What flats for my Ric 4001?

[rogerbmiller]

If you want a bright sound go with D'Addario Chromes. If you want a round wound sound try the new Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats. They really do sound like rounds, by design.

If you want a mellow, broken in tone out of the box, do with DR Legends.

Whatever you do, I would recommend a light gauge.

 

[iiipopes]

If you want a bright sound go with D'Addario Chromes.

For about three months. Then they go thud.

 

[woodyng]

I would try the Optima strings over the Pyramids. (And here's why) . You state you have a 4001,which means the older truss rod system,which was designed for the old Maxima flatwound set,which was something like a 40-100 gauge,and a light tension. The Pyramid set is heavier (45-105),and exerts quite a bit of tension on the neck. Conversely,TI's are lighter (39-95,IIRC), very low tension,and are not always a great feel/set up. My 2 cents.
Elderly Music did carry them for under $40,not so sure if they still do.
Edit just checked,so the Optima set is 40-100,but apparently Elderly no longer carries them,also neither does Justrings. Finding them might prove to be a challenge....

 

[iiipopes]

I would try the Optima strings over the Pyramids. (And here's why) . You state you have a 4001,which means the older truss rod system,which was designed for the old Maxima flatwound set,which was something like a 40-100 gauge,and a light tension. The Pyramid set is heavier (45-105),and exerts quite a bit of tension on the neck. Conversely,TI's are lighter (39-95,IIRC), very low tension,and are not always a great feel/set up. My 2 cents.
Elderly Music did carry them for under $40, not so sure if they still do.

For the same reason, I would not use any of the other 45's sets, as the A and D strings are heavier than the sets I recommended. And I definitely would NOT use the Rotosound Monel strings, as they have the most tension for the given gauge of any strings I have ever played. Even the 40's are stiff. The sets I recommended are close to the original Maxima flatwound OEM gauges Rickenbacker used.

The 39-96 set is the La Bella UltraLite gauge (not their "low tension" set). The TI's are 43-100.

 

[rogerbmiller]

For about three months. Then they go thud.

Pretty much. But then you can sell them in the classifieds, rinse, repeat.

 

[Dash Lashes]

im not particularly a fan of rotosound. id prettymuch like to set up the ric with the oem light gauge. idk if flats were oem, but flats on a ric are an old concept that i would like to have done to my bass. so far from the feedback, the TIs might be the right fit. are there a series of TI's that i need to look at, of do they just obviously make one kind of "TI Flats in 43-100"?

 

[iiipopes]

im not particularly a fan of rotosound. id prettymuch like to set up the ric with the oem light gauge. idk if flats were oem, but flats on a ric are an old concept that i would like to have done to my bass. so far from the feedback, the TIs might be the right fit. are there a series of TI's that i need to look at, of do they just obviously make one kind of "TI Flats in 43-100"?

There is just the one set of TI fats in regular long scale, but again, if you are really looking for the OEM vibe, the Optimas are closer, as the Maximas were the OEM strings in the '60's and '70's.

 

[Dash Lashes]

Optima 40-100 is my first choice; hard to get
TI = good feedback on TB and other websites; easy to get

 

[Dash Lashes]

the bass has a truss problem, so im going to sink some money into it before continuing to play it. when i do, i'll be sure it has the correct optimas!

 

[iiipopes]

the bass has a truss problem, so im going to sink some money into it before continuing to play it. when i do, i'll be sure it has the correct optimas!

What kind of truss problem? The most usual truss rod problem with a 4001 is when someone tries to crank on it like a Fender truss rod instead of the setting procedure, and the rod binds and pops off the fingerboard. Is this what is happening?

 

[Dash Lashes]

no, not quite that severe. i need a pro to look at it, it has waaaay too much relief, and hella high action. a little tail lift, but the problem is in the neck, and the problem is the truss rod nuts are pointing slightly down into the headstock so that i can not get a tool around them to turn them, to flatten out the neck. it's a sad thing. im just planning on having it set up so it plays like the new 4003 by a shop, but i dont know where to take it yet or anything it's a back burner project that is just starting to surface enough for me to start looking into it, and start reading the forums

 

[iiipopes]

No, not quite that severe. I need a pro to look at it; it has waaaay too much relief, and hella high action. A little tail lift, but the problem is in the neck, and the problem is the truss rod nuts are pointing slightly down into the headstock so that i can not get a tool around them to turn them, to flatten out the neck. it's a sad thing. im just planning on having it set up so it plays like the new 4003 by a shop, but I don't know where to take it yet or anything It's a back burner project that is just starting to surface enough for me to start looking into it, and start reading the forums

