Is it sacrilege to put flats on my 4003 Rick ?

[SouthPawGary]

So, im 62 years old & have a mint 86' Rick 4003 mapleburst that i ordered brand new back in "The Day". Back then it was perfect for me playing heavy rock/metal & a little prog stuff. when i returned to bass playing after a layoff during the young kids years, I discovered I really like 5-string basses & now mostly play a Carvin LB75 & a G&L L-2500 Fretless. Anyway, I've been playing in my sons "neo-soul / R&B" band for the last year & its been awesome. Obviously everyone is drawn to the Rick & my son (& others ) would like me to play it in this band. I know, it really isnt the bass for that genre, but if i play the neck pick-up, keep my fingers accordingly & roll off the highs, its not bad. All that to say, i bought the 4003 because it was designed for roundwounds (dbl. trussrods) & its had nothing but Rotosound RS-66LD's on it since day 1. I think I would consider playing it, but the flats would help soften the brighter edge Ricks have. What do you think ???? Also how much neck adjustment do you think it would need ?It's always been unbelievably stable & ive never had to touch the trussrods, ever . thanks

 

[HelpImaRock]

Sacrilege doesn't exist. Play what you want.

 

[BassAgent]

It's your bass. Do with it what you want. Plus: McCartney played a Ric with flats. The original 4001s also came with flats. So yeah.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

Not for me. It’s a requirement . I don’t have one but when I do there’s a set of TI flats on the shelf waiting.

 

[Jogobass]

Sacrilege? In what belief system? Who told you that?

 

[brianrost]

i bought the 4003 because it was designed for roundwounds (dbl. trussrods) & its had nothing but Rotosound RS-66LD's on it since day 1. I think I would consider playing it, but the flats would help soften the brighter edge Ricks have. What do you think ????

Too bad Ric no longer sells the flats that came with the 4001. They only show a roundwound set on their web page.

My vote is TI Flats.

 

[BassicJazzy]

My 4001 came with flats in '72, and supposedly that was the sound Rick wanted from the bass, to emulate an upright. It never sounded like an upright, and there was nothing unusual or unique about the flats it came with. They were just steel wrapped regular gauge flats. Over the 12 years I owned that Rick, I tried just about every type of strings that were available, and personally I think it sounded best with nickel rounds.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I have a couple Rickenbackers with flatwounds and usually prefer them to rounds. They'd work well for R&B.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

If I had a Ric, I'd be starting with Chromes

 

[Barton Lee]

I've used flats on my 4003S often and have 40-100 D'Addario Chromes on it now which work well with the Ric, I think. Fender 9050L flats sound really good on it too. I used TI flats and they're a good fit sonically too if you don't mind the low tension. Optima RB flats are supposedly the closest to the original flats that came with Rics back in the day. I was quite enthusiastic about these when new but after a few gigs, they became a little too dark for my taste.

I play mostly R&B and 70s-era rock and the Ric works well for that with flats (nickel rounds too). I wouldn't abandon the bridge pickup though, just roll it off some. Or, just let it sound like a Ric with the bridge full on and the neck rolled back a little. With flats, you won't sound out of place IMO.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So, im 62 years old & have a mint 86' Rick 4003 mapleburst that i ordered brand new back in "The Day". Back then it was perfect for me playing heavy rock/metal & a little prog stuff. when i returned to bass playing after a layoff during the young kids years, I discovered I really like 5-string basses & now mostly play a Carvin LB75 & a G&L L-2500 Fretless. Anyway, I've been playing in my sons "neo-soul / R&B" band for the last year & its been awesome. Obviously everyone is drawn to the Rick & my son (& others ) would like me to play it in this band. I know, it really isnt the bass for that genre, but if i play the neck pick-up, keep my fingers accordingly & roll off the highs, it’s not bad. All that to say, i bought the 4003 because it was designed for roundwounds (dbl. trussrods) & its had nothing but Rotosound RS-66LD's on it since day 1. I think I would consider playing it, but the flats would help soften the brighter edge Ricks have. What do you think ???? Also how much neck adjustment do you think it would need ?It's always been unbelievably stable & ive never had to touch the trussrods, ever . thanks

My 4001 I bought in 1974 came with an owners Manuel that issued dire warnings about using strings other than Rickenbacker flat wound strings or your warranty would be voided. Your bass doesn’t care what kind of strings are on it. That said, like any time you switch strings on any bass, changes in the amount of string tension may result in the need of a truss rod adjustment. Whether they are flats, rounds, tapes or cat gut, that doesn’t matter.

 

[michael_t]

Also how much neck adjustment do you think it would need ?

That would all depend on the brand and gauges of flats you end up with. Overall tension on flats can range anywhere from 140 lbs. all the way up to 250 lbs. for a 4-string set.

EDIT: Just to give you an idea, Rotosound RS66LD (45-65-80-105) weighs in at 181.97 lbs. in total tension. GHS Precision Flats M3050 (45-65-85-105) weighs in at 184.6 lbs.

 

[el murdoque]

While the design changes from the 4001 to the 4003 were done with higher tension roundwounds in mind, they did not change the character of the instrument itself, only made the 4001, a bass model that came out when roundwounds for bass were yet to be invented, robust enough to accommodate rounds, too.

I would not say it's sacrilege. Rickenbacker gave bassists the choice to mount all types of strings, but did by no means force them to go roundwound.
I only have a Japanese lawsuit Fakenbacker that came with a regular truss rod instead of the weird system Rickenbacker cooked up for the 4001, but I have flats on that one and I love the tone I get.

 

[Number179]

I don’t know if flats on a Ric is “very common”, but I think flats on a Ric is surprisingly very common.

 

[Grapevine921]

I've had rounds, flats, and tapes on my rickenbacker. It really shines with fresh rounds but I've enjoyed aspects of all the other strings. Idk what your favorite flats are but I liked labella low tensions on mine.

 

[JC BASS 91]

Not at all!

I have D'Addario Chromes on my '74 4001 and I absolutely love them on it.

 

[Low Main]

Chris Brubeck.

Rotosound black nylon tapewounds I think. At least they were at one point.

 

[Watchootognbout]

 

[Komadinic]

I’ve put TI flats on mine 5 years ago and never looked back, but it does depend on what sound you personally have in mind.

 

[BASSDROID]

LaBella low tension flats are a beautiful string on a Ric. I have a set on my '73 4000, and a friend has them on his '73 4001. They absolutely sing and provide plenty of heft in the lower registers. Tension is very similar to rounds. In my case no truss rod adjustment was needed.

PS. Leon Sylvers. 'Nuff said.