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Dunlop Superbrights manufacturing flaws?

gimmeagig

gimmeagig

Feb 25, 2004
2,891
1,197
Coeur D'Alene,Idaho
#1
I recently bought a set of the super bright stainless for one of my 5 string J basses and I liked them a lot.
So I ordered more and I'm regretting it. I'm having problems with the G strings. On one of my basses that played without a buzz all the way up the neck with low action , all of a sudden I had serious buzzing on the G string. I tried all kinds of adjustments, couldn't make it go away. So I switched out the G string to another super bright and that fixed the problem. The buzzing string had a couple of kinks in it which might have caused the buzzing.
(Yes, I know how to install strings properly) I figured OK that can happen, a bad string every once in a while, no big deal. Even though that never happened with the DRs.
So yesterday I installed a set of Superbrights on my 74 Jazz and again... the G string buzzes.
I pulled it off to see if there was a kink and sure enough there were two. So I got out a G string from another brand new set set and examined the string before installing it and there were also two very noticeable kinks in the string.
I didn't bother installing the unused string, I'm calling Dunlop tomorrow. Something is not right. I really like the feel and the sound of those strings but the manufacturing quality seems to be a reason not to buy Dunlops. I'm really tempted to cut my losses and go back to Hi Beams
I'm curious if anybody else here has had that experience with the super brights.
 
#2
I have had the exact same experience with two sets of super brights, on two different basses. No buzzing whatsoever with old strings or the new strings (both from another manufacturer) that I replaced them with. Something isn't right...
 
#4
Most of the time they are fine but right now my high C string from the 6 string pack is buzzing up the neck. None of the other strings buzz so I'm sure it's the string that's bad and not my setup.

They also tend to require me to intonate the bridge saddles further forward than other strings. I've always been able to intonate it but some of the saddles are maxed in order to get it right.
 
#6
When I reinstalled the DR G string on my Jazz bass the buzz was gone even with the other Dunlops still on. I did try loosening the truss rod on both basses where I had the issue and even raise the action beyond where I ever had it 5/32" at the 20th fret. No change, buzz from the low frets all the way up.
 
#7
gimmeagig said:
I recently bought a set of the super bright stainless for one of my 5 string J basses and I liked them a lot.
So I ordered more and I'm regretting it. I'm having problems with the G strings. On one of my basses that played without a buzz all the way up the neck with low action , all of a sudden I had serious buzzing on the G string. I tried all kinds of adjustments, couldn't make it go away. So I switched out the G string to another super bright and that fixed the problem. The buzzing string had a couple of kinks in it which might have caused the buzzing.
(Yes, I know how to install strings properly) I figured OK that can happen, a bad string every once in a while, no big deal. Even though that never happened with the DRs.
So yesterday I installed a set of Superbrights on my 74 Jazz and again... the G string buzzes.
I pulled it off to see if there was a kink and sure enough there were two. So I got out a G string from another brand new set set and examined the string before installing it and there were also two very noticeable kinks in the string.
I didn't bother installing the unused string, I'm calling Dunlop tomorrow. Something is not right. I really like the feel and the sound of those strings but the manufacturing quality seems to be a reason not to buy Dunlops. I'm really tempted to cut my losses and go back to Hi Beams
I'm curious if anybody else here has had that experience with the super brights.
Click to expand...
I ordered two sets of Nickel Super Brights and thought they were very sloppily manufactured. There were things like huge gaps between the windings at some parts of the string on the E and A. I wasn't that impressed with the tone - too midrangy for me without a lot of oomph. Never tried the SS version though so I can't speak for them.
 
#9
So here is what i found out today. I talked to the person in charge of guitar strings at Dunlop because the Bass string guy was out. There was indeed a malfunction of one of their machines and so far I have 2 defective G strings for sure and one which looked like it was going to be a problem also.. Dunlop is going to send me 3 new sets. I'm hoping for the best because I really like the sound and the feel of the strings.
I will send them the 2 defective G strings plus theunused one with the two kinks in it, so that they can examine them. So they seem to be good people and they sure are doing right by me.
While I had the guy on the phone i also suggested that they make the D and G strings a little longer. I don't know about you, but I like to have at least 3 wraps around the post on all my stings.On a Jazz bass the G string is so short that I have to keep the unwound metal core just to have enough length to hold the string in place. On my 4+1 headstock basses it's the D string that is barely long enough. And then there is my 35" scale 5 string tuned E to C where The D and the G string both are not really long enough. So there is definitely room for improvement and I'm hoping they will make those strings just a little longer. and more consistent.
 
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#10
jwilson67 said:
I ordered two sets of Nickel Super Brights and thought they were very sloppily manufactured. There were things like huge gaps between the windings at some parts of the string on the E and A. I wasn't that impressed with the tone - too midrangy for me without a lot of oomph. Never tried the SS version though so I can't speak for them.
Click to expand...

Exactly my experience. I thought the gaps were just part of their design choice (like some GHS sets), but I knew within a few days they were not for me because they felt incredibly unbalanced, so off they came. I was lured by the price and comparisons to Sunbeams, but they are not even in the same league, IMO. Sounds like their customer service is top notch though.
 
