What strings did Paul McCartney use on his Rickenbacker Bass?

[smtp4me]

Rickenbacker used to tell you to never use rounds on their basses, because of "the extra tension". That's absurd - there may be reasons not to use rounds (fret wear, for one), but rounds of the same gauge have less tension that flats.

Yeah, and... regardless of string tension between types and brands, Rics with their dual truss rods are more than capable of handling extra.

 

[Inky13]

I read an article in a guitar magazine many years ago (probably 35 or more) that interviewed several famous bass players. It asked about their gear preferences and all the things we TB’ers geek over. I distinctly remember the interview with Paul and they asked what stings he used. He said; I don’t know they come in a little package and that’s what I use.

That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about Paul…everything seems to be there to serve the music. Songwriting is the most important and all the other things are just tools.

I read a similar (same?) article. When asked about amplifiers, he said “Look, they’re lovely things but I prefer to remain as un-technical as possible.” Those guys weren’t concerned about gear.
They just wanted to create great music. A lesson for us all.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I was given the "rounds will violate your warranty" lecture by the guy who sold me my first Ric 4001 in 1978.....as he was ringing up the set of Roto Swing 66 virtually every Ric player I knew used. The Ric dogma about string tension was purest horsepuckey, they were pretty clearly worried about the soft fret material, which the Rotos ate in under three years on my bass. Those frets were like hardened cheese-whiz. I always had the impression Macca was trying to make his Ric sound as much like the Hofner as possible, in which case you want flats, not rounds. I really like the Labella Deep Talkin Flats on my sons Hofner clone, do they make them sized to fit a Ric? Everybody raves about the TI flats, but too pricey for my blood.

 

[JimmyM]

I read a similar (same?) article. When asked about amplifiers, he said “Look, they’re lovely things but I prefer to remain as un-technical as possible.” Those guys weren’t concerned about gear.
They just wanted to create great music. A lesson for us all.

That's because you hand Paul an instrument and he'll figure out how to make awesome music out of it that sounds like Paul McCartney. But for a guy who doesn't care all that much about gear, he has a buttload of super spectacular pieces, in lefty versions, no less

 

[Chickenwheels]

Didn’t Ric make a rounds-specific model? With “S” at the end of the number? Crazy stuff!
I like Macca’s bass sound on “Feel So Bad” from the “Regards...” album.
I hate the out of tune bass on “Band on the Run”.
The Yamaha sounded cool.
Like Bernard Edwards, Macca wasn’t too fussed in the tool side of things.

 

[Chickenwheels]

That's because you hand Paul an instrument and he'll figure out how to make awesome music out of it that sounds like Paul McCartney. But for a guy who doesn't care all that much about gear, he has a buttload of super spectacular pieces, in lefty versions, no less

Linda even bought him a Wal. Elvis Costello didn’t like it though lol.

 

[JimmyM]

Didn’t Ric make a rounds-specific model? With “S” at the end of the number? Crazy stuff!
I like Macca’s bass sound on “Feel So Bad” from the “Regards...” album.
I hate the out of tune bass on “Band on the Run”.
The Yamaha sounded cool.
Like Bernard Edwards, Macca wasn’t too fussed in the tool side of things.

They did until they started making them all that way. Not sure of any timelines. Rics don't interest me much. Nice basses but hard for me to play.

 

[Inky13]

That's because you hand Paul an instrument and he'll figure out how to make awesome music out of it that sounds like Paul McCartney. But for a guy who doesn't care all that much about gear, he has a buttload of super spectacular pieces, in lefty versions, no less

I hear ya man. But any good craftsman worth their salt is going to use quality tools regardless.

 

[JimmyM]

I hear ya man. But any good craftsman worth their salt is going to use quality tools regardless.

Except for the Hofner He bought that because it was cheap.

 

[trothwell]

Except for the Hofner He bought that because it was cheap.

At the time he got the Hofner, cost may have been a real issue. But I read (I think in one of George Martin's books) that he selected the Hofner because of the shape, so that he could play it left-handed without it looking weird. Perhaps it was both -- amongst the most inexpensive basses, which was the most symmetrical?

 

[woodyng2]

If the OP is based in the US, they're available at Strings By Mail.

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2 of the user reviews at the bottom of this link (by Mike and William R.) really nail the essence of these.
The optima RB set is the “just right” German flatwound for a Rickenbacker bass.
(As compared to TI and Pyramid).
The RB’s gauge and tension, copied from the original Rick/Maxima custom set, were made for the 4000 series basses specifically.

 

[woodyng2]

Rickenbacker used to tell you to never use rounds on their basses, because of "the extra tension". That's absurd - there may be reasons not to use rounds (fret wear, for one), but rounds of the same gauge have less tension that flats.

Sometimes….
The Maxima-made flatwounds that came on Ricks in the early days were indeed low tension flats,
totally unlike the high tension Labella and Fender flatwounds of the day. (And about 90% of current day flatwound sets.) Chromes are pretty high tension.
The Rotosound Swing66 standard gauge 45-105 set that Chris Squire got the world to use had much higher tension than the Maximas. Some Rick necks could handle that,some couldn’t.
But like you said, they also ate up the old fretwire like crazy. Being a huge Yes fan back in the day,
I tried rotos on my 4000 early on,and absolutely hated the feel of them….roughest “windings” I’ve experienced. I started using DR strings when they first appeared,and still do when I use roundwounds.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I thought they said that because rounds ate the old frets like a knife through butter.

