Big Poppa
Well-known member
a pick attack angle does not cause a ball to unwind......
- Thread starter mesadualrec
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Dizzy
Well-known member
+ 1 Billion.
Unless you're a ridiculous neanderthal, there's no way picking is ever going to affect strings like trem use or bending.
Bill Palmer
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"...a pick attack angle does not cause a ball to unwind..."
No of course not. But I have seen people attack the string with a heavy pick held flat near the bridge. Combine that with a heavy handed kind of technique and invariably the string snaps after a while... But no, I've never seen a ball literally unwind from the string.
Bill
No of course not. But I have seen people attack the string with a heavy pick held flat near the bridge. Combine that with a heavy handed kind of technique and invariably the string snaps after a while... But no, I've never seen a ball literally unwind from the string.
Bill
puppyonacid
Well-known member
Some interesting stuff here. I've had a string unwind on my JP once. But aside from that (and that I'm sure would have just been a bad string) I've never broken a string on it. I've never been one for breaking strings andyway, and come to think of it I've been using EB strings for years. Way before I got my JP.
Paul, I think you make a really interesting point. I'd never thought of technique as a probel mwith string breakage. I'd always thought if it happens alot it must be a saddle, nut or fret problem. Something along those lines. It's interesting though because I've always had a fairly weak attack with my picking at fairly high speeds. (I say fairly cos im not too fast). I read somewhere a while ago that part of the reason JP's picking sounds so fast is somewhat due to the power in his picking. So I've been working the last year in really getting some volume behind my picking. And string breakage hasn't ever been an issue. Could it be due more to the actual pick angle rather than how hard you pick? I've heard JP unamplified and also checking out Tristans youtube vids, you can quite often hear his picking above his amplifier which suggest he's really digging in. And I'm sure he uses 9's. Maybe it could actually be a tension thing where lighter strings allow you to dig in more as there is less resistance.
I dunno. Some food for thought in this thread anway.
Paul, I think you make a really interesting point. I'd never thought of technique as a probel mwith string breakage. I'd always thought if it happens alot it must be a saddle, nut or fret problem. Something along those lines. It's interesting though because I've always had a fairly weak attack with my picking at fairly high speeds. (I say fairly cos im not too fast). I read somewhere a while ago that part of the reason JP's picking sounds so fast is somewhat due to the power in his picking. So I've been working the last year in really getting some volume behind my picking. And string breakage hasn't ever been an issue. Could it be due more to the actual pick angle rather than how hard you pick? I've heard JP unamplified and also checking out Tristans youtube vids, you can quite often hear his picking above his amplifier which suggest he's really digging in. And I'm sure he uses 9's. Maybe it could actually be a tension thing where lighter strings allow you to dig in more as there is less resistance.
I dunno. Some food for thought in this thread anway.
jpmrulez
Active member
Picking technique and pick gauge definitely has an effect on string breakage. I've been playing for 15 years or so, with alot of different guitars and strings. For the last 4 years I've been using a Pet loaded with regular slinkys. I also use Jazz IIIs
During my years of playing, every time I've been into EVH -style playing, as in VERY aggressive picking close to the bridge, my string breaking- ratio has increased dramatically. Regardless of the brand of guitars or strings. Respectively, favoring a more mellow style of playing, has made the strings last much longer.
So it's my opinion that a player can have a big affect on the duration of his/her strings.
During my years of playing, every time I've been into EVH -style playing, as in VERY aggressive picking close to the bridge, my string breaking- ratio has increased dramatically. Regardless of the brand of guitars or strings. Respectively, favoring a more mellow style of playing, has made the strings last much longer.
So it's my opinion that a player can have a big affect on the duration of his/her strings.
I have to balance the Daddario thing.
I use these on my SUB1 and I never broke a string. I always find them consistent, and intonation is set very well with them, they don't last long but where I live the climate doesn't help any string you put... so I guess this isn't much of a factor.
I remember trying the EB Rock and Rolls and they simply didn't work for me. I have an OLP MM1 that I currently use Super Slinkys with it and I'm not satisfied either... I might try the RPS...
EB's won't work for everybody, but that's the way it is...
I use these on my SUB1 and I never broke a string. I always find them consistent, and intonation is set very well with them, they don't last long but where I live the climate doesn't help any string you put... so I guess this isn't much of a factor.
I remember trying the EB Rock and Rolls and they simply didn't work for me. I have an OLP MM1 that I currently use Super Slinkys with it and I'm not satisfied either... I might try the RPS...
EB's won't work for everybody, but that's the way it is...
