email to DR

[Jim Carr]

Dear DR—

I purchased a 4 string set of DR Lo-riders for my bass, and discovered the E string at the tuning peg end tapered at a different place on the string than all the previous sets of Lowriders I have used. When wound, the string broke while still below standard pitch.

I returned to my dealer and asked for a new set. Before I could tell him, he asked if the E had broken. I said yes, and provided him with the box, which had a code stamped inside the cover. I don't have the code, but I am wondering if there was a production error that has been corrected? FYI, I purchased a different brand of strings.

I still prefer DR Lo-rider strings. Sadly, I am afraid to buy them until I learn they are no longer defective. Can you comment on this problem?

Sincerely,
James Carr

 

[nickrs540]

I had a similar problem with two sets of DRs. I bought a set of 5er fat beams and a set of 5er neons. Both of the B strings were tapered too short so the full gage of the string was on the tuning peg. Once I tried tuning them to pitch the B on the fat beams snapped, but fortunatly the neons are still working fine. All the other strings were perfect, but i'm thinking maybe the Bs weren't meant for the scale of my basses or something, not that i'm using any odd scales. Ibanez SRX-505 with the fat beams and a squire jazz for the neons.

 

[Jim Carr]

Did this happen with strings purchased recently—in the last 6 months?

 

[nickrs540]

Yeah, The neons I just purchased about 2 weeks ago and the fat beams are about 2 months old maybe 2 1/2 at most.

 

[Jim Carr]

Thanks! I think we might be the first of a quite a few who have had this problem. Really hope DR is on this.

 

[Jim Carr]

DR is looking into it. They are sending me a new string, and in fact even offered a whole set...which seemed a bit to greedy to me, so I asked for only an E, as I still have the A, D, and G from the set.

Steve from DR contacted me this morning and responded right away when I replied. Pretty cool!

I have a set of Pedulla steel round wounds (45-105) on my Jazz now—very different from DR Lo-riders. I got them from Sky Guitars here in Denton, TX as the DR Lo-Riders had the defect described above.

The Pedullas are one of the more "upper mid and high" present strings I have used—but not harsh. I actually like them, but they are a bit too modern sounding for my Dylan Tribute band, though I am not doing a Harvey Brooks imitation.

If you want a really articulate well-balanced set for a modern tone, the Pedulla 45-100 steel set is awesome.

Any way, DR has really stepped up I think. I will report back if there is any more info.

 

[Jim Carr]

Fed Ex just brought me a Lo-Rider E string from DR. Will report if any defects appear (or not).

 

[Jim Carr]

Sorry this is such a solo thread, but since my local DR dealer had observed a problem, AND I really like DR Lo-Riders on my Road Worn Jazz, I thought I should report.

The new string DR sent is fine, though I have a lingering question, which I will send to DR. I am not an Endorser or Endorsee.

Why does the tapered part of the E string end so soon? It causes part of the E string at its full thickness to wind on to the tuner post. This is not the case with the A, D, and G strings. Furthermore, my dealer said that is probably why the previous E (in the new set) broke.

I got ready to install the new string sent by DR, and decided to compare it to the old set I was originally trying to replace when all the trouble started.


When I compared the old unbroken E string one to newly arrived one, I was surprised. They tapered at same place. Sure enough, once the new E was installed part of its full thickness wound onto the tuner post.

So that leaves open the question as to why one broke, which is further complicated by the fact that I foolishly discarded it.

Back when this started, my dealer opened a package of Lo-Riders and tried it on a RW jazz in his shop. I didn't see it, but he reported the taper came too late on the string.

I am confused, but will contact DR by email and report.

 

[Jim Carr]

Hi Steve—

Thank you for the replacement DR Lo-rider string you so generously sent to me this week.

The new string DR sent is fine, though I have an important lingering question:

Why does the "tapered end" part of these E strings end so soon? It causes part of the E string at its full thickness to wind on to the tuner post. This is not the case with the A, D, and G strings.

When I compared an older (~8 months) unbroken DR Lo-Rider E string to the newly arrived one, I saw they tapered at same place. Sure enough, once the new E was installed part of its full thickness wound onto the tuner post—though it did not break as the previous E did.

So that also leaves open the question as to why one broke and the other did not, which is further complicated by the fact that I foolishly discarded it.

Back when this started, my dealer opened a package of Lo-Riders and tried it on a Road Worn Fender jazz in his shop. I didn't see it as it was on his work bench, but he reported the taper came too late on the E string, and advised me that this was a defect.

Can you shed any light on this? Thanks again!

Cheers,
Jim Carr

 

[NKUSigEp]

I've used nothing but Hi-Beams since 2002 and have never had a string break. Perhaps there's a sharp edge somewhere or double check your technique in installing them? I know there's not much to it but they do recommend a specific way of putting new strings on your bass and winding them slowly. I don't know what else to say beyond that.

 

[Dave W]

I've had this happen on more than one occasion and it's frustrating. I don't want to have to deal with possibly breaking a string any time I install new strings on my bass, then have to wait a few days for a replacement to arrive. So far DR has replaced every one with a full set of new strings, so I can't complain about their service in the least. There is a whole nother' thread with many people having the same problem.

There is nothing sharp on my bass. The thick outer wrap of the string starts to wrap around the post, then the string just pops. It's definitely the edge of the tuner post digging into the fatter wrap and separating them. Once the string is under some sort of tension, it breaks. If the outer wrap ended a little sooner, the problem wouldn't happen at all. Only the strings with the outer wrap that starts going around the post break, all the others are fine. For me, that happens to be my low B string on a 34" scale bass.

