Flats for "MY" 1979 Ric 4001

[ampegfuzz]

So I have been doing tons of research and I am not getting the answer I'm looking for. I have scoured this forum and both rickenbacker forums with no strait answer. I want to try a new flat and what to know what I can install and not hurt my bass. It is currently strung with old style Fender flats 95-45 and I want a flat that has some more presence and a little less tension. What can I install and not hurt my neck? I don't want to drop $60+ on TI Jazz flats so what are my options and what gage should I buy? Also note I like brighter sounding flats. Thanks!

[gidbass]

you could try the lower gauge chromes. They are bright for flats and the tension of that set is only a little more than the TI's, at least according to juststrings.com

Daddario ECB80 D'Addario Electric Bass Chromes Flat Wound Super Soft Long, .040 - .095, ECB80
TI jazz flats - Thomastik-Infeld Electric Bass Nickel Flat Wound Roundcore 4 String, .043 - .100, JF344

Good Luck!

[ampegfuzz]

What about the 45-100 roto jazz and new fenders ?????

[zon6c-f]

I have owned a '72 4001-s; always strung with roto swing bass 66, since new, which was stolen in mid '80's and replaced with a used '78 4001-s. I immediately strung the '78 with roto 66's and did so until 1998, when I changed from prog to Electric Blues.
i STRUNG THE 78 WITH l

[zon6c-f]

FORGIVE MY PREVIOUS POST. SORRY..TYPING TOO FAST AND HIT STRANGE KEY COMBO=SEND before I could finish or edit.

Anyhow, I strung the 78 Rick 4001-s with La Bella Jamerson flats. No issues; totally differnt tone; quite opposite from British prog tone; tone knobs / treble nearly useless...LOL.. I still play that bass with tone knobs fully open. I play mostly finger-style, as well.

Bottom line:" Flats work fine wit ha Rick 4001; just no more Chris Squire " tone and closer to Sir Paul's.

[ampegfuzz]

I really want to have flats on this bass my 1978 Ric has circle k rounds and last straw will be that on the 1979 but I want to try all the flats I can (TI's last) before I give up and settle with rounds. But I need to know what types and Gages will be safe for the neck.

[gidbass]

I had roto 77's on a jazz bass once, and the tension was too much for me (the bass handled them fine). Don't know if it safe for your Ric or not, but those are some high tension strings, in my opinion. No experience with Fender flats.

I went from RS 66's -> chromes -> roto 77's (very briefly) -> chromes -> TI's -> chromes.

Good Luck.

[bassboysam]

I had extra light chromes (95s) and light Sadowsky flats (100s) on my 73 with no issues. Chromes were brighter, sads were nice, a little warmer, kind of in between chromes and la bellas. I wasn't a fan of their feel though, had a strange plastic feel. I know you want bright but for that in the mix sound the la bella 760FX/FL are great.

[ampegfuzz]

Its a "i'd like to have it and not need it rather then need it and not have it" situation with the brightness

I believe I have a used set of chromes in 100's in the basement might try but geez I now got 3 sets of old fender flats I pretty much have no use for. I was saving them for something special like this Ric but it came with them on and I don't like them. Then i was going to put them on my 74 p bass but tried the roto jazz in the 105's and they sounded sooooo damn good I don't want to take them off.

[neoman09]

SF: As far as I know the spec recommended by Rickenbacker for strings back then was 40 - 90. They used to make their own brand of strings, too. p.s I will drop off the literature tomw at the shop around noon.
NS

[One Drop]

Originally Posted by zon6c-f

FORGIVE MY PREVIOUS POST. SORRY..TYPING TOO FAST AND HIT STRANGE KEY COMBO=SEND before I could finish or edit.

Anyhow, I strung the 78 Rick 4001-s with La Bella Jamerson flats. No issues; totally differnt tone; quite opposite from British prog tone; tone knobs / treble nearly useless...LOL.. I still play that bass with tone knobs fully open. I play mostly finger-style, as well.

Bottom line:" Flats work fine wit ha Rick 4001; just no more Chris Squire " tone and closer to Sir Paul's.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone else- I think you were just lucky the neck could support the tension. There are flats and there are flats, and the Jamersons are higher tension than most anything else around.

To the OP, try your light Chromes, if they don't work bite the bullet and buy some TIs. You'll probably end up with them anyway in the end.

[ampegfuzz]

Thanks Neal and I'm still looking for flats. Wana keep a flat on her but the fenders are too stiff for me. The list of wants are:
Chromes
Roto jazz
New fender
T.I.
All the lightest I can get. We will see putting Chromes on this weekend.

[Floyd Eye]

IMO, too much hoopla is made about string tension on Rics. With the exception of the tailpiece ( which is going to lift regardless) I think you can do no damage to your bass with most normal sets of bass strings. Of course, Cassius is a walking dictionary of string tensions and what works best for what on Rics, so maybe he'll chime in.

[Flatwound]

Originally Posted by ampegfuzz

Thanks Neal and I'm still looking for flats. Wana keep a flat on her but the fenders are too stiff for me. The list of wants are:
Chromes
Roto jazz
New fender
T.I.
All the lightest I can get. We will see putting Chromes on this weekend.

I'm not a Ricky guy, so I can't comment too much on tension. I think if you buy the lightest gauge strings in the brands you have listed, you'll probably be OK. Tone-wise, the Chromes are pretty bright when new, and slowly mellow over time, but seem to keep their essential character. I have a set on a bass that I don't play very often, but whenever I pull it out, it sounds like I expect it to. The strings are probably 1-2 years old. At this point they sound pretty "traditional", but still have good brightness, for flats, and good note definition.

The Roto 77's are a "different" sort of string, since they have a monel outer wrap which is non-magnetic. So they won't be quite as loud as other strings. It's been quite a while since I used them, so I can't say too much more.

Haven't tried the new Fenders.

I don't know exactly what sound you're looking for in flats, but for me the TI's are the ultimato. I have a set on a Douglas sixer, and I'd play that bass anywhere, as long as I didn't need to slap. The strings are worth about as much as the bass, but in my case, they're worth it. I don't expect to ever replace them unless one breaks. A lot has been said about the low tension of TI's, but they feel great to me. With the round core, they will feel less stiff than the above mentioned hex-core strings, but I have no problem playing the Douglas after playing my roundwound-equipped Modulus or Warwick basses.

[ampegfuzz]

I slapped with a jazz bass I have chromed on sounded fine and the lower output of the roto is a turn off, but I didn't notice when I put roto's on my p.

[Audiophage]

New chromes are quite bright for flats in my experience.

Just out of curiosity, why do you describe it as "my" rick? I mean with the quotes and all.

[ampegfuzz]

Just so people knew it was for a specific application and persons taste rather then a generalization of flats for any ric and my specifics needs and wants

[ampegfuzz]

Well I put the chromes on. I did the E and A string then played it though my rig to see the difference. I noticed that the strings where almost equally bright but the fenders had almost no ringing after the note was played. The fender would trail off quickly as the chromes rang a little and sustained longer. Also a good note if you did not catch it, the chromes were used and broke in. All I did was clean them with alcohol and I did the same thing with the fenders last week when I cleaned the Ric and fixed the truss rods. So it was a fair fight. The tension is slightly looser feeling but I did bump up slightly in gage as the chromes were the .100 set. I think ill rock these chromes for a bit and hopefully get some gigs soon to give them the real test.