In G-string hell

[jglunt2112]

Just when I thought this was put to bed, the saga continues. I now had a bass with Ernie Ball Slinky flats on E-A-D, and a GHS Boomer on G. Pretty weird. Then I remembered I had a brand new but incomplete set of Ernie Ball Slinky flats in the bottom of my box-o'-strings, so I fished the G-string out of there and put it on the Kiloton so it would have a matched set again. This new G-string will not even intonate. Tuned to an open G, it is sharp at each fret all the way up the neck, including at the 12th fret. And this is with the G-string saddle pushed all the way back. I got so discouraged that I just dropped everything and left. Three bad Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt flatwound G-strings in a row??? Is that even possible??

[Ken Baker]

There's this:

https://www.bassesbyleo.com/intonation_notes.html

Ken...

[jglunt2112]

Yes, reinforcing the witness point. Frankly, I'd been stringing and playing basses for many years before I came across your article about that a while back. Thanks for sharing it again, or maybe I should say thanks for reinforcing my mental witness point! I swapped the two G-strings--both Ernie Ball Slinky cobalt flatwounds--between my "new/used" Tribute Kiloton and a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazz Bass I have. It's definitely the string. The string from the Jazz Bass is fine on the Kiloton. The string from the Kiloton is messed up on the Jazz Bass. Plus, there's a slight buzz on that bad G-string on the Jazz Bass. I had noticed it on the Kiloton and just figured it was a slightly high fret, especially since it was there with the previous bad string. Now, however, it's on the Jazz Bass, and the buzz is gone from the Kiloton. My guess is that perhaps in the manufacturing process, the winding was not wound tightly enough to the core, causing that slight buzz. Since I know nothing but the very basics of string manufacturing, that's a wild guess. Who knows how many G-strings were manufactured incorrectly before they caught it.

[Ken Baker]

My guess is that perhaps in the manufacturing process, the winding was not wound tightly enough to the core, causing that slight buzz. Since I know nothing but the very basics of string manufacturing, that's a wild guess. Who knows how many G-strings were manufactured incorrectly before they caught it.

If you have the packages, check for serial or batch numbers. If the three strings are close serially, you may have a point. Otherwise, maybe not so much.

Here's a hypothetical: How about if there really was a little tiny burr on your bass in the string path? Over the course of working this issue that little burr has had strings rubbed all over it, wearing it down. It took three strings to smooth that burr.

Ken...

[jglunt2112]

Ya know, Ken, anything is possible. This bass is still acting weird. In order to intonate the new/used EB Slinky Cobalt flat on it, I had to crank the intonation screw all the way back. It's intonated properly there, but I didn't have to do that on the other bass that I stole that string from. Normally, that G-string saddle is the farthest forward. Now I've had to crank it all the way back into another zip code. The guy whom I've trusted with hands-on repair and maintenance of my instruments for nearly 40 years says it's strings, but I find myself on string number four with odd stuff still happening. My money says it's something on the bass, but I'm stymied as to what. I've checked everything that I know to check. I could try dropping a new nut into it, but it still misbehaves when it's capoed at the 1st fret, which supposedly takes the nut out of the equation. The bridge saddle doesn't show any obvious defect. The frets are all properly spaced when compared to my other G&L necks. I don't know what else to check. If all the strings were doing this, I might find the problem more easily, but with just one string being odd four separate times, it's just plain weird. Thanks for your help.

[Ken Baker]

This is making my head hurt.

Lift the pickguard and stuff a piece of soft foam into the cavity. Re-attach the pickguard and test.

Ken...

[jglunt2112]

OK. But I have to ask: Is this for real or am I being pranked?

[Ken Baker]

I'm not at all convinced this is a string issue.

Definitely WAY out of the ordinary, but I'm looking for a resonant vibration that is coupled to the body. Knowing how G&L does cavities (even Tributes), there might be an excessively long lead vibrating.

Have you checked the nuts & washers used to hold the controls to the pickguard? How about the neck screws/ferrules?

Ken...

[jglunt2112]

Have you checked the nuts & washers used to hold the controls to the pickguard? How about the neck screws/ferrules?

I have done all these things. I changed out all the controls because this is my 2nd Kiloton--I have a Fullerton as well. So to make this one different, I put a Seymour Duncan 2-band active EQ in it. I also swapped out the volume control for a B250k. So I know the nuts and washers holding the controls in place are good and tight. And the bridge saddles are all just a little higher than most of my other G&Ls, so I removed the neck to check for a shim. There was none, but the neck screws and ferrules were all nice and snug, and are once again.

Definitely WAY out of the ordinary, but I'm looking for a resonant vibration that is coupled to the body. Knowing how G&L does cavities (even Tributes), there might be an excessively long lead vibrating.

Since I swapped out the tone control for an active EQ and the volume control for a different one, I've spent some time in that cavity. I've seen my wiring, and it's not pretty, but it is effective. I did tie up the wires with small cable ties. I will try to very gently stuff some foam in that cavity because those Seymour Duncan preamps use very thin, brittle wires. Because of that, I have stopped using them altogether for my projects, though I know from experience they will handle an MFD pickup. I just happened to have one in my inventory, and it was the only concentric 2-band that I had. This G-string situation, however, was present when I first got the bass and before I installed the new electronics. Certainly worth a try, however.

Thanks, Ken!

[jglunt2112]

Final answer...maybe. I had contacted Ernie Ball CS, figuring they needed to know that one of their customers had two bad strings in a row. They immediately jumped on it and sent me two new G-strings, so kudos to them. I put one on yesterday and it works great. Intonation is on. Pitch going up the neck is good. Before installing that string, I followed someone's advice and lowered the pickup as far away from the strings as I could. I don't know if I really had two bad G-strings in a row (plus the bad D'Addario original) or if it was the magnetic pull of the pickup, which was set about 1/8" away from the string when the string was depressed at the 21st fret. I eventually raised the pickup back to normal height, and all is still good. I've never used cobalt-wound strings with an MFD pickup before, and the D'Addario that was on it when I bought it was surely wound with either nickel or stainless steel. I never really found the answer, but I have a killer fine bass now that snorts and growls like a Kiloton should, and it plays in tune!. Thanks for your help!