Paul Warren
Well-known member
Oddly enough, I was able to have a conversation with JP and Paul Gilbert about picking and pick guages at a recent G3 show. And something JP mentioned was that he noticed (in a previous G3 jam a couple of years ago) that Yngwie looked like he was picking with a feather and had an incredibly light right hand. But as everybody knows, Malmsteen sounds like he's picking very aggressively. Every note is really distinct and he accents the runs very well. He uses 8's and bends a lot and uses extremely wide vibrato, yet you don't see him break strings (except in his little ode to Hendrix bit
). I've seen JP play a lot unplugged and while it sounds like he's digging in, I don't think he is. I think those guys who sound that way are simply very articulate with their picking and the clarity makes it sound like they are ripping through the strings. We all dig in at lower tempos for accents and interesting attack, but at the higher speeds it doesn't make sense to dig in the same amount. Teaching picking for so long, this has kind of been a study of mine and I've looked at lots of great players up close to see what is going on. I even did geeky things like hold a video camera 2 feet away from a national acoustic flatpicking champion and had him pick for me. They all have vastly different pick angles and arm/wrist positions, but I still believe the "power" that we hear in the picking is in their accuracy and clarity and ability to accent the notes as needed. It doesn't always have that much to do with how hard they are striking the string. You can sound very clear and articulate when picking lightly. For years I thought I had to pick harder to get the same articulation, but I've changed that opinion and tried to focus on the quality of my picking and it sounds imminently better to me. That, and I'm not breaking strings anymore. I don't think you have to play like a beast to break strings. Just digging in too much near the bridge can be much rougher on strings than trem use or heavy bending.paul
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MusicManJP6
Well-known member
Good thread!
I have a few points to add.
I have used both D'Addarios AND EB strings and have had the VERY occasional string breakage, but most were with old strings and they needed replaced anyway.
I learned somewhere that you can get more volume from the same pick stroke/strength by moving the pick further in on the string. So, the pick's tip barely striking the string will produce a softer note, while moving the tip of the pick another 1/8 inch in toward the guitar while picking with the SAME strength will produce a louder note. This encourages using a consistent pick stroke and moving the pick towards and away from the guitar to create dynamics instead of actually picking harder. This sounds easy to do in theory, but hard to carry out in the 'heat of the moment'.
Long story short: I agree that technique can play a big role in string breakage. That and the occasional bad string!
I have a few points to add.
I have used both D'Addarios AND EB strings and have had the VERY occasional string breakage, but most were with old strings and they needed replaced anyway.
I learned somewhere that you can get more volume from the same pick stroke/strength by moving the pick further in on the string. So, the pick's tip barely striking the string will produce a softer note, while moving the tip of the pick another 1/8 inch in toward the guitar while picking with the SAME strength will produce a louder note. This encourages using a consistent pick stroke and moving the pick towards and away from the guitar to create dynamics instead of actually picking harder. This sounds easy to do in theory, but hard to carry out in the 'heat of the moment'.
Long story short: I agree that technique can play a big role in string breakage. That and the occasional bad string!
Big Poppa
Well-known member
Whoa....Some of you dont read the posts well enough. The original complant was that he thought his JP6 was faulty because his E string was unravelling at the ball. THats all I m responding to. He wanted to throw his guitar off a cliff.
Yes pick attack and angle can possibly increase the probability of string breakage but that is not the topic at hand.
If your balls are falling off...it isnt your guitars fault.!!!!
Yes pick attack and angle can possibly increase the probability of string breakage but that is not the topic at hand.
If your balls are falling off...it isnt your guitars fault.!!!!
Big Poppa
Well-known member
Comparing our strings on an olp and Daddarios on a sub isnt really fair.
Newssflash...you dont need to balance the coverage at the company sponsored forum.
If you want to post about daddario strings try this site D'Addario Strings Homepage
Axilla
Well-known member
BP, this is about the best response to this whole thread and I just love it !
P.R.I.C.E.L.E.S.S. ! ! !
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HunterSThompson
Well-known member
HunterSThompson
Well-known member
NEWSFLASH : This Ball is definitely unwinding
Comparing an OLP EBMM is like comparing a German built Porsche Carrera GT with the likes of a Porsche Boxter built in Finland
Big Poppa
Well-known member
IM not unwould just need to lob some reminders from time to time.....
jazzbo jim
Well-known member
Here's a good old fashioned Canadian Hijack....
I'm taking my new Rosewood Axis to a rehearsal tonight-If I'm lucky, I'll break a dozen strings and love every minute!!
I'm taking my new Rosewood Axis to a rehearsal tonight-If I'm lucky, I'll break a dozen strings and love every minute!!
mesadualrec
Well-known member
well this thread has grown in the last day jeez where to start
Ok I absolutly LOVE my JP,as I mentioned it is the BEST guitar I have Ever owned,I have owned loads of guitars,custom shop fender Jeff becks,Ibanez's,PRS,really I ahve owned loads and non of em are on the same scale as this one but this problem I have never came across before on any other guitar so when I was reviewing the situation of coarse I thought it was the guitar!!!