OK, the tool to use is a 1/4 nut driver (looks like a screwdriver, but with an integral socket to the head), which has had the exterior wall of the socket ground down until it is as thin as possible and still retain mechanical integrity, so it will fit around the truss nuts. You may need to take a small wood file, exacto or utility knife, or chisel and carefully remove the slightest bit of wood from around the truss nuts to get a tool to fit onto them. Then you hold the neck in the position you want it, which according to Rickenbacker factory specs is as straight as possible, then tighten the nuts firm against the little flange that is installed in the headstock under the nuts. Don't crank the nuts without positioning the neck, or especially if there is string tension on it. The strings don't have to be removed, but they must be slack.

Tail lift is not an issue, unless you bottom out the saddle frame height adjustment screws, and the strings do not seat in the saddle notches. Then there are a couple of fixes, but it's premature for that. My 1981 4002, which also has the old style truss rods & tailpiece, has a little bit of tail lift also, but it has been stable for the over twenty years I have owned the bass.

I recommend you peruse the rickresource.com forum for more information.

DO NOT let your tech or luthier try to treat it like a typical compression Fender-style truss rod, or you will ruin it. Pic of a nut driver attached.

 

[KoalaBass]

I'd suggest the Labellas 760FL set, they sound really thumpy (though they're too bright the first couple of weeks) and they're my go-to string on any bass including my Rick.

 

[gnarlyWarlock]

Then I would try the Fender flats 9050 L set, 45-60-80-100. They have nice midrange growl. The TI flats are very expensive, three times the cost of a set of Fender 9050L's, and are a love-them-or-hate-them string. Since the Fenders are much cheaper, they are a good set to see if you like flats at all. The reason the TI's slap nice is not the nickel wrap. It is because they are smaller diameter than the typical 45's set of flats, so they are more flexible.

Now, your Rick will never sound like a Precision. A P-bass has a softer wood, usually alder or swamp ash, which does not have the treble response that a maple body does; the split P-pickup emphasizes the mids; the two polepieces per string soften the articulation. A Rickenbacker has a maple body which results in a dip in the response at @150 to 200 Hz, extended treble response, single coil pickups with a single pole piece per string that results in the edgy articulation that is part of the personality of a Rick, and the two pickups together give a scooped tone, the opposite of a P-tone.

I own both a custom P/J with an alder body and the traditional maple with rosewood fretboard neck, and a Rick 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3") and I used to own a '76 4001. So the above statements are my personal observations.

Though I agree with the string choice, I have to say I've gotten my 4003 to sound quite like a p bass, with the toggle neck-biased, tone control full out n volume and horseshoe at 50% with the .47 uF cap in circuit. Full mid range on amp, medium bass, 60% treble. YMMV

 

[iiipopes]

Though I agree with the string choice, I have to say I've gotten my 4003 to sound quite like a p bass, with the toggle neck-biased, tone control full out n volume and horseshoe at 50% with the .47 uF cap in circuit. Full mid range on amp, medium bass, 60% treble. YMMV

Zeros mean EVERYTHING. That would be a .047 tone capacitor.

 

[Crackle]

My vote is for Thomastik Infeld Jazz flats. They pretty much kill on my 4003. Beatles vibe to the max.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I would try the Optima strings over the Pyramids. (And here's why) . You state you have a 4001,which means the older truss rod system,which was designed for the old Maxima flatwound set,which was something like a 40-100 gauge,and a light tension. The Pyramid set is heavier (45-105),and exerts quite a bit of tension on the neck. Conversely,TI's are lighter (39-95,IIRC), very low tension,and are not always a great feel/set up. My 2 cents.
Elderly Music did carry them for under $40,not so sure if they still do.
Edit just checked,so the Optima set is 40-100,but apparently Elderly no longer carries them,also neither does Justrings. Finding them might prove to be a challenge....

Optimas vs TI Flats. Please educate me, you've mentioned the Optimas before.

 

[gidbass]

Not that this helps, but I run chromes on my 4003....bright and clanky...

Good Luck!

 

[Dash Lashes]

Optimas vs TI Flats. Please educate me, you've mentioned the Optimas before.

for me, i wonder the dif between the four that im looking at: TI vs. GHS P vs. Optima vs. Pyramid

WHAT DO I WANT!!??

 

[Coolhandjjl]

GHS P work better on a P. They have that thunky sound one associates with vintage P basses.