Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a 4003 and Cheyenne set up with rounds and I'm interested in setting up a bass with flats for a (hopefully) mellower tone. Which Ric would work well for that purpose? FWIW, this would potentially be a third bass since I like the sound of my two as they're set up now.

I use rounds on my 4003, but interestingly enough, my bass player has just bought himself a vintage telecaster bass with flats on it. He normally uses precisions with rounds. The 'flat' sound is really great, very warm, but with plenty of punch & now-a-days, with most people using rounds, it is quite an unusual sound. I must admit, I was surprised at how good they sounded. I really do think that it is perfectly valid for a bassist to have such a sound in his/her armoury & who knows, you might even get to prefer it.

4003s work fine with flats.

Ron,

I put RotoSound flats on one of my 4003's and Pyramid flats on my 4004 Laredo. The Laredo has a nice warm sound to it even with the humbuckers, while the 4003 is slightly brighter. Sorry that I missed you last week at Classic Axe, but I had some errands to run. I just love your 4004C w/ the concentric knobs.

Oh, you got to see my Cheyenne? Russ liked the concentric knobs, too. Did you get a chance to play it?

Actually, Ron, I was talking to Russ about flats today and was actually thinking about getting your old 4003 and setting it up with flats unless there's a better pickup combination like a horseshoe/toaster or the humbucker as you are using. The other idea was to use one of the many P Bass variations out there like the Lakland Skyline Bob Blaub Signature.

A fretless is the obvious choice here Ron. I love the warm sound of my bass which has a toaster, as an option to the rounds sound on the stock 4001/3.

In my opinion ... none ... flats don't do it for me ...

I have flats on 6 of my 7 Rics, from a 72 4001FL to a 2000 4003, they sound great on them all. Flats sound good on just about any bass usually, especially vintage basses like Ric 4001's and Fenders, they were designed for flats, 4003's sound great with them too, punchy, they give most basses more presence and body (punch).

I can't get my Geddy / Squire sound with flats ...

I have Pyramid flats on my modified 3000 short scale fretless with a 4004 humbucker pickup. Played with a pick and tone set to full treble, the sound is surpisingly bright. When rolled back a bit and played with fingers, it's the perfect sound for classic rock, funk, R&B, and especially DISCO! I like having the choice, but if I had to chose rounds or flats and I couldn't go back, I'd have to go with flats. It really is a more versatile sound that is adaptable to more music. The only reason I even started with rounds is Mr.Squire and Mr.Lee. When you really think about it, round wound strings, especially on a fretless, put a lot of "junk" in the sound that needs to be tuned out for most music. Round wound strings will make a ****** bass sound better(just go to any Guitar Center and see what's on the "econo" basses), but a good set of flats on a quality bass like a Rick sound surprisingly round, full and punchy while being very easy on the fingers too.

my Jetglo FL has flats on it and quite frankly I find the tone, a little "flat"...

I started playing when flats were the only strings in the music store ... then when I got my first set of round wound strings I thought damn ... this is what a bass should sound like ... fret buzz is my good friend ...

I love the sound of rounds on a fretless too, but don,t want to chew the board up. We need an FL with an ebony board so that we can wring out that growl without worry.
A green finish to compliment it would be cool too...

I have flats on all of my basses, and they are quite versatile tonally. You should try it on both basses and make a decision based on your own sonic findings; we can only give you our own opinions which may not match yours.

I agree with Jeff Scott. It is all in your fingers and ears. You have to experiment to be truly happy with your sound.