go dead like this when they are brand new? Or does the Roto E just happen to suck?

Rotos are notorious for dead strings, I bought two sets of flats several years ago and both G strings were dead right out of the package, same for round wounds.
Pyramids are worth every penny you pay for them they are in a class by themselves, and they are usually about $55.00 not 70.00 and you get a year out of them minimum, probably two.

aren't all 4 strings dead on flat wounds? That's why I switched to round wounds back in the 70's to get a live sound ... If I want a flat wound sound I palm mute the strings ... or let a round set get old and it sounds just like flat wounds ... I have a set of flats ... I just can't bring my self to put them on one of my basses ...

JR,
The D'Addario Chromes are quite bright sounding for flats, try them. If it's not against the law up there in Michigan!

Maybe there is some way he could circumvent the law and try them, haha! Pull all your shades down and play softly Jeff. One of the things I like about flats is you get a lot more body to your sound and Chromes are very bright for flats, so are TI's when they are new, I think the chromes keep their brightness for a lot longer though. Chromes are actually too bright for my tastes.

Ya ... I know it is a cool smooth sound ... I usually end up playing like Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, or John Entwhistle ... I like the edgy sound better ...

I was rewiring a bass with flats ... when I got done I played it for a while ... it was cool but when I played Spirit or Radio on it something was missing ...

and I know the smooth feel is nice and you can get the action lower and there is less fret buzz ... but it is not my style ... when I bought my silver 2030 it had really old round wounds on it and they sounded a lot like flats ... it was cool I kept it that way for a month ... then I converted to a five and restrung it ...

oh ya ... I do play blues and jazz sometimes ...

I played the Roto flats for a while too,they sound good at first, but then they go dead way too soon. Some, like has been stated eariler, are dead right out of the box. In my case, the G and D strings always went dead too soon. I switched to the Chromes about 6 months ago and haven't had a problem since. D'Addario makes a good product.

With the chromes, can you get both the brighter sound and a traditional flatwound sound by messing with the tone knobs or something? I might give them a try once the Rotos drive me insane (which isn't yet, but it should be soon). A pity, too, because the other strings sound so good.

Yes you can!

Yeah they sound really good with the tones down and have a great feel, nice and smooth like Jeff said. But, I've been going back and forth a lot for a while now with different flats and I think the Pyramids are going to win out, they feel great have just the right amount of tension for me and sound great to me, can't beat that combination. Very bouncy, flexible strings, they feel like a heavier gauge TI to me, great for finger plucking. (the 12th fret overtone is exactly over the 12th fret too, haha!)

Hey Bob, where did you get the Pyramids? I've thought of trying them several times, but I've used the TI Flates, adn I like them a lot, so figured why change. I had RS66's on my self-made bass I sent you pics of and put the TI's on recently. Its a LOT nicer, and with teh switch and cap I put in there on the bridge pup, I can get a brighter tone out of that if I want to. Maybe the next one I make I'll put the Rotosounds on it but for now I like flats.

How would you describe the difference between the TI flats and the Pyramid flats Bob?

Hey Jeff, Entwistle used flatwounds on a Jazz bass for My Generation and it sounds pretty good!