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First time for everything ...

paddydaddyo

paddydaddyo

Supporting Member
Jun 16, 2007
428
663
Greenville, SC, USA
#1
I've purchased dozens of sets of DR Pure Blues strings since their introduction years ago, and they are my all-time favorite round-wound strings. Last night after work I picked up a set of 45 - 105 at my local Guitar Barn and restrung my MTD Kingston Artist 4 with them in preparation for this weekend's gigs. I prefer to restring and let the set stretch naturally for a few days ahead of time, as opposed to stringing and stretching the day of the gig. Personal preference, but that's how I roll.

Anywho, after getting it strung and tuned, I went in to make dinner, opened a bottle of red wine, put on some music, and dined with my lovely Love. Afterwards, I came back out to the garage to do some practicing on the new songs for this weeks sets. As I began to tune up (using my Seiko chromatic tuner), the core of the E-string snapped, right between the nut and the string post.

In nearly 45 years of playing, I have only had one other breakage of a new string, and that was at the ball-end winding where it passed over a sharp burr on the saddle. Not sure what to attribute this to, other than a manufacturing defect in the core wire. I'm going to take it back to GC today after work and see if they will give me a replacement. If not, I'll buy another full set and have spares for my A-D-G.

Anybody else here experienced a similar issue with DR strings recently?
 
#2
I have only had this issue happen twice in 25+years. Both times it was DR strings. Talked to a local guitar tech (good one, not your typically GC tech) he said he does not see it often, but it is typically DR when it happens. This was before I told him the brand of string that I had the issue on.

It would not stop me from buying DR, because it is an infrequent issue. However, I have only had it happen on DR. When I hear about it happening to others, more often than not it is DR.
 
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#4
Never had an issue like that (knock on wood) with DRs, and I've got some VERY old sets still on some basses. I wonder how many of the sets that broke were new versus worn-in ones?

I still wouldn't let it discourage you from using them, that's a pretty good track record regardless.
 
#6
Pdaddy1978 said:
Any manufacturer can have a dud string slip through.
You said it yourself. First time its happened. While its not a given that the store would honor a broken string, even a brand new one, it would be pretty stand up of them if they did. Especially if your a repeat customer.
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If the store doesn't, I would just go straight to DR. Their customer service has a pretty good rep here, especially for replacing bad strings.
 
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#7
KevInDaBassment said:
Never had an issue like that (knock on wood) with DRs, and I've got some VERY old sets still on some basses. I wonder how many of the sets that broke were new versus worn-in ones?

I still wouldn't let it discourage you from using them, that's a pretty good track record regardless.
Click to expand...

Both times it happened to me was on a new set of strings.

As I indicated in my first post, I am not trying to overstate the issue. A few bad strings over as many sets of strings as I have used is not concerning at all. Certainly annoying when it happens and you have to replace the string, but that is it.
 
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#8
I've had this happen maybe twice in my almost 40 years of playing. Both times it was caused by an outer wrap getting caught on a string guide on the headstock. Sometimes weird stuff happens. Both times also I called the manufacturer and they sent a new pack of strings.
 
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#9
This happened to me with a set of GHS Boomers, but it happened over the neck pickup of the Jazz I was playing at the time. It was like moments before downbeat, I just put the strap over my shoulder and all the sudden I felt a snap reverberate through the body of the bass. I looked down and the E string was just limp, stuck to the pickup magnets
 
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#10
I was a little sheepish about this, but after breaking 2 D strings at stretch time over 2 sets last summer, I asked if I could buy singles just to make the sets whole again (always have several sets on hand). My retailer acknowledged receipt of my email. 3 days later, two new D's arrived in the mail. No questions asked, no charge. I always buy the same brand through same retailer, so maybe there's a little something to that, but as others have stated, blems slip through, no big deal, and reputable sellers and mfg's will make it right.

In agreement with the OP's sentiments - it's not an indictment of the brand, just a thing with strings in general. My guess is a slight irregularity in the core is usually the culprit, and clearly, it happens to the best of them. I've never broken an old string, just brand new ones, and very few at that, over 40 years of playing.

Don't be shy. IME, they are more than happy to make it right - better to loose a spare string than someone's dedication to your brand.
 
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#11
I think this is the reason many strings even flatwounds are using hex core. . DR round cores are generally solid and wound really well. DR would do you good though. it is nothing to the failure rate of Cobalt flat G thought which for me is in the ratio of 2 out of 3 which they replaced, Just curious did you do the crimp before the cut. That's how my High Bean B string unravel, I did not follow thoese specific instructions.


When I was learning how to do parts basses, I moved a set of fat beams many times using 3necks and probably took off and put them back on them 15 times or more. Always in tune, no dead spots. Then I put them on a bass I sold and the owner has not changed them yet. I was still tweaking this bass and use some D'Addarios which got all wonky after the third removal. DR's are durable strings but I religiously do the bend and crimp before cutting after my experience with the High Beams. Good luck
 
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#12
Happened to me 4 times in 20 years. I'm not even an active musician who has stage every week.
1. 2 sets of Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats in a row, G strings. Must be a bad batch. They didn't stay in tune so I kept trying to tune, it was unwrapping. They were both purchased from Amazon and they took it back. Used 10's of Cobalt Flat packs since than without an issue.
2. Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats. Regardless of it having extremely good contruction, G string snapped while my luthier was setting up.
3. Ken Smith 7 string Set, thinnest string broke. I found a replacement and it was one of the best sets I played too.
 
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#13
Been playing almost 30 years and only once have I ever had a string break on me like that. It was a set of Lakland/GHS Joe Osborn flats that I'd had in my string stash for almost 10 years. The G-string had weird overtones and wouldn't tune up properly, and it snapped. Probably a flaw in the wrap or core that was just a weird anomaly. I've never had any DR strings of any variety break on me.
 
#16
Been using DR strings over 30 years and it has happened to me twice. They were 5 string sets, probably Hi Beams and it happened on 2 sets in a row. I can't remember what string it was on, they sent me whole new sets, not just a single. I used to go through a lot more strings than I do these days, so the percentage of failure is extremely low, stuff happens.
 
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#17
+1 for DR customer service. I've only had an issue once, where an E string in a set of Legend flats just was 'off' from the rest of the set tonally, and they sent me a new string right away with no drama. FTR I am a bit of a DR fanboy, have FatBeams on 3 basses, Pure Blues on 1 and Legends on 1. But that's the only string issue I've ever had with them, and they fixed it.
 
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#18
I've only had one string break, a Labella flatwound, and I was totally at fault myself -- I put the wrong string on, and was trying to tune it up too high.

Otherwise, of the very few string sets I've ever had apparent manufacturing issues with (maybe 3-4 total, ever), two of them were DR, and come to think of it, those were both round core at that. Maybe the round core is a little more persnickety. But this was also circa 10 years ago; I have no reason to suspect any recent DR quality problems!
 
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#20
Hard core DR Pure Blues, 45-105 fan. Sorry to hear that happen. I've been lucky, no breaks or weirdness in the unraveling of windings etc.
I purchase from Amazon for years, and at the moment they are $20 and change. Highest on Zon I've seen is 25. Anyway, good luck to you movin forward.
 

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