Octave Strings with Small Ball Ends
12-String Bass
String Problem
A rant by 12ver Curmudgeon
I
recently changed the strings on my Hamer 12, no big deal, it happens all the
time. Except this time it became a big (and potentially dangerous) deal.
I
decided to see if I could make this mismatch of small ball-ends and big hole
work. The width of two small ball-ends side by side is a little greater than
the diameter of the hole they go up against. I ended up having to install and
tune both octave strings at the same time to keep even pressure on the
ball-ends. If one string was tuned first it would slip past the other
ball end and through the hole. By creating fairly even pressure on both
strings I could get both strings to tune up. So the bass could feasibly be
strung with these strings but I was not out of the woods yet.
It soon occurred to me that if one of the octave strings were to break I had
better duck and cover quick because that other octave string was then going to
be freed and would immediately be launched at me at roughly 900 mph. Not only
would I have a broken octave string but I might die as a result!
Okay, I probably wouldn't die. It's still a very real problem.
Have no fear kiddies, I've solved the problem for you. I acquired a short
piece of stainless steel welding wire and put a small 90° bend in one end to
act as a handle. I loosened all of the strings (evenly so I wouldn't be
killed) and rotated the ball ends so that I could slide this wire through all
of them. Now if a string does happen to break the other octave string will
stay in place. It's a simple fix and it could save your life!
Another method for anchoring strings with small ball ends which utilizes a piece
of bass string.
As I was removing the strings from their package I was horrified to discover
that the octave strings had small, guitar-sized ball ends! Immediately my
focus diverted to the tailpiece on my Hamer and the size of the holes
dedicated to the octave strings. For those of you who may not have noticed,
the holes in the Hamer tailpiece are not all the same size. The holes for the
octave strings are LARGER than those for the fundamentals! I'm sure
that this is done on purpose so that the strings would not be pinched together
as they come from the larger ball-ends of most string brands through the hole
in the tailpiece. With typical string sets this works very well, but not so
with string sets that incorporate smaller ball-ends for the octave strings. Read on...
