Dead Bottom E String

[ianwild16]

I foolishly decided to change my strings a couple of weeks ago.
I used a set of Rotosound Swing bass 0.45's on a Fender P.
However after approx one week the low E sring had gone completely dead, with no sustain - open or fretted.
One thing a noticed was that the red material winding on the string came past my bridge saddle.
I also managed to cut the string too short when i was putting it on, so it only had 1 1/2 windings on the tuning peg.
Would these two things cause the dulling? or do you reckon it was a faulty string?
I've never had it happen to me before in 20yrs of playing guitars - and I've put some pretty dodgy cheapo strings on some pretty dodgy cheapo guitars.
I ended up buying a set of Elites from a local shop, which cost me 18 quid, coz i had a gig that night and i couldn't bear to listen to it any more.
Its fine now - and the red material winding at the bridge end is considerably shorter than the Roto's.

[Pedro1020]

^_^ It could be your action..never experianced the red material to go past the bridge, so maybe it is a flaw..


Roto's are quite good strings the first time you put them on, snappy tone, I cud say amazing..

Day 2 - yeah, these seem to be holding quite well...

Day 3 - *snap* oh no, dead already?..


This also happened with cheapie strings (I wanted to try out) called Cheetah, they (IMO) practically seem lifeless after 30 mins :wacko:

I think from my experiances not leaving enough slack for the string makes the odds of breaking more likely...esp with the G string.

I rarely buy them, Elites are an excellant choice as well as Warwick EMP.

[clauster]

I'm another one who finds Rotos fantastic when new, but they don't half go off quick.

+1 for Elites.

[Chop]

[quote name='clauster' post='164612' date='Mar 27 2008, 04:49 PM']I'm another one who finds Rotos fantastic when new, but they don't half go off quick.

+1 for Elites.[/quote]


I've found the same problem with Roto's won't touch them now..

[Pedro1020]

I know I'm not keen on nickels, but has anyone tried the Rotosound nickels?

[Jono Bolton]

You could try swapping the nut if swapping the strings doesn't work, although it sounds like that is the problem. You don't say what model P you have, but if it's a Mexican one then a new nut would be a good idea anyway. The plastic ones they come with are gash, a nice brass or even a GraphTech one would be a huge improvement.

[martthebass]

++ on the above, ater a week Roto Flats have more zing. Bit of a boring old fart, so tend to stick with EB Slinkys these days - seem to last a lot longer to me.

[budget bassist]

I don't like rotos because they're too bright for me all the time, even after they've dulled. I go for ernie balls because they're nowhere near as snappy.

But the problem could be the strings, just try putting on your old strings if you kept them or put on a new batch of what you normally use.

Edited March 29, 2008 by budget bassist

[Buzz]

[quote name='Pedro1020' post='164710' date='Mar 27 2008, 07:12 PM']I know I'm not keen on nickels, but has anyone tried the Rotosound nickels?[/quote]

I liked them when I had them on my VMJ, granted I had EB Slinkies on it before, but I find them warmer with a more rounded sound.

They might go back on, I'm starting to dislike the rotoflats due to the tension, even though the sound really good.

[Mr. Foxen]

A bit of work with a razor and a lighter cures the silk winding problem.