Broken string during shipping?

[WarwickE36]

My dad was driving me to a lesson when I was 12. My bass was in a hard case. Someone in front of us rear ended someone and my dad had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them. My base case (which was laying across the back seat) hit the backs of the front seats. When I got to my lesson I opened my case and my G string was broken. So some sort of impact can cause this, and it's entirely plausible it happened during regular shipping IMO. Glad there's no issue with the buyer for you. Cheers.

P. S. I live in Maine and it was below 0 earlier this week.. So that may have had an hand in it as well if the timing lines up.

 

[Bonafide]

This is most likely my fault. I left the bass on pitch.

Last week I shipped a bass from California to Maine. It arrived today. The feedback I received was the G string was snapped upon arrival. He’s not asking for any compensation. Have you guys experienced this? Is it possible due to a combination of the weather and handling?

I suspect the string was going to break soon regardless. The weakest part of that chain is the string itself. Weather, sitting in cold warehouse, truck etc can affect this, but it would have had to go a whole tone sharp minimum, which means that neck would have been in bad shape. Outside of taking care of your buyer, it's all good, be easy about it. I have shipped/received 100s of instrument tuned to pitch. Only the vulnerable vintage ones in extreme weather get a different treatment.

 

[el murdoque]

My take after discussing the problem with Reverend and Wildwood was that it's not a good idea to ship a bass with the strings at full tension, especially on a string-through. One would think that they'd know this. It can cause customer anxiety and possibly returns. I mention the latter as the bass displayed symptoms of a mis-located bridge, although it simply was bad strings, presumably from shipping.

Might I inquire why shipping at full tension is a bad idea?

My reasoning would be the following: A bass is made to take the full string tension. There are components at play that will exert a force on the neck that opposes the string tension (truss rod). Eliminating one of the two factors (Pull from the strings and push from the truss rod) for extended periods is bad.
If you want to slack the strings, you should loosen the truss rod, too.
By doing this, you ensure to ship a bass that is 100% unplayable upon arriving at the destination.
What do you gain, though?

 

[lfmn16]

I probably shipped and received more than 75 basses over the last 10 years, 99% of the time they arrive at pitch, 100% of the time they were sent at pitch. I've never had a string break. That was not the cause of the issue.

 

[fhm555]

Always ship tuned to pitch. Never had a string break in transit, and never had any other string/neck issues upon arrival.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

To create tension sufficient to break a string, the deflection in the neck would have snapped. I think that string was on its way out already.

 

[GreyBeard]

This just sounds like a freak thing. Every new bass I've received over the last 20 years has been tuned to pitch.

 

[JRA]

Ship 1/2 cent detuned, or tuned.

did you mean 1/2 step/semitone? 1/2 cent would be considered "in tune" by most folks.

 

[CryingBass]

did you mean 1/2 step/semitone? 1/2 cent would be considered "in tune" by most folks.

Yeh 1/2 step at most, my bad.

 

[JRA]

Yeh 1/2 step at most

that seems like a great idea though: still some tension on the neck.

 

[SleepyShark]

Maybe someone else has mentioned it, but my first thought would just be that it was a bum string.

 

[jastraw]

Yea, a bummed string ready to break is the most logical conclusion. The strings were 6 months old. They are DR Sunbeams. The buyer simply said G string snapped. No other damage. Which is fortunate. As far as packing goes I packed it like how I received new basses from companies. Double boxed with ample padding between boxes. Everything taped up tight. This deal had no case involved. I am chalking it up to freak accident.

Pre ship pics.

 

[Wilmingtonian]

It was primed to break for whatever reason... it got really cold, increased tension, took a mild hit and boom. Dude buys a new string, everyone moves on.

 

[JohnnyBottom]

Pretty lame to even mention it on your review imho.

 

[superiorpine]

Each time I have shipped a bass or guitar at FedEx, the attendant has asked if the strings were slackened. They have even gone so far as to suggest that if the strings weren't detuned, I would have to open it up and do so or they wouldn't ship it. In the dozen or so basses I have purchased through TalkBass, the majority have arrived tuned down about a step. Just sayin......

 

[bobyoung53]

This is most likely my fault. I left the bass on pitch.

Last week I shipped a bass from California to Maine. It arrived today. The feedback I received was the G string was snapped upon arrival. He’s not asking for any compensation. Have you guys experienced this? Is it possible due to a combination of the weather and handling?

I've never heard of this problem and I bring basses back and forth from the U.S to S American often on planes and have received many tuned to pitch in fact Rickenbacker among others recommends they be tuned to pitch when shipped. Sounds like a freak accident to me.

 

[bobyoung53]

Yea, a bummed string ready to break is the most logical conclusion. The strings were 6 months old. They are DR Sunbeams. The buyer simply said G string snapped. No other damage. Which is fortunate. As far as packing goes I packed it like how I received new basses from companies. Double boxed with ample padding between boxes. Everything taped up tight. This deal had no case involved. I am chalking it up to freak accident.

Pre ship pics.

View attachment 4542037

View attachment 4542038

That changes my opinion, may just be me but I would never ship a bass without a good hard shell case. In fact I won't step out of my house with a bass unless it's in a good case. I had an SVT head fall on a P bass in its case once and it didn't hurt it.

 

[Adagietto]

Might I inquire why shipping at full tension is a bad idea?

My reasoning would be the following: A bass is made to take the full string tension. There are components at play that will exert a force on the neck that opposes the string tension (truss rod). Eliminating one of the two factors (Pull from the strings and push from the truss rod) for extended periods is bad.
If you want to slack the strings, you should loosen the truss rod, too.
By doing this, you ensure to ship a bass that is 100% unplayable upon arriving at the destination.
What do you gain, though?

I didn't say that exactly. In my case, I received a bass that had three damaged strings. The bass was strung-through and shipped at tension. The feedback from Reverend is that this happens occasionally under those conditions, plus presumed mechanical shock while in transit. Reverend indicated it's a known thing, if not common. I simply related my actual experience and the explanation from the maker.

 

[ac100X]

Maybe the string was ready to break and would have if you played it one more time, then a shock during shipping pushed the string over the limit and it broke, you will never know.

 

[GretschWretch]

I blame climate change. I had a string snap on a double bass on its stand when a cold front passed through in the wee hours. In Shreveport, LA. A string at pitch in California likely is going to contract from Maine's cold and its response is to snap.

I will not ship a bass tuned to pitch, and if one is shipped to me I request that the strings be slacked.