inconsistent d'addario nickel rounds

[pcake]

i've used d'addario super light nickel rounds for years, and it's only been in the last maybe 10 months that i've been seeing inconsistencies. before that, they always felt and were very close to identical.

one of my spectors came with d'addario lights, but the 45 was 43. i replaced those strings with super lights, but the 40 is 38. before that, i found a measurable difference in tension between sets of d'addario super light short scales on 2 squier broncos, and one set of long scale super lights i got were significantly stiffer than any of the other of the many of the same set i've used.

it can't be just me. for those of you who use calipers to measure your strings, or who can feel the difference, have you encountered differences lately?

 

[onda'bass]

what you are saying is very typical of gauge, they are never exact in my experience. All manufactures will have this, some like rotosound label them exact.

 

[jeff62]

Never had enough free time to measure my strings with calipers.

 

[J Wilson]

I've never used or ever expect to use calipers on my strings. In my experience, D'Ads are very consistent, but then again, no calipers.

 

[Chris Chong]

Manufacturing tolerance?

 

[MrAB4003]

This happened to me with Rotosound 55s earlier this year. Ironically, I switched to D'Addario because of their consistency.

 

[pcake]

Manufacturing tolerance?

the largest tolerances we've seen from d'addario. ariex measures everything all the time LOL

 

[iiipopes]

The only issue I have ever had with D'A XL after playing them on my gigging bass with my party band since 2012 is that a couple of years ago I got a few sets that the G string felt and sounded light. I measured them and they had mis-packed XL170BT sets with 40's instead of 45's. I wrote the company, sent a pic of my micrometer measurements, and they immediately sent out a few 45's for me. As far as the actual gauge, nothing is perfect. Everything will vary by a thou or two from batch to batch, depending on the source wire, tension on the machine, even the string winder operator from day-to-day. That said, D'A is still one of the more consistent companies out there.