Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have just bought a 1971 4001 bass which has been in storage for over 30 years. Needless to say it is a superb instrument. It has round wound strings fitted at the moment, should I change them to flat wound? or is it OK to use round wound. I prefer round wound but don't want to risk damaging the neck. Your expert opinions needed.

You should wait and see how the neck reacts to the rounds. There are many here who have enjoyed rounds on 4001s.
Welcome Peter and please post pics asap!

cheers!

My old 1972 (which has an identical neck design to a 71), took rounds no problem.

I'd go for the lightest gauge possible, though.

Welcome , Peter! Wow, another big splash into this forum!!! This is GREAT!! Please post some pics of this classic asap!!

Hello, Peter
I don't know if stories about damaged necks with round wound are true, but when RIC made their first basses, they were made for flat wound strings (round wound didn't exist)
My '73 has round wound strings (45-105), the neck is OK and it sounds GREAT !!!

At an educated guess, I,d say Pete just bought the 71 lefty 21 fretter that was on U.K. E bay the other week....in which case congratulations and welcome to the forum. If it is this bass Pete you probably have a one off and it is a peach. Depending on how often your going to play it and personal taste in sound would dictate to me what I use.
Personally, I,d put real light gauge rounds on for sound, but if your going to play it often and it really is in superb condition you may consider flats to minimise fret wear. This is a super rare bass that having survived so long in pristine condition and being very collectible should stay as close to that condition as possible imo ...

My April 73, which was made before the transition began has Roundwounds on it. Its had them on for years without any neck/fretboard problems.

I use Markley Blue Steels 45-100 only on it. Plus, they sound great.

See if you can find thru ebay or some online store, some Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Rounds, or even their Powerbass ROunds. The Jazzaz will me similiar tension to TI flats (very low) but even the power bass rounds are noticably lighter than say standard gauge Fender rounds (45-100)

Any they sound great as well.

i think if you stick with a lite gauge you should be fine as long as you do a good setup on the neck you have the older truss rods they do not adjust the same way find someone who knows how to adjust them.

Hi fellow bass players, thanks for your quick responses. Yes Andrew, you are right. I bought the lefty on ebay for what I consider a good price and well worth the 600 mile round trip to pick it up (it was a "collection only" auction, but saying that I wouldn't have trusted it in "Parcel-farce" hands!!! I will try to include a photo, but as I'm a novice here it may just disappear into outer space and never be seen again when I press the button....

Should you use round wounds or flat wounds ...

In my opinion flat wound strings suck ... A Rickenbacker bass and round wound strings were made for each other ...

Tell us how you REALLY feel Jeff!

Jeff also suggests you add a 5th string.

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Pete, thought as much...I,d actually been searching for this bass for a couple of years for a friend here in the States. It was originally for sale in the Bath area for a long time with no takers at 950 pounds. The seller had moved and not left a forwarding number. When it came up on E bay I knew instantly it was the same bass.
It's great you decided to participate here and share your bass as we could well have lost track of a very cool bass. Ask any questions and enjoy the wealth of knowledge and opinions that are present here!

It is not a given that all rounds pull harder than all flats. It depends entirely on the brand and model of the string. DR and TI rounds are very soft. RotoSound RS66 strings have a much heavier pull. Fender flats (at least the ones I used back in the 70's) probably beat them all for abusing the neck. If you are concerned, try a set of DR Sunbeams in 40-100 guage. They are very soft and easy on the frets. I use DR Highbeams (stainless) on my '63 4001 with no problems whatsoever.

I know that it's on the wrong page but I have this 381 too! Definately not common as a lefty.