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Double Bass Will this help to stop Dominants breaking?

what the pluck

what the pluck

Oct 13, 2010
376
118
#1
I have neer used Dominants. I have always wanted to try them as I have a gut feeling (see what I did) that they will work well for me but I am terrified of strings breaking mid gig or in the middle of the night.

A new set came up super cheap on ebay and I jumped on them and am already sleepless about breakages before they have even been sent to me!

My understanding is they usually break 1/ if the steel winding of the string goes around the tuning peg causing the steel wrapping to damage the synthetic core sometimes resulting in breaks 2/ removing and reinstalling. Thomastik say that these are designed for 3/4 basses 104 - 106 cm. Im guessing that anything under 104 cm the winding of the string is definitely going to wind around the peg.

I’m hoping to be safe as my bass is 104 (would somebody be able to measure the bridge to (peg box) silks?)

Has anyone tried putting a spacer between the ball end and the tail piece? I was thinking that maybe something like a nut, along with the felt spacer things between it and the ball end and the where the string threads through tailpiece, might give a bit of relief to avoid the wrapping winding on the peg. Maybe this has been covered but I couldn't find anything. Is this a good or bad idea? would there be any affect on tone or anything else? Is there any other things apart from the usual graphite lube and careful installation that people have found save the doms from an early death?
 
#2
This is my pegbox. Doms are 10 years old. Scale length is 41.5. I would recommend pairing the dominant ADG with a spirocore, because the E string on the dominant set is weaker sounding than the other three in my experience. It’s also the only one I have ever broken that didn’t involve taking them off and putting them back on.

The spacer idea is an interesting one if you start to string them up and see that the length is likely to be wonky. Hope all goes well!

IMG_3994.jpeg
 
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#4
Chris Fitzgerald said:
This is my pegbox. Doms are 10 years old. Scale length is 41.5. I would recommend pairing the dominant ADG with a spirocore, because the E string on the dominant set is weaker sounding than the other three in my experience. It’s also the only one I have ever broken that didn’t involve taking them off and putting them back on.

The spacer idea is an interesting one if you start to string them up and see that the length is likely to be wonky. Hope all goes well!

View attachment 7401681
Click to expand...
Thanks Chris. I actually have been reading some of your posts re your long term Doms which have given me hope!
 
#6
what the pluck said:
I’m hoping to be safe as my bass is 104 (would somebody be able to measure the bridge to (peg box) silks?)
Click to expand...
Depends on the distance between bridge and tailpiece...
You can mount them in loop fashion at the tailpiece to reduce the afterlenght at the pegbox so the metal part doesn't reach the tuning peg.
The E string is the most tricky as the peg is nearest to the nut.
 
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#9
what the pluck said:
I have neer used Dominants. I have always wanted to try them as I have a gut feeling (see what I did) that they will work well for me but I am terrified of strings breaking mid gig or in the middle of the night.

A new set came up super cheap on ebay and I jumped on them and am already sleepless about breakages before they have even been sent to me!

My understanding is they usually break 1/ if the steel winding of the string goes around the tuning peg causing the steel wrapping to damage the synthetic core sometimes resulting in breaks 2/ removing and reinstalling. Thomastik say that these are designed for 3/4 basses 104 - 106 cm. Im guessing that anything under 104 cm the winding of the string is definitely going to wind around the peg.

I’m hoping to be safe as my bass is 104 (would somebody be able to measure the bridge to (peg box) silks?)

Has anyone tried putting a spacer between the ball end and the tail piece? I was thinking that maybe something like a nut, along with the felt spacer things between it and the ball end and the where the string threads through tailpiece, might give a bit of relief to avoid the wrapping winding on the peg. Maybe this has been covered but I couldn't find anything. Is this a good or bad idea? would there be any affect on tone or anything else? Is there any other things apart from the usual graphite lube and careful installation that people have found save the doms from an early death?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have done the spacer when I used Dominants and did not have a problem.
 
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#10
Francois Blais said:
Depends on the distance between bridge and tailpiece...
You can mount them in loop fashion at the tailpiece to reduce the afterlenght at the pegbox so the metal part doesn't reach the tuning peg.
The E string is the most tricky as the peg is nearest to the nut.
Click to expand...
I tried the loop with a Dominant D string and it broke.
 
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#15
I think the bending in a loop is too sharp.
The problem is that the edge of the metal einging cuts into the core when bent too sharp. And a single small cut into a l monofiber synthetic core lets the string break at much lower tension than normal.

I file the tailpiece slots so that the string is not bent too sharp. I just file the front of the string slots on the top side of the tailpiece towards the bridge so that the strings go in a bow down to the bottom.
The same at the top (pegbox) side of the nut. The string should not be bent sharply which is often the case with a standard nut. So I file the nut grooves down in a bow, so that there is no sharp edge for the string.
 
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#17
If i have breakages i doubt ill use them again unless the sound and feel is something extraordinary..
lurk said:
I too had a Dominant string break. I must warn that they are not at all gut-like.
Click to expand...
Im not really looking for gut like, this is just an experiment really.. I play 50/50 arco / pizz.. im generally happy with spiros but like everyone else the D and G thing as you go up the neck is not my cup of tea.. its really just pizz, Im happy with the arco of the spiros... I can live with it if i really have to! Ive tried D G Bels but they were just too dull and i didnt feel like they blended well on my bass… I found a really cheap new set of doms so I thought Id satisfy my curiosity… I’m really hoping I hate them because if I love them and they break thats just going to be like some tragic love story… I don't want to keep throwing money at strings.. I just wish the tempera worked on my bass.. great arco… horrible pizz… felt fantastic.. and my wife would probably leave me if i remortgaged the house to try some oaks …
 
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#20
I wonder if they break too. Got the Dom’s this afternoon. Now I know what everyone means by stiff, when I took the E string out of the envelope it almost slapped me in the face. Didn’t need the spacer there was enough silk so no winding of chrome on the peg. Was super careful, made sure no silks are rubbing on others when tuning.. have just tuned it up to a tone below and will leave it for a bit and tune up to pitch later or tomorrow morning (it’s evening here)… only played the open strings but can definitely see/ hear where this is going… looking forward to giving them a full shakedown tomorrow…
 
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