MIMF

I wanted a jangly, surfy guitar kinda like a Jaguar, but I wanted it to have a broader tonal palette, kinda like a Stratocaster. So I made this one. The body is actually my own design, but it resembles a Jaguar with Stratocaster noiseless pickups and a 6-way selector toggle. It sounds exactly like what I wanted.

One problem I'm having is the high E string is coming apart at the ball end. This has happened on two successive D'Addario strings - something I've never experienced with their strings before. It must be something about the way the vibrato tailpiece holds the string. They aren't breaking, they are coming unwound. I caught the second one before it came completely apart, and twisted it back tight and soldered it - hopefully that will work.

Anybody have any other ideas? I'd hate to have to solder every high E string I put on the thing.

Talk to D’Addario. I expect that they will be interested.

Bob Gramann wrote:Talk to D’Addario. I expect that they will be interested.

That wouldn’t be my expectation, but maybe I’ll try it.

D’Addario is very responsive to luthiers. I have always found it a pleasure to talk to them.

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http://www.daddario.com/upload/DABR_Cou ... _15727.pdf


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John, I really like this guitar. Great shape and overall look.

I don't have any direct experience with this, but I recently read that high E string breaks are common on guitars with jazzmaster type tailpieces. It seems the problem is the roundhead screw at the back end just under that string that may not have enough clearance. I seem to recall a suggestion to take the tailpiece off and thread the screw in from underneath. Alternatively, you could replace it with one with a lower profile or perhaps just file that one down as long as you leave enough meat that a screwdriver will still work in it. Try searching the web for jazzmaster tailpiece and you will turn up some lengthy discussions on set-up and troubleshooting them. Hope that helps.

Thanks Jim. Yes, I'm aware of the issue you describe, but that's not what's happening with mine. I'm using the vibrato sold by StewMac, and it has plenty of clearance above the screw heads. The only thing I can think of is that the string holes in the tailpiece are so large that only the ball itself makes any contact, whereas in most applications there is at least some kind of pressure against the winding helping to hold it together. Dunno. Anyway, the solder is working.

Bob Gramann wrote:Talk to D’Addario. I expect that they will be interested.

Bob, you were right. I called them and they are sending me some replacement strings with reinforced windings. Great customer service. I've just gotten so used to the other kind that I don't expect that anymore.

For most products, there are enough suppliers that you only have to deal with the ones with good customer service. One of my principles is that I never beg someone to take my money. One of the neatest things about the guitar building community is that it’s populated with good folks who are a pleasure to deal with. Most of my days are really good days.

I seem to recall a discussion some years back that Steinberger recommended bullet end strings, like Fender sold, to avoid the unraveling at the string ball ends.