skinzz Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 hi i know this topic has comne up before but i really want to know what are the best sounding flatwound strings for a rick 4003, i currently have pyramid gold flats on mine, they sound ok i.e very muted smooth low and warm, but the overall tone and highs are not great at all, unlike my hofner where the same strings are better sounding and sound more bright up the neck, ive been looking at la bella deep talking bass 43.60.82.104 are these gauges ok ? for the rick they are £51, same as the pyramids, i dont want to spend this much money on strings and not be happy with them, ive heard people using thomastik, rotosound , daddario flats, but which really are the best sounding ?? im a bit confused lol regards Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I use D'Addario Chromes on mine. Brighter than most flats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321809284' post='1443286'] which really are the best sounding ?? [/quote] What sounds great to one person will sound bad to another. That is the trouble with strings. They are such a personal taste. The Thomastiks are known for their highs. They are bright, as flats go, but have very low tension, which your Ric's neck will love, but you may not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321809284' post='1443286'] hi i know this topic has comne up before but i really want to know what are the best sounding flatwound strings for a rick 4003, i currently have pyramid gold flats on mine, they sound ok i.e very muted smooth low and warm, but the overall tone and highs are not great at all, unlike my hofner where the same strings are better sounding and sound more bright up the neck, ive been looking at la bella deep talking bass 43.60.82.104 are these gauges ok ? for the rick they are £51, same as the pyramids, i dont want to spend this much money on strings and not be happy with them, ive heard people using thomastik, rotosound , daddario flats, but which really are the best sounding ?? im a bit confused lol regards Chris [/quote] 'Best sounding' will depend on what you're looking for (or rather listening for) and there's not much telling whether you'll like a particular brand without trying them on the particular bass. With flats, it's an expensive business. I've heard it said the Ricky flats sound particularly good on a Ricky but never having played a Ricky with flats I couldn't be sure. The La Bellas you mention sound like the 760FL light gauge set which I think are the most commonly used - I don't know where they are £51 but at Stringbusters they are £29. Compared to the Pyramids to they are slightly more tense and slightly less dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzz Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 low tension ? im a newbie to bass really can you please explain more , and which daddario chromes do you use gauge etc regards chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1321810524' post='1443308'] What sounds great to one person will sound bad to another. That is the trouble with strings. They are such a personal taste. The Thomastiks are known for their highs. They are bright, as flats go, but have very low tension, which your Ric's neck will love, but you may not. [/quote] I'd call the Thomastiks middy rather than bright but as you suggest it's all quite subjective. I do think Thomastiks could well sound very good on a Ricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 (edited) [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321810977' post='1443321'] low tension ? im a newbie to bass really can you please explain more , and which daddario chromes do you use gauge etc regards chris [/quote] To keep it untechnical, the tension is how stiff the string is when you pluck it. It's partly dependent on the construction of the string such that some strings, e.g. Thomastiks, are rather low tension (i.e. softer/gentler to pluck) and others e.g. Jamerson gauge La Bellas, are higher tension (i.e. take a lot more effort to pluck). Chromes are higher tension, Pyramids are lower tension but not as low as Thomastiks. Edited November 20, 2011 by EssentialTension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzz Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Great thanks everyone so which set of thomastiks and which daddarios would be good gauge for a rick, i'm going to buy either of the two Regards chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321812373' post='1443353'] Great thanks everyone so which set of thomastiks and which daddarios would be good gauge for a rick, i'm going to buy either of the two Regards chris [/quote] Thomastik Jazz Flats only come in one gauge: 43-56-70-100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzz Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 great and how about the [b][color="#ff9900"]daddario chromes ?[/color][/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321814146' post='1443397'] great and how about the [b][color=#ff9900]daddario chromes ?[/color][/b] [/quote] You'll have to decide but on a Ricky I'd probably try the light gauge: 45-65-80-100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzz Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 cheers dudes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beely Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1321814415' post='1443406'] You'll have to decide but on a Ricky I'd probably try the light gauge: 45-65-80-100 [/quote] These are the strings I use on my 4001. Can't fault them really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321812373' post='1443353'] i'm going to buy either of the two [/quote] Which ever brand you decide on, remember to give them time to break in, before coming to a definitive decision on whether you like them or not. I can only speak for the Thomastiks, but mine took about two weeks, before their lovely warm tone was really revealed. It depends on how often you play them. Once broken in, you can look forward to having that warm tone for at least five years. Lots of people claim to have them on for ten years, still sounding great. Also, some people have said that there was a sticky kind of feel to their new Thomastiks ( I did not notice this with mine). This, they said, goes away in time with playing. Just so you are aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I had really heavy gauge La Bella flats on mine, had to re cut the nut for the E. It sounded awesome & they stayed until I sold the bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzz Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 thanks for all the replies, how do you know which are light medium or heavy tension, sorry to sound stoopid lol but like i said im a newbie, i never picked up a bass until about 3 years ago when i bought a hofner cos i love the beatles, i ordered the rick about a year after i bought the hofner and it only arrived 2 months ago after waiting 2 years and a bit for it, im taking it to a bloke who was recommended on here to set it up properly for me martin from sims guitar works, he's so highly regarded that people send him their ricks from abroad to setup he's gonna charge me £45 which i though was dead reasonable, heres my baby [IMG]http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/skinzz_2009/13092011357.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321895710' post='1444170'] thanks for all the replies, how do you know which are light medium or heavy tension ... [/quote] Very few string manufacturers publish tension figures so we mostly know from our own experience. [quote name='skinzz' timestamp='1321895710' post='1444170'] ... i bought a hofner cos i love the beatles, i ordered the rick about a year after i bought the hofner and it only arrived 2 months ago after waiting 2 years and a bit for it, im taking it to a bloke who was recommended on here to set it up properly for me martin from sims guitar works, he's so highly regarded that people send him their ricks from abroad to setup he's gonna charge me £45 which i though was dead reasonable, heres my baby [/quote] Someone with more expertise might put me right on this but I would guess that McCartney was using Pyramids on his Hofners and that the Ricky came with Ricky flats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzz Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 i would like to ask hmm should i persevere with the pyramids and get it pro setup or should i change for diff flats and get it pro setup ? regards Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 (edited) If you haven't already, try the Rickenbacker forum e.g. this thread [url="http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14716"]http://www.rickenbac...php?f=5&t=14716[/url] Edited November 21, 2011 by EssentialTension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairobill Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you want the McCartney tone and low tension get thomastik jazz flats. They sound fantastic and are a perfect marriage with a ric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 [quote name='Cairobill' timestamp='1322780371' post='1455951'] If you want the McCartney tone and low tension get thomastik jazz flats. They sound fantastic and are a perfect marriage with a ric. [/quote] He's already tried the TIs and didn't like them - see here:[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/161184-which-gauge-ghs-precision-flats-for-rick-4003/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/161184-which-gauge-ghs-precision-flats-for-rick-4003[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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