I've thought about filing the tuner post a little to make it a little smoother of a transition, and I've also thought about putting some tubing over that portion of the string. The next time I change my strings on this bass I will be visiting both of these options.

I hope DR resolves it, because I really don't want to try finding a new string. Lo riders & hi beams are absolutely perfect in every way, except for this major problem.

 

[Jim Carr]

...Perhaps there's a sharp edge somewhere or double check your technique in installing them?...

Nope, no sharp edge. I have installed strings on my basses since 1965. This is the first one that broke as I installed it.

...There is nothing sharp on my bass. The thick outer wrap of the string starts to wrap around the post, then the string just pops. It's definitely the edge of the tuner post digging into the fatter wrap and separating them. Once the string is under some sort of tension, it breaks. If the outer wrap ended a little sooner, the problem wouldn't happen at all...

I hope DR resolves it, because I really don't want to try finding a new string. Lo riders & hi beams are absolutely perfect in every way, except for this major problem.

+1

I just got a reply from Steve at DR (he answered about 20 minutes after I sent him a message). He doesn't know the answer, but suggested I contacted the production manager, Tom. So will do...

 

[Dave W]

I just got a reply from Steve at DR (he answered about 20 minutes after I sent him a message). He doesn't know the answer, but suggested I contacted the production manager, Tom. So will do...

I just noticed you've got a Sadowsky. Does it happen on that?

That's my problem bass. My low B tuner (and the low E on their 4 string models) seems to be very close to the nut. I'm sure they design their strings to work well on most basses, but obviously it's not going to be perfect on all of them. If the wrap ended 1/2" sooner than it does, it would be perfect on my Sadowsky...but I've got no clue about any other basses.

In either case, if you get anywhere talking with them keep us informed!

 

[NKUSigEp]

Well gentlemen (or ladies, whatever the case may be ), good luck! I'm out of ideas.

 

[mmbongo]

Sounds like your E tuner is close to the nut, your bridge is shorter than most, or both...which will allow the outer wrap to go around the post. It's not really a 'problem' with the string, it's by design. Your bass is in the minority, as most basses don't have that problem, and the longer wrap allows them to fit on longer scale basses. The solution is to string through body if possible.

 

[Dave W]

On my bass it is not possible to string through the body.

Obviously they need to make as few string lengths as possible to work with as many basses as possible, it's just frustrating.

 

[Jim Carr]

I just noticed you've got a Sadowsky. Does it happen on that?

That's my problem bass. My low B tuner (and the low E on their 4 string models) seems to be very close to the nut. I'm sure they design their strings to work well on most basses, but obviously it's not going to be perfect on all of them. If the wrap ended 1/2" sooner than it does, it would be perfect on my Sadowsky...but I've got no clue about any other basses.

In either case, if you get anywhere talking with them keep us informed!

No problems on my Sadowsky, but I have pretty much stuck to Sadowsky Black Label Steel or Bright Nickels on that instrument. I think the distance between the leading edge of the nut and the E tuner post is 1 5/8" on both (by my meansurement), so I don't think there is much difference as to how the string wraps. I have noticed that there is a little bit of the untapered part of the Sadowsky Bright Nickel E wound onto the post on my P/J, but it is only about 1/8".

 

[Jim Carr]

Sounds like your E tuner is close to the nut, your bridge is shorter than most, or both...which will allow the outer wrap to go around the post.

My Fender RW Jazz and Sadowsky have essentially the same neck/tuner/bridge length dimensions. Pretty standard for 34" scale Fenders and Fender-like instruments.

It's not really a 'problem' with the string, it's by design. Your bass is in the minority, as most basses don't have that problem, and the longer wrap allows them to fit on longer scale basses. The solution is to string through body if possible.

I am pretty certain that none of Sadowsky's basses are "string through," nor are vintage Jazzes, road worns, or AVRI '62 Jazzes or Precisions.

However, you may be correct that it is not really a problem. The strings could be breaking for other reasons, though as I recall, the E I recently broke wound at least a full turn with the untapered part of the string on the tuner post. My dealer found another Lo-Rider E with the same issue (too short a taper), and had yet another customer complain about the same thing a few days before I did.

I have a suspicion that it is not an issue with the instruments themselves, though as always, I could be wrong.

 

[lino]

Hi,

seems like a bad batch of HiBeams, because I had the exact same issue with 2 sets. After putting on the B according to the instructions (and exact same way I have done with many HiBeam sets ove rthe years) it breaks at the tuner, even before it gets to full tension.

Tried B of the second set I ordered, same thing.
Emailed vendor (Musik Produktiv in Germany) and got 2 brand new (complete!) sets shipped, so excellent service!

However, same problem with the first new B. Tried the last one, and finally this worked!

By the way, I have a Sadowsky too! I agree with the other posters that it seems suspicious that the thick part of the string starts to wrap around the tuner and that's where it breaks.

Tried to look for indications of production batches on the package. The bad batches all had a similar stamp on the inside (starting with a PC symbol, then ARACELI-F), while the good batch had a different one (starting with a smiley, then ARACELI-F). To me this looks like a material issue with the core.

Never had this type of issue with HiBeams before.

Alain

 

[jasper383]

DR Strings are always just a little longer than I am comfortable with. They always go up a little too far on the post. I guess they try to make a string that will fit anything, with the potential that it might be a hair too long on some basses. Like maybe yours.

It sounds like maybe a combination of a bass with an unusual way of angling the string, coupled with an odd batch that might be one winding longer than usual. And pop.

I had a set of Pyramids (talk about a brand that varies from set to set!) that popped the E string on the post, and Jorg custom wound a replacement after I gave him measurements of the bass via email.