Rickenbacker strings

[HeimBass]

Hello RIC fans

Question(s):

Are there string type and or size limitations for Rickenbacker 4001 and or 4003 series basses?

I'm a flat wound fan and looking for my first Rickenbacker. But I want the model that can take both rounds and flat's.

I believe that one can and one can't! Need facts!

Please advise.

*New member, 1st post

Thanks

 

[johnk_10]

every ric i've ever owned including my current two can use flats or rounds. with flats, you just want to make sure that they aren't a heavy gauge. IMO, TI jazz flats or Daddario light chromes (flats) work great on them.

 

[msb]

I think many of the string issues that 4001 basses were said to have were simply a result of ignorance of how the early truss rod system worked .

 

[iamthebassman]

I have a 4001S and a 4003, both with flats, and a 4001CS with rounds.

 

[HeimBass]

Great info, thanks for your response(s).

Sounds like the rumor about neck strength's between the 4001 and 4003 is a bunch of here-say!

I'm a fan of : Thomastik Jazz Bass Nickel flat wound .043-.100

 

[iamthebassman]

I play bass in a Beatles trib band, and use my 4001S-LH for that. I have to have the basic "mellow" tone but also the more bighting tone of "Walrus" etc. I've tried TIs and can't get that, I use GHS Precision Flatwounds 45-105.

 

[Mr.Fingers]

It is said that the 4001 can't handle high tension strings, and the 4003 can. The 4001 was designed with the low(er) tension flatwoundstrings in mind, but in the seventies, when everybody started to use Rotosound roundwounds, which were more heavy, 4001 neck tended to crack, not because of the strings used, but because the owners/techs didn't adjust the neck properly (you CAN'T just turn the trussrods, you'll have to clamp down your bass on a table, push the neck/headstock down, so there is some slack in the trussrods, tighten them, and release the pressure on the headstock). A 4003 isn't that vulnerable, and can be adjusted by just turning the rods. But the 4001 has that "oozing sweet midrange" when playing higher on the neck that a 4003 doesn't have (maybe it's the pickup location, the fact it's a toaster,...)


Here's my 4001 with flats (D'Addario Chromes): In the city - The Jam (Bass cover improvisation) - YouTube