bad strings, ball-0ends popping off on tune -up.

[tonequester]

tonequester here.


I figured I could stand a chance of staying out of trouble with this post. has anybody had trouble with the "ball ends" of electric strings popping off...un-windind(especially d'Addario strings-009"s,010"s,011"s) Also, would anybvody know if in real practice, the ball end should give "way before the strring breaks. I've had 4 sets in the guages mentioned do this before even getting up to tune 3 times, and once about a half hour into playing. From e-mailing d'Addario they promised me 4 sets by mail, even though I didn't have serial numbers which are printed on the inner bag(first thihg I always pitched). It's been a couple of months nd nothing yet.
Any opinions are always welcome. tonequester.

[rjb]

has anybody had trouble with the "ball ends" of electric strings popping off...un-windind(especially d'Addario strings-009"s,010"s,011"s)

I solder the windings before installing; never have this happen.

Also, would anybvody know if in real practice, the ball end should give "way before the strring breaks.

I don't know what you mean by this.

[Chuck H]

I've never had a string ball end or winding give me any trouble at all. I've read that some guys who've had trouble do solder the ball end winding (as suggested). How are they failing? Is the wind coming undone? Is the loop breaking? If the latter, I would examine my bridge assy for potential problems. I also use DiAddario electric strings.

[big_teee]

I've never had a string ball end or winding give me any trouble at all. I've read that some guys who've had trouble do solder the ball end winding (as suggested). How are they failing? Is the wind coming undone? Is the loop breaking? If the latter, I would examine my bridge assy for potential problems. I also use DiAddario electric strings.

I had a LP copy do that, and there was a burr in the Stop Tail.
I filed it smooth with a mini file, and all is Well!
T

[frus]

I've had systematic problems with d'Addario 009 and 010 strings (that's only the first string in a set) a year ago or so, the ball end always unwinds
I soldered them like rjb, but also have switched to Ernie Ball since. I use d'Addario almost exclusively for the last 10 years, and never before had this problem

[tonequester]

tonequester here.

Chuck, the first thing I checked was my bridge, but could find no burrs, even with a 10X glass. Since the 4 sets of "bad" strings, I've gone through 2 more without any problem . I've always liked d'Addario's and I recently moved up to .011's, which might even last a little longer. I contacted d'Addario by e-mail and they say they are sending me 4 sets of my choice free. it may take some time, it's already been almost 2 months since my e-mail. My dealer told me he'd replace them nif none show up in the mail. rjb soldering trick is one thing i believe I'll try, mostly because I live so far from my music store. Thanks for the reply, and have a great day.

[tonequester]

tonequester here.

Greetings rjb and thanks for the soldering idea. I'm going to give that a try just because I live so far away from my dealer. Since the failure of 4 sets, I've had 2 sets that have been fine. The thing about the ball end, is that the wire was coming "un-raveled" or un-wound above the ball before I could neven get th high E or B strings up to tune.
Thanks again for an idea I should have thought of on my own. have a great day rjb ! tonequester.

[tonequester]

tonequester here.

Greetings frus. I'm sorry about your problems past, but glad to knowni wasn't the only one. Two of the bad sets I got were .009's, and both the high E and the B string
gave way(en-raveled) at the ball. I contacted d'Addario by e-mail and they promised me 4 sets of my choice by mail for free. that's been 2 months ago, and nothing yet. luckily, my dealer told me that he';d replace them free from the store,if they didn't show up. I also has 2 .010" do the same thing. Are the Ernie Ball's working good for you ?
Glad to make your aquaintance on the forum. have a great day. tonequester.

[frus]

Yes, Ernie Ball sound and feel is almost the same (I can't hear any difference, unlike with some other strings), and they stay fresh and chimy as long. But they don't unravel at the ball end. They are a bit more expensive

Nice meeting you too

[tonequester]

tonequester here.

G 'day frus. Thanks for the info on the Ernie Ball's. One more failure with d'Addarios and I know what to buy. I would rather pay double to avoid the problem we discussed. I thank you for your time in replying on the Ernie Balls. May your High E never pop. have a great day. tonequester.

[David Schwab]

Since the 4 sets of "bad" strings, I've gone through 2 more without any problem.

You know, D'Addario will replace bad sets of strings. I had a bad D string on a bass set last year and dropped them an email. They wanted the batch number from the set, and sent me two new D strings in the mail.

I've been using them for the last 15 years or so on guitar and bass with no problems.

[frus]

tonequester here.

G 'day frus. Thanks for the info on the Ernie Ball's. One more failure with d'Addarios and I know what to buy. I would rather pay double to avoid the problem we discussed. I thank you for your time in replying on the Ernie Balls. May your High E never pop. have a great day. tonequester.

thanks!
btw, they say (and I've seen quite a few examples myself) that, since the manufacturers use a bit different alloys for strings, they all react differently to your particular body chemistry (I mean sweat). My friend went through a few sets of dunlop strings in a few weeks (they would just oxidize), other strings lasted him for months. So if you do change the make of the strings, buy just one or two sets first, just to make sure you're "compatible"

[lonnieboy]

Guys I'm an old guy 67 next month. I have been playing guitars since I was 4 years old.Never in my life have I ever even heard of this problem.I hardly ever break a string.However,with that said last month I bought a set of elixers as I was tuning the bass E string it actually came unraveled.I had never had that happen to me before and untill I read this thread I thought it was just a fluke.Maybe its a std (string tuning destructer) thats going around...Lonnieboy

[Chuck H]

I think this problem must be common enough. Even if it seldom happens to some of us. I say this because I read about soldering the ball end winds in a popular publication about twenty five years ago.

[tonequester]

d,Addario ball ends

You know, D'Addario will replace bad sets of strings. I had a bad D string on a bass set last year and dropped them an email. They wanted the batch number from the set, and sent me two new D strings in the mail.

I've been using them for the last 15 years or so on guitar and bass with no problems.

"A pair of powerful spectacles has sometimes sufficed to cure a person in love." Fredrick Nietzshe.

Tonequester here. Yeh, I e-mailed them as well. I had NEVER had any real problems with any strings, and has used d'Addarios for many years when this all
happened. They wanted serial numbers, which I can understand, but I didn't know that they print them on the inner bag. That's always been the first thing, really the only thing I ever threw away. The guy who responded to my e-mail said he'd send me four sets of my choice. I told him one would do, but he insisted he'd send four. It's going on three months, and nothing yet. The manager of my local music store said HE'D make good on them, so I finally snagged one set from him.
I don't 'spose it broke him, he probably gets re-imbursed anyway. I'm still playing that set with no problems at all. I did move up to .011's, I believe they were Blues/Jazz strings. I've always played .0095's, and it's amazing the difference in tone that 1 and 1/2 thousandth inch diameter can make. I had some sore fingers again for about a month, but my calluses have thickened and I wish I had "moved up" years ago. Too big a "wuss" I guess. I only thought about heavier guage to get away from the "popping balls". So....it ended up being a fortunate problem in the end. I know I'll be saving bags from now on. I'm going to try the solder on my next set, and if it ain't too big a pain, I'll do that from now on. I have an hour traveling time just to buy strings, and my store does that old "2 for 1" sale crap
where they just charge $13.00 for one set, but if you get 2 sets the price is the same.??? I don't know who thought that one up, but I've found it to be pretty
common in my area. Thanks for the reply David ! It's good to hear from you. The same goes for all you other YEAHOO"S and "Yankers". as well.
Ya'll have a ball ! Tonequester.