A faulty string can be a frustrating endeavor, and the staff in our research lab is all-too familiar with not only that angst, but the many possible roots to the problem. We've not only prototyped four different models of strings, we've had the hands-on experience in getting to the bottom of the common ways a string can be flawed through our after market interaction through our sales department.

First let us state that no manufacturer is immune to an occasional problem. These complicated things are mass produced as efficiently and economically as possible, and even the best of equipment, tools, and trained labor will run into a slip-up once in a while. String manufacturers love the opportunity to make things right, and in most cases will bend over backwards and give the customer the benefit of the doubt as far as free warranty replacements. Don't ever hesitate to ask for resolution; reputation depends more on satisfaction than perfection. The former is achievable, the latter impossible.

Bear in mind we are referring to the problems that occur immediately after or during string changing. 95% of the problems should be noticeable at this point. String breakage or decay becomes impossible to diagnose weeks after, and more often than not are user error or problems with the instrument itself. (A good share of the strings on the market may only last a few weeks under heavy playing conditions.) Initially, the big four are loop, core, age, and correct tension.

Loop. In the old days, loops were wound by the player him/herself. Today's manufacturing technology makes it possible for us to buy packages of loop-end strings, and we don't have to struggle with winding the loops. Be grateful! That said, if you run into a set that pops off at the loop, especially if the open loop is intact and not fractured into pieces, it's a good chance this is the problem. We had an issue with a batch of E-strings a few years ago that called for a change in the way the end was wound in production. An extra crimp in assembly solved it and with new tooling, we haven't had a problem since. Understand, this is one of the highest tension strings of any fretted instrument out there, so these have to be titanic in strength.

Core. A wound string is a plain steel core with some kind of wrapping around the outside, composites like bronze, phosphor bronze, nickel, nickel steel, or monel steel. If the string is wrapped incorrectly or the core imperfect, you'll have a string that always plays out of tune with itself. This is very noticeable on a double course instrument like the mandolin. You can have one core that is perfect, the other not, and the pair play out of tune with itself. You likely won't notice this on open tunings, but you'll hear it as you move up the frets. If it is just one of the two strings, you can catch this by matching the harmonics at the 12th fret. If one is in tune and the other isn't, you've found your faulty string. We had a batch over a year ago that had about 25 out of 200 sets reported as faulty. See JM11 String Consumer Alert It wasn't easy but the manufacturer backed us up and we provided free replacement D courses. Unfortunately, this could never be detected visually, and we had to replace them as they were discovered.

Age: What many don't know is strings don't have to be played to deteriorate. Skin oils accelerate the decay process in playing, but they can still oxidize unused in the package. Labella does a great job of sealing their string packages to eliminate premature aging, but most other manufacturers don't offer this protection. When you buy strings from your local store or a big online warehouse discounter, you want to be aware of how old they are. You don't want strings that have been sitting around on a shelf for years. Unfortunatley, this is not an uncommon situation for stores that don't really specialize in folk or mandolin family instruments. The freshest strings will likely come from a source that does a heavy, dedicated volume of mandolin string sales.

Correct tension. Strings are designed to play at certain pitches, and you really don't have a lot of room to vary this. Tune the tension too high and you'll snap the string. Tune it too low, and you'll have major string flap--weak and flabby tone. If you stick with the manufacture specs you'll be okay, but anyone experimenting with alternate tunings should pay heed. Also, it's always a good idea to use an electronic tuner or tuning fork when setting up a new package of strings. More strings are broken simply because the player never bothered to get a true reference pitch.

In summary, consider the price you pay for strings should factor some kind of opportunity for after the sale service. When (not if) you have problems with a string and you can't get satisfaction, perhaps the price you paid for a good set of strings was too low.

Further:
JM11 String Consumer Alert
JM11 Flatwound strings; easy on the fingers, easy on the ears.
A clean mandolin is a happy mandolin
JM11 E string issues

Posted by Ted at August 19, 2010 5:57 AM