Dead “E” String on Music Man

[Holly Desautels]

Hey everybody.
I’ve been trying to figure this out for a little while now, and I’m hoping you guys might have some insight. I have an Ernie ball music man stingray 4 string bass, and I’ve been having a constant problem with the low e string sounding extremely dead and thuddy compared to the rest of the strings. I play in drop A# tuning, so heavy strings are a must. Right now, I have the lowest 4 strings from a regular 5 string Ernie ball set on it, so roughly .65-.130. The rest of the strings sound perfectly fine, and resonate well, but the .130 is thuddy, and doesn’t ring out nearly as long. It doesn’t change, regardless of where I’m fretting the neck, so I’m thinking it’s likely something to do with the bridge or saddle?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mdogs]

I think it is the strings, try a different brand. For me, EB’s are the absolute worst strings out there. They die extremely quickly.

 

[Geri O]

And cue the 180-degree experience with Ernie Ball strings. You knew it was coming.

Been using Power Slinkies for years. There’s not a string out there that I care to play for much more than a month.

Never had this problem with Stingrays, 4 or 5-string. Strings are (relatively) cheap enough, it wouldn’t hurt to try another brand for the sake of trouble-shooting.

 

[testing1two]

Are you having this problem with multiple sets of Slinkys or just this particular set? The sound you describe is one of the first signs that a string is bad, usually when the core has separated from the winding somewhere.

It's crucial on big strings to wind them carefully around the tuning post using the tuning key and not by wrapping the first wrap around the post by hand, which can twist the string and cause it to fail. When you have wound the string within half an inch of being tight, stop and go to the bridge and push the string out the back of the bridge. You will likely see the ball end untwist a little bit. Then it's ok to go ahead and finish tuning up.