I have used Daddarios on all my other guitars and have mayby broken them say.....6 times in the past 8 years!!! so breaking 3 in 3 days is insane to me.
As far as my picking technique goes(I understand that htis was not a hit at me but,)I think its pretty good,its very close in if ya know what I mean,i dont use alot of big windmill townsend style action,very much like the master...JP(of coarse a million miles away from his precision).I angle my pick and when Im goin up for the real fast runs I take off some pressure I cant see it being my picking..It may be,but I cant see it being this alot of close players have also said that they wouldnt think it were my picking to blame!!
As far as throwing it off a cliff,I wouldnt do that lol,I love this guitar but this problem is really annoying after buying three sets of strings and it goin through them like this.
My friend owns a Silh special in autumn burts(lovely guitar) and he hasnt had this problem!!!he doesnt use EB strings,he uses Daddarios 9's and has a more heavy handed technique than I do!!!!
Ok Hi Big Poppa,thanks for your input as well,the ball ends arent unwinding the strings just keep downtuning then as I tune them back up to pitch...snap!!!!
As I mentioned I thought it was just myself but when on the boogie board I stumbled across a member with the exact same problem!!!!
here is a link
The Boogie Board :: View topic - Strings keep breaking....
so is there any help,I suppose I will need to buy a bunch of EB strings,kindda guttin after spending a load of money on a new guitar!!! but hey you gotta do what you gotta do!!!
This is really not good but hey I will still be placing my order for a JP in Desert Gold with a matching headstock in the next few months
Thanks guys for all the help,THIS GUITAR ROCKS!!!!!!!!!
I love that much that Im willing to replace the high e string everytime I play her its that good!!!!
Ok I absolutly LOVE my JP,as I mentioned it is the BEST guitar I have Ever owned,I have owned loads of guitars,custom shop fender Jeff becks,Ibanez's,PRS,really I ahve owned loads and non of em are on the same scale as this one but this problem I have never came across before on any other guitar so when I was reviewing the situation of coarse I thought it was the guitar!!!
I have used Daddarios on all my other guitars and have mayby broken them say.....6 times in the past 8 years!!! so breaking 3 in 3 days is insane to me.
As far as my picking technique goes(I understand that htis was not a hit at me but,)I think its pretty good,its very close in if ya know what I mean,i dont use alot of big windmill townsend style action,very much like the master...JP(of coarse a million miles away from his precision).I angle my pick and when Im goin up for the real fast runs I take off some pressure I cant see it being my picking..It may be,but I cant see it being this alot of close players have also said that they wouldnt think it were my picking to blame!!
As far as throwing it off a cliff,I wouldnt do that lol,I love this guitar but this problem is really annoying after buying three sets of strings and it goin through them like this.
My friend owns a Silh special in autumn burts(lovely guitar) and he hasnt had this problem!!!he doesnt use EB strings,he uses Daddarios 9's and has a more heavy handed technique than I do!!!!
Ok Hi Big Poppa,thanks for your input as well,the ball ends arent unwinding the strings just keep downtuning then as I tune them back up to pitch...snap!!!!
As I mentioned I thought it was just myself but when on the boogie board I stumbled across a member with the exact same problem!!!!
here is a link
The Boogie Board :: View topic - Strings keep breaking....
so is there any help,I suppose I will need to buy a bunch of EB strings,kindda guttin after spending a load of money on a new guitar!!!
but hey you gotta do what you gotta do!!!This is really not good but hey I will still be placing my order for a JP in Desert Gold with a matching headstock in the next few months
Thanks guys for all the help,THIS GUITAR ROCKS!!!!!!!!!
I love that much that Im willing to replace the high e string everytime I play her its that good!!!!
Okay...where is the string breaking? Your description of the string losing pitch before it breaks really suggests unraveling at the ball end. It's either that or you just aren't tightening the locking tuners enough and the string is slipping out there.
Big Poppa
Well-known member
yes uva!
dwells
Well-known member
try running a grey lead pencil on all the chrome parts were the string touches it may fix it for awhile?
Ok late addition from me.
It can´t be the guitar. If you want to be sure try soldering the string where it is twisted at the ball end and keep it that way maybe a bad load of strings like BP said.
If you are not familiar with a soldering iron - try the EB RPS Strings and keep us updated because every problem solved brings us closer to the perfect instrument (you already play)
Good luck.
It can´t be the guitar. If you want to be sure try soldering the string where it is twisted at the ball end and keep it that way maybe a bad load of strings like BP said.
If you are not familiar with a soldering iron - try the EB RPS Strings and keep us updated because every problem solved brings us closer to the perfect instrument (you already play)
Good luck.
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