Rumor : Rotosound Closes Shop In Temecula.

[SurferJoe46]

Rotosound has closed their doors in Temecula, California and may only have a clean-up crew there to get stuff all crated up and shipped back to Merrie Olde England.

One may also see a lot of Roto product on the racks at music stores soon, as shipping is a lot more expensive than selling them below wholesale for a wash too.

Must be economics kicking in and the high cost of doing business in the US, not to mention the Draconian fees & taxes mentality of California that made them get outta town.

I had a rather incendiary comment by me here, but I edited it out before I final-posted this. Read between the lines if you can.

What I didn't ask was if everyone got the ax or not - as I was a little nervous with that line of questioning. This guy is somewhat still dismayed at his recent dismissal with no warning, although it is just in his eyes, not in any statements he made.

"Dismayed" may not be the most accurate portrayal here though.

I talked to him in some depth yesterday about all the bad strings that are hitting the shelves from Roto, and he was quite surprised of that happening at all.

He is defensive and speaks positively about the Roto company, and was chagrined in hearing from me that Roto wasn't responding or even acknowledging mail or complaints about dead strings right out of the box, per some statements posted by some TB'ers on this site.

What I didn't ask was if Roto was ever winding, subcontracting or had ever wound strings in the US - my bad, sorry.

Belatedly, but somewhat upfront here: let me state that he never spoke negatively about the quality of Roto strings nor the material ethics of the company.

I suspect however, that he was biting his tongue about his abrupt dismissal. Hm-mm - maybe a dose of sodium thiopental?

From him: Fender 7250 NPS strings are currently made by D'A, but there was a time when it was Martin. I figger that an in-the-pulse guy who was actually in the business should know these things.

Those transitioning times for Fender (going from one supplier to buying from another) may also account for their strings being all over the place for quality and tone.

Maybe Fender still has a lot of these 'other strings' left over (can you say: box cars full!) to put on their gear yet, and this may promote more grumbling and anger about OE and OER Fender strings - which by now, we all know were not made by Fender at all, but sub'd out to other manufacturers.

It would be nice if Fender would take the hit and just dump these strings in a plain brown wrapper, but I doubt that will ever happen.

But don't look for a new oddball string to possibly show up on the shelves - maybe. (Are you listening, Fender?)

The Mexico string plant - or winding machines, which did/do exist really - aren't running at the mo although that info is a little old and can change at any moment. Fender can fire them back up and make strings again if they haven't sold the machines or the factory yet.

The bean counters will reign supreme for sure on this situation.

This string making subsystem of Fender Mexico may have been one of the reasons why there is so much bad karma and inconsistency about Fender strings too when added into the mix.

Or just maybe - the Fender Mexican strings were really good and raised the bar too high? Nah!

However, D'A is putting red, black or no silks on the ends for Fender and these strings may or may not have colored beads too.

This red-black silk/no silk may be for batch identification, but again don't count on any real logic to this except for eye-appeal to the customers.

Anyway - the mentality of Roto may also have changed, but I bet the packing and shipping have upset the whole Roto company logistics and they will get back to running things with a better control soon. One can hope so at least.

This period of the somewhat cavalier and 'the-customer-be-damned' attitude may end once they totally get back to Britain.

I think some serious damage control from Roto is in order DEMAND right about now.

[mmbongo]

Sorry to hear about them closing up. However I've tried on many occasions to like Rotosounds (because they obviously work for Geddy, and they work for lots of folks here) but I just couldn't do it. There are so many strings that are better, and cost almost half as much.

[One Drop]

Are these 'problems' real or are you extrapolating from a few posts here?

Don't forget threads tend to take a life of their own and attract like comments- start a thread about a problem with even the the best reputed CS and you will find a few people posting about problems the have had.

Anyway, I'm not sure if the issues you mention with Fender and Rotosound are much more than anecdotal.

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by One Drop

Are these 'problems' real or are you extrapolating from a few posts here?

Don't forget threads tend to take a life of their own and attract like comments- start a thread about a problem with even the the best reputed CS and you will find a few people posting about problems the have had.

Anyway, I'm not sure if the issues you mention with Fender and Rotosound are much more than anecdotal.

The 'smoke-fire' theme plays well though if you think about it.

Yeah things DO take a life of their own like The Emperor's New Clothes that nobody noticed until someone said something about royal nudity in plain view, on a public street.

The statements of Rotos having dead Es outta the pack and with my personal knowledge of the supposedly Fender 7250 NPS strings having several different vocal personalities, I cannot find much fault with knowing in my heart that something's going on with both them.

With insider info on the Roto warehouse-factory moving and the conversation I had Mano-a-Mano, I put more faith in what may on the surface, appear as anecdotal, so they take a weight of their own now.

Here's the problem: marketability depends a lot on word of mouth appraisals and for better or worse, it can destroy the creditability of a manufacturer if there're inconsistencies in a product.

If the product was $1.98 - then no biggie - but Roto 77s are more along the lines of $30-$40 - and that's just too much to swallow.

As far as the fender 7250 NPSs - I have a whole bunch of them that once I got the new instrument home, I took them off - and guess what? They are all different too!