I agree. The original frets on my ‘76 4001 were very narrow and much softer than the frets that Fender was using during that same time period. I used Rotosound Swing Bass 66’s on it for just a couple of years, and I needed to get my frets dressed and recrowned.

I bought a used 70’s P-Bass that had a steady diet of nothing but Rotosounds, and it’s frets barely showed wear.

 

[lunarpollen]

I have a set of those Optima RB flats on my Framus short-scale (it needs long scale strings because of the distance between the bridge and the tailpiece). I am extremely happy with them. If I ever have my Rickenbacker copy made playable, I will put Optima RB flats on it. I just wish they made a short scale set that I could put on my Danelectro. And offered different gauge choices. They only offer one set, 45 - 100, long scale.

 

[blower_bass2321]

Please do NOT use Rotos. Roto Tru-Bass bass strings were used by Sir Macca on one of his Hofners, but not his Rickenbacker. You will need to re-cut your nut if you use Roto Tru-Bass (black nylon). As GIBrat51 says, the closest is the Optima RB (get it?) set. I have a set and I concur. They have the even tone. La Bellas on a Rickenbacker have ping and fundamental, but they don't bring out the signature Rickenbacker tone. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are worth it if the '60's - '70's Rickenbacker 4001 tone is what you're after.

https://optima-strings.com/shop/de/...l-e-bass-rb-flatwound-strings-satz-long-scale

Edit: OK, one picture was found with Rotos on Sir Macca's 4001. But I still stand by my post: unless you want to cut a new nut for the larger diameter Rotos so the nylon wrap is not pinched, causing all sorts of issues, please don't use Rotos on any bass with a regular nut. Moreover, the G string is so tight you wonder if it is going to break before it gets to pitch. I know. I have used them on other basses. Please use the Optima RB's instead for the old-school tone.

So… you recommended Optima RBs?

 

[iiipopes]

So… you recommended Optima RBs?

YES!!! I have played them, and I share GIBrat51's opinion of them when he played OEM Maximas all those years ago. It is the closest anybody can get currently to the OEM tone of a '60's & '70's Rickenbacker 4001.

 

[trothwell]

YES!!! I have played them, and I share GIBrat51's opinion of them when he played OEM Maximas all those years ago. It is the closest anybody can get currently to the OEM tone of a '60's & '70's Rickenbacker 4001.

How do you think they would sound on a non-Rickenbacker bass? Would they still add a degree of that 1960s Rickenbacker flavor, even to, say, a Fender?

 

[iiipopes]

How do you think they would sound on a non-Rickenbacker bass? Would they still add a degree of that 1960s Rickenbacker flavor, even to, say, a Fender?

I have a set of them on a Squier Telecaster bass, the one with one pickup and the three position switch: dub/V-T/baritone. They sound absolutely great: round, full, defined. Remember, Rickenbacker flavor is the synergy of everything that makes up the bass: woods, pickup position, etc. The strings simply complete the package. But just like having the right bow on the right gift box, if you have the wrong strings, it can sound bad.

Digression: Fender flats are some of my favorite strings. The current version was designed to work on a classic P-Bass: alder body, rosewood fret board, etc. And they do sound great on the one bass I have with that combination. OTOH, they sound nasal and pinched on an Ibanez bass I have that has the Asian mahogany body, even though it has a maple/rosewood neck. On that Ibby, D'A XL's sound round and clean. But on my Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3"), D'A XL's sound hollow and thin due to the scoop in their tone being in the same range as the upper bass scoop which is part of the signature tone of a maple body. So on the 4002 I have the last NOS GHS Progressives in custom gauges 45-60-80-105 I could find to bring out what that bass has to offer.

The Optima RB's, kind of like the La Bella FL's, are a more neutral string, tone-wise, and work in a variety of applications. They don't have the initial ping articulation that La Bella's do, and they may have a little more low mids/upper bass, which is why they sound good on a Rickenbacker.

 

[blower_bass2321]

I have a set of them on a Squier Telecaster bass, the one with one pickup and the three position switch: dub/V-T/baritone. They sound absolutely great: round, full, defined. Remember, Rickenbacker flavor is the synergy of everything that makes up the bass: woods, pickup position, etc. The strings simply complete the package. But just like having the right bow on the right gift box, if you have the wrong strings, it can sound bad.

Digression: Fender flats are some of my favorite strings. The current version was designed to work on a classic P-Bass: alder body, rosewood fret board, etc. And they do sound great on the one bass I have with that combination. OTOH, they sound nasal and pinched on an Ibanez bass I have that has the Asian mahogany body, even though it has a maple/rosewood neck. On that Ibby, D'A XL's sound round and clean. But on my Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3"), D'A XL's sound hollow and thin due to the scoop in their tone being in the same range as the upper bass scoop which is part of the signature tone of a maple body. So on the 4002 I have the last NOS GHS Progressives in custom gauges 45-60-80-105 I could find to bring out what that bass has to offer.

The Optima RB's, kind of like the La Bella FL's, are a more neutral string, tone-wise, and work in a variety of applications. They don't have the initial ping articulation that La Bella's due, and they may have a little more low mids/upper bass, which is why they sound good on a Rickenbacker.

So, would rotosounds also be a good choice for a NON-RICKENBACKER bass?

 

[woodyng2]

Not for me , but countless recording bassists use them on their P basses, etc….