Strings Pop-creaking When Brought Up To Pitch

[Vodyanoi]

My fretless Washburn produces the same creaking when tuned to pitch, mostly the D & G strings—it's equipped with an ebony nut and flats, if it matters. It's been doing it for a long time, and even though graphite helps alleviate the "issue", the creaking returns after a while. No broken strings or whatsoever though; I've been rocking the same strings for ~18 months.

 

[Grinderman]

It happens regardless of whether the Dunlop stainless flats are 45-105 or 40-100. It doesn't happen when I use Dunlop nickel rounds (45-105 or Fender 9050 flats (40-100).

The nut on the jazz bass is bone, slotted for 45-105 strings. I've now used 45-105 and 40-100 Dunlop flats with this bass and the pop-creaking happens with either but it's actually worse with the 10-100 flats.

The nut on my Nash PB is graphite self lubricating; I've used 45-105 Dunlop flats on this bass and the pop-creaks also happen on this one.

//This must be confusing to follow.

Edit: 40-100

 

[Grinderman]

I believe what this is really about, mainly, is something about these particular strings.

I've done more than enough to try to make these strings work, including working in good faith with Dunlop and their rep with multiple emails, text messages and phone calls. At this point, I've gone many packs of strings, including multiple sets I purchased, and even more replacements sets sent by Dunlop, in two different gauge sets.

Besides intonation problems, I've found these strings to be inconsistent, difficult and cranky to set up and to simply use day to day, in tune. The problems have now happened with these flats on multiple basses, three total now, including an almost new Nash PB, and Jazz bass that's been reliable for years and another P bass I just finished put together myself. In this regard, they are like no other type or brand of bass strings I've ever dealt with going back decades, compared to Dunlop's nickel rounds and Fender 9050L flats I've also used just with the last couple of weeks. The problems with these Dunlop stainless flats are exactly the reason why I've had to switch strings so much in recent weeks and the situation has decidedly crossed the line; no fun.

I'm now convinced, almost certainly, there is something fundamentally wrong somewhere in the engineering and or production process of this product line. From all that I've read here on TB, this is not the first time Dunlop has had similar problems with their string products.

It is what it is.

 

[Grinderman]

Update: I applied graphite to the nut slots on my basses. I'm now convinced the location of friction problem is at the bridge, not the nut or nut slots and I believe it's probably caused by Dunlop's unusually long silk ends that extend out at least 1" from the ball ends. Because the silk ends on the Dunlop flats are so long they ride over the top of the bridge saddles and beyond the witness points.

For comparison, the silks on the ends of Fender 9050L flats are more like 5/8" long. I've not experience the same problem with the one set of Fender 9050 flats I'm using on my other P bass (Nash PB).