These came on new gear - and you'd think Fender would put their best foot forward string-wise at that time - but 'taint so, McGee. Some sound like wet noodles - some sound like a tin bell.

One set that's staying on for a while arrived on my VM-Jaguar - THESE ARE GREAT - but they are also different from all the other 7250s I have taken off in disgust.

It all boils down to this caveat: I don't actually believe a product can be killed, crippled or exonerated by a bunch of forum posts, that's a given - but there is a perceptional trend that gathers momentum with every comment.

Knee jerk reactions aside - there is a bevy of unhappy buyers of these certain products, and as much as I would like to believe that Fender and Rotorsound have my back, well - things are different when it comes to folding money.

I have nowhere near the liquid cash flow of those big companies - so I have to make sure my money is best spent for the situation at hand.

If I hear rumors that every 10th pack of Rotos has a dead string and that Roto seems to iggy any complaints - well, then I won't even bother by taking a set off the display to check it out and hope for spiritual temporary anointing to somehow 'know' that this particular set is good.

Will I be #9 or #10 if I buy them?

I don't like those odds at all.

[LearStevens]

Rotosound are the only ones I like ...got 'em on Hofner, vintage P, newer P, Tune TWB-4, and 1961 EBO. The best.

[SurferJoe46]

I've got the Roto 77s on my P and love them too - thankfully, the older they get, the deeper they go - so changing them in the near future may not be necessary.

What would concern me would be buying something other than the 77s or 45s in the Roto line than I have now with a different denomination.

My happiness is somewhat directly in proportion to what I have to spend - but that's not always the situation. What I don't do is buy for bragging rights.

Quality has a much higher price in caviar, wine and whatever nebulous things that float our individual boats; strings should be no exception either.

I don't mind paying for what I want - and who wants junk, either in food or guitar strings? BUT - I draw the line at being sold an inferior product at any price.

My strings are all either Elixir Nanos or Rotos - with that one glaring exception of the OE Fender 7250s still on my Jaguar. But I have a set of Roto 45s for when they DO die.

[JasonLamb]

interesting...i just talked to them today and they were open for business....maybe the were closed for thanksgiving...hahaha

[bassist4dalord]

Wait, closes shop altogether, or just closed that location?

[BigOldHarry]

Funny - I never knew they were EVER made in the US, and certainly not up the road in Temecula! Go figure.


I played Rotos for years and only switched when DRs came along. Roto's quality had suffered, and DR offered a better product (albeit for more $$). I met Mr. Howe at a NAMM show years ago, and he was nice as can be - so I've always had soft spot for Rotos...

[JasonLamb]

not closed at all....still open for business

[SurferJoe46]

The Temecula California facility is closed. I know one of the employees who was 'fired' as the place was being emptied.

Go drive by for yourself and see.

JasonLamb - you may be getting phone service at Roto, but you aren't gonna find anyone in their new modern and highly touted Temecula facility. It's closed.

Watch my lips ------------- it's closed.

[JasonLamb]

cool, whatever as long as the stock i ordered shows up at my store that's all i care about.

[One Drop]

Well, I do know that Fender recently changed the production sites of most if not all their strings, that may account for the difference you experienced.

I don't know where you get figures like 1 out of 10 Roto Swingbass sets having defects; that is surely ridiculous and not worth repeating without proof on a public forum. They are the biggest selling rounds in the world, if more than a tiny percentage were bad there would more than a few posts on TB saying so.

[BigOldHarry]

Hmmm... Well, basing a manufacturing facility on the west coast *is* silly, even in Temecula (where the rents have jumped up like crazy in the last 10 years...)

Pity. More jobs lost in the greater SD area. Sigh - and I'm looking for work!

[laklandplayer]

I imagine they were making Roto's in the US to be competitive price wise, considering the difference in the currency exchange rates, shipping and customs.

But, looking at their street prices, I though they were pretty reasonable.

I've really tried to like Roto's several times over the years and they have just never worked for me. Be it the rough feel, tension or even the smell in an instance I had.

When I owned my music store, we bought Roto's at up to 662/3% off of list price and we never sold them at the suggested list price. For some stores, strings can be a profit maker or for others, a lost leader to get you in the door to buy other stuff.

Things are tough in the music biz and a lot of us can tell it by how much we aren't working. Look at the number of stores that have closed.

Add to that, a company has to sell more than just bass stings to survive from a numbers prospective.

How many guitar players that you know use Rotosound guitar strings? Guitar string sales support the companies ability to offer the making bass strings.

The string business is very competitive and there are a lot of brands in the field. Many more than there were when Roto's first appeared on the scene.

It's sad that they closed the factory here, I hope it is not a signal of things to come for this respected company.

Hopefully they won't end up importing stings from China with their name on 'em.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Closed for review. There are reports that disinformation is being spread about this subject. The admins will review this topic. Please refrain from posting further about the closing of this site until we have had a chance to ascertain the facts.

[john turner]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

JasonLamb - you may be getting phone service at Roto, but you aren't gonna find anyone in their new modern and highly touted Temecula facility. It's closed.

Watch my lips ------------- it's closed.

not according to mark blasko, OMG music and national sales rep for rotosound, who contacted us recently regarding this issue.

and i quote :

"Our Temecula facility is not closing, nor are we having any quality control issues."