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#11
gimmeagig said:
So here is what i found out today. I talked to the person in charge of guitar strings at Dunlop because the Bass string guy was out. There was indeed a malfunction of one of their machines and so far I have 2 defective G strings for sure and one which looked like it was going to be a problem also.. Dunlop is going to send me 3 new sets. I'm hoping for the best because I really like the sound and the feel of the strings.
I will send them the 2 defective G strings plus theunused one with the two kinks in it, so that they can examine them. So they seem to be good people and they sure are doing right by me.
While I had the guy on the phone i also suggested that they make the D and G strings a little longer. I don't know about you, but I like to have at least 3 wraps around the post on all my stings.On a Jazz bass the G string is so short that I have to keep the unwound metal core just to have enough length to hold the string in place. On my 4+1 headstock basses it's the D string that is barely long enough. And then there is my 35" scale 5 string tuned E to C where The D and the G string both are not really long enough. So there is definitely room for improvement and I'm hoping they will make those strings just a little longer. and more consistent.
Click to expand...


Dunlop has stellar customer service for sure. They will definitely take care of you. I'm actually glad to see they did have a machine malfuction, as it baffles me when people say they won't intonate or they have gaps so I guess that explains why a few bad sets were made. I guess none of the 20 sets I've been through were made on that particular machine :)
 
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#12
mmbongo said:
Dunlop has stellar customer service for sure. They will definitely take care of you. I'm actually glad to see they did have a machine malfuction, as it baffles me when people say they won't intonate or they have gaps so I guess that explains why a few bad sets were made. I guess none of the 20 sets I've been through were made on that particular machine :)
Click to expand...
It's great to hear that maybe I did get a bum set but I already moved on to EB Cobalts - which I love. No guesswork involved as every single set I get sound exactly the same - every time.
 
#13
gimmeagig said:
So here is what i found out today. I talked to the person in charge of guitar strings at Dunlop because the Bass string guy was out. There was indeed a malfunction of one of their machines and so far I have 2 defective G strings for sure and one which looked like it was going to be a problem also.. Dunlop is going to send me 3 new sets. I'm hoping for the best because I really like the sound and the feel of the strings.
I will send them the 2 defective G strings plus theunused one with the two kinks in it, so that they can examine them. So they seem to be good people and they sure are doing right by me.
While I had the guy on the phone i also suggested that they make the D and G strings a little longer. I don't know about you, but I like to have at least 3 wraps around the post on all my stings.On a Jazz bass the G string is so short that I have to keep the unwound metal core just to have enough length to hold the string in place. On my 4+1 headstock basses it's the D string that is barely long enough. And then there is my 35" scale 5 string tuned E to C where The D and the G string both are not really long enough. So there is definitely room for improvement and I'm hoping they will make those strings just a little longer. and more consistent.
Click to expand...

A machine malfunction or not, either way it's very poor quality control to let defective strings ship to players!
 
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#14
I've avoided chiming in about Dunlop strings,especially Super Brights because I really want to like them. This is from the FAQ section on Dunlop's website:


Q: There are visible gaps in the windings of some of your strings. Is this normal?
A: Because of the angles of the wrap wire that we use when winding these strings, there may be some small gaps between windings. This is perfectly normal for our strings. And as you can tell, there is no difference in tone. The Dunlop VCI Fresh system that we recently added is a vapor barrier that does not allow moisture into the package that can corrode the strings. It's one more step that Dunlop is taking to assure that you play the freshest strings possible.

My overall experience with Dunlop strings has been less than stellar. Bought several sets of Super Brights in various configurations (Marcus Miller, stainless steel, and nickel plated steel) and all of them had quirks. The biggest negatives were inability to intonate properly (mainly G strings but a few D and A strings) and visible gaps and overall sloppy windings. Also, the tension of these are way less than any set I've played (including DRs of similar gauges). I had to add relief and higher action just to make them sound barely acceptable. That said, there is something unique about the tone of the nickels in particular. Maybe it's because I read somewhere that the nickel plating they use is 2% versus 8% for most other nickel strings. Either way, I need more consistency from a string.
 
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#15
Funny, just last night at band practice I was geeking out over the SuperBright Nickels on my Roscoe 5. I was astonished at how bright and snappy they were after being on for over 6 months and being played constantly. They are such amazing strings and I hate that some people have had problems with them. But to be fair, I've had far more issues from DR strings.
 
#16
I wish I could like them mmbongo. My experience with DR strings has been great. Had a few deader than normal Hi Beams and Lo Riders over about a decade period which DR replace promptly. Never had weird intonation issues or visible gaps in the windings. Like I said, there was something unique about the tone of the nickels.
 
#18
I wish I still had some to show you. The gaps were extremely visible on the B and E strings and they were at random places up and down the string. Dunlop claims this is normal per their winding technique.
 
#19
GK Growl said:
I wish I still had some to show you. The gaps were extremely visible on the B and E strings and they were at random places up and down the string. Dunlop claims this is normal per their winding technique.
Click to expand...
That was exactly the same thing I observed - on the B and E strings. Also, certain sections of the the G string appeared to be slightly dirty. I was watching a video of my band when I had them on my bass and I noticed that I could clearly hear the E string but when I went to the D and G the notes seemed to disappear.

@GK Growl - have you tried EB Cobalts yet? Those are my current favorites and they seem to straddle the line between low and high tension really well and (at least for me) last a really long time. My second choice are DR Fat Beams, which in themselves are excellent strings.
 

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