Steinberger bites the flats...

[Dane Udenberg]

i was having a terrible time trying to put a set of EB cobalt flats on my new NS Radius fretless bass, just couldn't get them to tighten down, so I sent the guitar back to Sweetwater where I bought it. They tried another set of flats and had the same problem: "...we were unable to successfully install flatwound strings on your instrument. We tried several different techniques but found that the saddle bites into the string and they repeatedly unravel. We have this restrung with roundwound strings and it's functionally perfectly fine."
(Sweetwater has been great in helping, by the way, really first rate).

It seems incredible to me that a company so into bass instruments as Steinberger would put out a premium instrument like this that can't handle flatwound bass strings. And if it truly can't, it seems like it'd be a courtesy to document it. I can go ahead and use rounds, not that big of a deal, but...well, just kinda strange to me. Others enountering this problem on their Radius?

 

[sprag]

I don't have one but it sure sounds weird. If it were me and I couldn't get flats on a bass I probably wouldn't have sent it back as I would be embarrassed that it was user error… good to know it was the bass

 

[Watchootognbout]

Don't quote me.But aren't flatwounds higher in tension than roundwounds?

 

[Dane Udenberg]

I don't have one but it sure sounds weird. If it were me and I couldn't get flats on a bass I probably wouldn't have sent it back as I would be embarrassed that it was user error… good to know it was the bass

Yeah, I know...had the same feeling, but I knew I had to resolve it somehow. I had tried e-mailing Steinberger first and they were pretty unhelpful. Sent me sort of a shoulder shrug e-mail saying essentially, "dunno, maybe there's a problem with the tuners," and not offering to do anything about it. That also surprised me.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

This is one of the strangest posts I've read. I just took a minute to search the web and saw a couple of reviews about how good the Radius sounds with flats.

 

[Dane Udenberg]

Well I'm glad to hear my case is isolated, but you can believe me, the problem is very real on my particular instrument...and Steinberger didn't care enough to do offer to anything about it.

 

[40Hz]

Are you still under warranty? Or within the return window if you have one?

 

[Dane Udenberg]

Are you still under warranty?

Yes, it's a brand new instrument.

 

[40Hz]

Yes, it's a brand new instrument.

Don't mess around with it then. Return it. You tried to get it resolved. If Steinberger is brushing you off, time to just send it back. It's not going to cure itself. No reason for you to get stuck.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

Would there be any way to rework or modify the saddle so it doesn't cut the string?

Edit: I'd return it if you can.

 

[Dane Udenberg]

Would there be any way to rework or modify the saddle so it doesn't cut the string?

If it truly is a defective saddle, and not just a bad design, I assume the company could probably fix or replace it...what amazes me is that they kind of brushed it off when I inquired about it, no offer to address the issue.

 

[Dane Udenberg]

OK, I thought everyone (especially anyone coming across this thread in the future) should know that Steinberger addressed the saddle problem (strings not tightening down correctly) very well. They had dropped the ball a little through e-mail, but when I called, the person I spoke to immediately was aware of the nature of the problem I was encountering and said they recently changed the engineering of their saddles to address it. Without hesitation, he arranged for a replacement part to be FEDEXed, explaining the simple two-screw replacement job. Sounds like something even I can manage. I'm relieved that the e-mail thing was apparently just an oversight, and they're better at customer service than it initially seemed.

 

[Dane Udenberg]

The saddle came today, was swapped out in five minutes, and everything seems fine. Thanks Steinberger!

FYI, even if you have the older saddle, you're good-to-go as long as you aren't having a problem. If you do encounter the problem I did (difficulty tightening flatwound strings, and/or trouble finding the holes to put the strings through), look for a little gold dot on the saddle, on the underside of the guitar, and if you don't see it, you may have one of the older saddles that has the defect.