Ernie Ball Paradigm Strings Beta: Be the First to Play Our Latest String Innovation

[CCK]

Maybe there's something I don't understand with these Paradigm strings. The guarantee is for replacement if they break or rust within 90 days, with a maximum number of three claims per year.

Filing a claim requires completing a form, (found at Ernie Ball Paradigm Guitar Strings | Ernie Ball), and mailing the entire set of strings, including the broken/rusted one(s), the original sales receipt, AND the original packaging, to them, at your expense it appears, and they will replace them. All this, and the strings, (on Amazon) are $19.63 per set.

I'd certainly try them as a beta tester if they were free, but the cost, and requirements to file a claim seem excessive to me. Plus, I rarely change strings because they have rusted or broken, it's just that the sound quality diminishes and old strings just don't sound as good. I'm sure the Paradigm's are high quality strings, but this seems more like a well devised marketing plan than anything else.

Obviously, this is nothing at all but my opinion, yours may be different, I'm fine with that.

 

[mortdeus]

Maybe there's something I don't understand with these Paradigm strings. The guarantee is for replacement if they break or rust within 90 days, with a maximum number of three claims per year.

Filing a claim requires completing a form, (found at Ernie Ball Paradigm Guitar Strings | Ernie Ball), and mailing the entire set of strings, including the broken/rusted one(s), the original sales receipt, AND the original packaging, to them, at your expense it appears, and they will replace them. All this, and the strings, (on Amazon) are $19.63 per set.

I'd certainly try them as a beta tester if they were free, but the cost, and requirements to file a claim seem excessive to me. Plus, I rarely change strings because they have rusted or broken, it's just that the sound quality diminishes and old strings just don't sound as good. I'm sure the Paradigm's are high quality strings, but this seems more like a well devised marketing plan than anything else.

Obviously, this is nothing at all but my opinion, yours may be different, I'm fine with that.

You make a lot of valid points. Especially when it comes to the replacement shipping fees. That does seem a bit of a rip-off, considering if the strings are as good as claimed, then why would Ernie Ball even anticipate the cost of taking the expense upon themselves to assure a solid company assurance toward the string's product warranty, as too risky of an investment to put their money where their mouth is.

In other words its like they are anticipating breakage to occur on a more than expected, frequent basis. As if everybody is going to start testing the unbreakable claims with bolt cutters or something in a mad plot to bust Ernie's balls (doo doom... tish) or something.

However, if the strings are even half as durable as Pertucci made them out to be, im going to be really happy because i encorporate like 6 or 7 different tunings in my setlist and i break strings like Russia breaks democracy.

Also i should point out that the qualities of a string that make it more durable and less likely to break, are the same qualities that retain the strings "fresh" tonality. Namely strings that dont deform, kink, stretch, etc. as quickly as other strings should, presumably, sound just about the same as they did when first strung up and broken in for the first time. At least much longer than ordinary strings retain their tonality with age.

 

[ohbugger]

Received a set of 11-48's today! Excited to test them out on my JP12.

Will report back after some time with them.

 

[Guitarzen]

Have been trying to "sign up" for aeons, as I got a leaflet in ony of my many (bad) packs of Super Stinkys. How is one supposed to go about this "Sign Up" of which you speak?

 

[Guitarzen]

So, any updates on this? I got the invitation email about these strings last October 2016, it's now March 2017. So far signing up for the beta program has netted me sixteen (16) marketing emails...

Ah. Glad I couldn't figure out how to sign up then.

 

[Guitarzen]

I'd certainly try them as a beta tester if they were free, but the cost, and requirements to file a claim seem excessive to me. Plus, I rarely change strings because they have rusted or broken, it's just that the sound quality diminishes and old strings just don't sound as good. I'm sure the Paradigm's are high quality strings, but this seems more like a well devised marketing plan than anything else.

Pretty much the same here. I've had Three string breakages (across my own 20-odd guitars and basses, plus whoever elses instruments I've been playing over the last decade. (that's 10 years!)

One was doing an almost five semitone (your read that right) bend on a hardtail Variax, a regular slinky E1, nobody's fault but mine.

Two of those happened while the guitars were hung up on the wall.

One was the D4 from a Super Slinky set that was past it's prime anyway, and had a /terrible/ battering on a Graphtech LB63 Ghost trem equipped synth controller/stunt guitar. One that I play with a sharpened "boilerplate" brass plectrum.

The other was on a classical guitar that hangs in my bedroom, and happened at 4am while I was chatting to a particularly sexy ladyfiend in the small hours. That scared the crap out of me. Gave ladyfiend a good laugh though, which worked for me. ;-)

Thing is, on a well fettled guitar with no nasty bits to snag or kink the string, even given the kind of punishment (brass/nickel picks, crazy bends, down and up all the way Floyd Rose stuff, more playing (usually 50% concentrated on my "guitar of the moment", the rest spread around my "harem"). GOOD strings (note the use of the word "Good" there) just like Ernie Balls, until recently, just don't break often. And yes, I play a lot. Between 2 and 8 hours a day.

Thing is, who makes good strings now??? :-/