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Rotosound Customer Service

el murdoque

el murdoque

Mar 10, 2013
12,045
25,371
Germany
thedirtjounal.com
#1
...I just wanted to post this experience:

I recently bought a set of Rotosound SH-77 Steve Harris signature flatwounds. The A string on that set felt a fair bit rougher than the other strings. I played them for a while and while the texture of the other strings smoothed, the A string remained rough to the touch and felt like it was sticking out in that regard. I contacted Rotosound to find out if that simply is how they make their strings or if there is something off with it. Even though they were not entirely sure if my string is off or if it is within their tolerance, they sent me a free replacement string that was checked to be within spec. It arrived and indeed felt better.

I will keep this in mind when I purchase strings in the future.
 
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#3
Maybe I should have tried calling them too, I bought a set of Roto Swing 66 Medium Scale stainless rounds recently, and was pretty disappointed. They came out of the sealed plastic package with a light coat of what looked liked corrosion on them. The E string produced a weird "chorus" effect on open notes for about the first two weeks, and then went dead, like a years old string. The rest of the set only held it's "new" sound for about 6 weeks. I hadn't used them for almost 40 years because of the same short lifespan, was hoping things had changed. Apparently not. Glad to hear they have responsive CS, now maybe they need to concentrate on QC.
 
#4
I had the same experience with rotosound years ago. I put a set of swing bass strings on my bass and the G string snapped after a few minutes of playing.

I put some random G string that I could buy as a single on and wrote to rotosound. A week later I got a single G string in the mail and a new package of strings.

Schaller has been similarly excellent at customer service in my experience.
 
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#6
I have used a bunch of different brands over the years and always had great luck gettin replacements. I love Rotos, but yeah I had lots of inconsistent strings over the years but they always made good on them.
I have started using the Rotosound Nexus black coated SS strings on most of my basses over the last 5 years and I love those strings, and so far I have not gotten one bad string. They are pricey though...I always wait for them to go on sale on Reverb or Amazon. They are very similar to DR Black Beauties, but are hex core so they are stiffer, and have a bit more zing to 'em.
 
#7
Isaac_James said:
I've received similar treatment from D'Addario, LaBella, and GHS. Has anyone tried this with a different string manufacturer and been turned away?
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Not so far. Went through a decent stint with Dunlop and they were accommodating. Have used DR for much longer, and I change strings frequently. I’ve had three duds or dead strings in probably a decade or more of playing DR strings, and they always replace them quickly and with no questions asked.
 
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#8
I've used Roto flats for decades. The "roughness" of the individual strings has always seemed to vary from set to set with Roto 77s. The tonal balance across the strings has also varied. They have always been incredibly inconsistent strings. I don't think I've ever gotten two sets that felt (or sounded) exactly the same. They have all sounded great though, with that lovely upper mids presence that's so unique for Roto 77s. At least until the last year or so...

The last sets I've installed (on customer's basses at the workshop) have all been noticeably less rough than the Roto flats I've used and loved for several decades on my own basses. The surface of the strings on these newer sets was smoother and much closer to other flats. Unfortunately the TONE was also smoother, thumpier and much closer to other types of flats. They also felt noticeably less stiff than Roto 77s of the past. They still had a touch of the unique Roto 77 tone, but less so than any set of Roto 77s I have played until the last year or so. These newer sets had far less of the lovely upper mid presence that made Roto 77s so unique. The newer sets had a considerably smoother tone, thumpier dynamics and a slightly more supple feel (still on the stiffer side of things though).

Or to put it another way: Roto 77s used to sound/feel like a kinda hybrid of flats and rounds, but now they feel more or less like other flats. I'm not just talking about the surface of the strings, but the tone/dynamics as well. The dynamics in particular are very different on the newer sets I've tested.

Unless there has been a bad batch out there in the last year or so, Rotosound definitely seem to have changed these strings, and not for the better IMO. They may have gotten more versatile, more of an "all purpose" flatwound string, but they've lost a bit of the magic that made them so unique.

I hope it's just a passing phase. Rotosound have a history of periods with poor QC. Hopefully this is just one of those. Roto 77s have been one of my top3 favorite strings for DECADES, but the last couple of sets I've tested were just meh...
 
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#9
el murdoque said:
The A string on that set felt a fair bit rougher than the other strings. I played them for a while and while the texture of the other strings smoothed, the A string remained rough to the touch and felt like it was sticking out in that regard.
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Possibly an A from the RS77LE set got put in by mistake. The SH77 set is reportedly polished more than the RS77LE. The A silk in both sets is red, so only the rougher feel might indicate the possibility of an RS77LE string that sneaked in
 
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#11
I do like that classic "piano bass" sound you get with brand new Rotos, particularly on a Ric, but unless you are getting cases of them free and changing them regularly (like Chris Squire did) they just go dead so fast, and really chew up the frets and fingertips. I'd been using D'Addario Nickel Rounds for a few years and decided to try Rotos again for Old Times Sake, but.... nope. The D'Addario's sound like Rotos about 2-weeks in, but that brightness lasts a hell of a lot longer, and it's much less friction playing them. Is there anything out there as bright as Rotos, but with a decent lifespan?
 
#12
My experience with the Rotosound Customer Service has nothing to do with defective strings.

I once emailed Rotosound a couple of years ago after noticing a few discrepancies in the tension numbers. They responded promptly, thanking me for pointing out the errors for them. I checked the tension chart again about a week later and the corrections had already been made.
 
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#13
They've sent me a replacement string before when I got a dud straight out of the package, as have DR, Ernie Ball, and D'addario. I don't think I've ever tried to get a replacement from any other company (probably should have with some GHS Pressurewounds I had issues with). Back when I got a replacement Rotosound string, IIRC it was shipped all the way from England to the US (this was probably 2006/7).
 
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