I couldn't be more utterly bewildered and fucked off at the same time. I got a message saying my Bass was ready to collect but there was a problem with one of the new Strings..........from a set of Jim Dunlop Super Bright Nickel Wound Strings priced at £25.
I quote "One of the Strings Unwrapped itself off the Ball End"
Now, I'm not blaming the guy who has done the Bass, but what the fuck? I've never had any Wound Guitar (6 String) string unwrap itself in 30 odd fucking years.
I mean, I couldn't have been more amazed if he'd said " All the Paint has fallen off your Bass"
How the fuck does a Bass String unwrap itself, these strings are fucking massive and thick.
What can I do with these strings? He wants to know if I want some others putting on that he's got. Can I get refunded from the shop I bought them from. I'm fucked if I just kiss £25 goodbye. I bought them in January with a view to just saving them until I wanted to change the strings.
I can't be doing with expensive pitfalls lurking round every fucking corner. How do I stop this happening again?
Cheers.
Only a Fool Would Say That.
Comments
I assume this is with a tech. If so get him to replace the bad string with the nearest equivalent and charge you for that, not the full set.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'd really like to know the odds of these faults. I'd be willing to bet it's never happened to most Bassists on here.
Do you think it might be something to do with a new bridge that's been put on it? It's had a Hi-Mass Bridge put on replacing the original Squier one.
I still would like my money back for these strings, they're faulty goods. People get refunded for other faulty goods. I don't see why Guitar Strings should be any different.
The only one I've ever had break in a set I bought personally was a Rotosound - back then, they used to individually serial number the packets, and I wrote to them (it was that long ago!) sending the broken string and the packet - they sent me a full set as a replacement.
I have no idea whether you would have any luck with Dunlop, or the shop you got them from - it's reasonably obvious if a string has been used for any length of time, so there shouldn't be much argument about it breaking when new.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
But the Dunlops are hex. Probably a faulty string.
I've had maybe 10 faulty strings in 36 years of playing. Mostly just dead sounding from new. But I've had a couple unwind.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
The Fender Hi-Mass bridge amounts to a Leo Quan BadAss II clone. The only place where it might have an edge sharp enough to damage a string is in the anchoring hole. The material from which the bridge is cast is softer than the steel in strings. If anything, the string ought to be abrading the bridge not the other way aroundd.
If it was happening for this reason, I would think it would be more likely to unwind at the tuning key end where the string was cut rather than the ball end.
It could still be bad installation - if the tech wrapped the string around the tuner post by hand - ie not by turning the key - without allowing the ball end to rotate. This is very bad practice, it causes a huge amount of stress on the string where it goes around the ball end - basically the string has been twisted by the same number of turns as are on the post.
You should always wind the string onto the post with the key, or if you’re in a hurry and you do wrap it by hand, make certain all the twist can release itself at the ball end before you tune the string up. (You need to pull the string back slightly so the ball is free to turn.)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
https://musicstreet.co.uk/products/ernie-ball-power-peg-string-winder?variant=39603648561213¤cy=GBP&cmp_id=19115428691&adg_id=&kwd=&device=c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnNacBhDvARIsABnDa6-7NCUO6t_-p6cCr6SfP8xyb6shpwHaz-cyeLgvSygYybgon-GepuwaAjHjEALw_wcB
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/