Ever get a bad string?

[5andFretless]

I had the A string on a set of Nylon Tape Wounds go hinky on a Carvin AC40 during a acoustic duo performance. It was an interesting challenge to maintain intonation. I eventually stopped using the string, which presented a different challenge. Never figured out what went wrong with that string. I assume something inside let go.

 

[Ggaa]

Have had a bad set and single from DR, rare occurrence, they replaced them right away.
Only string I ever broke onstage was a Fender branded flat late '70s.

 

[Jimmy Howe]

I had a dead E string in a Fender set. I contacted them and then sent me a whole set.

Me too. A dead E string on a set of Fender flats. Never thought to contact them; this was a couple decades ago. Never bought another set from Fender and have used Rotosound strings exclusively since. Tho' I did have a badly wrapped A string in the last set of RS77LEs. It wasn't dead... just a bad wrap - felt weird compared to the other strings in the set. Rotosound replaced it.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Once. It was also StringJoy and when I contacted them they said that happens sometimes so I never bought from them again.

 

[prowla]

I had one a few years back and Status Graphite replaced it no hassle.
Issues can happen from time to time and the measure is how well the supplier deals with it.

 

[J-Bass RMR]

I primarily used and "abused" GHS for 35 years. Never had a bad string.

The past 7 years or so, I've been going down the string "rabbit hole" - trying various strings from at least a dozen different manufactures.
In that time, I've had a couple dead Rotos, and a few strings from DR & EB break (usually at the tuning post), usually while performing some sort of maintenance requiring loosening & rewinding the string.

Each time a simple email inquiry to the company's customer service was all it took for a prompt response and replacement.

One replacement email response included the comment "unwinding and rewinding strings is not recommended ....and would not (normally) be considered a defect" - apparently implying you need to install new strings every time you perform some sort of maintenance?!

 

[Stewie]

Bought. Set of Fender flats. The E string sounded funky, the rest of them were okay, I thought they were decent, but after using GHS flats for 40 years I was used to them, so I tossed the Fenders and put on a set of GHSs I had. I suppose I could have emailed them, but I’m so happy with their basses that I decided to give them a break. Wish I had saved the good three so I could try them on my fretless SCPB and see how they sounded.

 

[Jay Corwin]

A couple of years ago I had a Dunlop snap during its first tune up. Gave up wrap around the ball end, which sounded like a BB gun firing off the wall. They sent me a whole replacement set, and no issues moving forward.

 

[j0616bass]

I've had one in 30 years of playing. It was in the last 2 years....a dead GHS Boomer A string.

This thread is interesting because it seems others have had no issues with GHS ever, and one poster has had significant trouble with Dunlop Super Brights. I use Super Brights quite a lot and have never had an issue with them out of the box.

I guess that just means all companies have an occasional lemon and some of us have better "luck" than others at finding them for a particular brand

 

[rojo412]

Every set of DRs I've put on my own basses had G strings that were incredibly fragile and broke rather quickly. And no, it wasn't my saddle either.
Needless to say, I don't buy DR strings for myself anymore. Others seem to have better luck, so they can keep em.

 

[tindrum]

I just went through that recently - dead E string in the set. I contacted D'Addario through their website, they sent me a replacement set straightaway, solved the problem.

Same here. I had a bad E on a set of NYXL’s. They actually sent me 2 new E’s for my trouble.

 

[Snibborwocky]

I've only had a couple of bad strings right out of the package over the last 40 or so years. One or two that just completely snapped as I was restringing and one that I remember was completely dead, I believe it was the E string. I won't mention the brands but suffice to say, I changed brands until I found my perfect match and been happy ever since.

 

[Vinny_G]

Ever get a bad string?

Once or twice in 30 years of playing, and having tried almost all brands.

 

[Cave Puppy]

It's super rare for me. I've had MAYBE five (if that) bad single strings over the course of 44 years of playing. I did however get one bad whole pack of strings from an Amazon dealer. The output was way too low. I can't remember who from but it was weird. The first and only time that has happened.

 

[burgerdj]

I ran into a series of issues with a certain brand of string about five or six years ago. Out of six sets, I think three had a defect. They were always very responsive and provided replacements but the experience did put me off for a time. It happens!

 

[Rib 13]

over the past thirty plus years, ive had this happen two or three times

 

[Grinderman]

Several in a row. In fact it was the G strings that would not intonate.

 

[newwavefrank]

I Played for almost 40 years without any bad ones. I have been using Dean Markley SR200's on all my fretted basses. Then a couple of years ago I got a bad A string..then another. I probably got at least 5 bad ones over the past year or two. Now I use exclusively La Bella Super Steps. It was getting to be a 50/50 toss up when ordering Dean Markley

 

[Lo-E]

I had a string that would hide my shoes when I was sleeping. That was a bad string.

 

[non]

i bought my usual set of flats and the e string was half flat wound and half felt like unfinished half rounds. they sent me a new set.