Ryan Jacobs . Org

Did you know that not all guitar strings are the same? There are different weights – heavier strings initiate more volume but also put more tension on the most resonant surface of the guitar. There are different metals and alloys, consisting of nickel, copper, and sometimes even phosphorus. Some strings are coated with a fine layer of a mystery substance that makes the strings squeak less and last longer (I, for one, am a coated string devotee).

Here’s something I didn’t realize about guitar strings until today: they are defective more often than you think. I’ve been trying to learn the song “Golden” by My Morning Jacket, a song that demands a lot from the b string. I was using my guitar Buttercup, built by the Santa Cruz Guitar Company, and it was giving me fits because the b string was out of tune with itself: as I would move up the neck, the notes would get sharper. (For the guitar geeks out there, the 12th-fret b was nearly 50 cents sharp of the 12th-fret harmonic.) Normally, this is a problem with a part called the “saddle” – it’s the little strip below the soundhole upon which the strings rest. Given a straight saddle, the b string will always be out of tune, so nearly all saddles are built “compensated,” and sometimes the compensation is not done quite right. Still, I was a little surprised that this problem would crop up so suddenly, and on a well-made guitar.

I took Buttercup up to Carlsbad today to visit the Buffalo Brothers’ repair shop. I demonstrated the problem for “James,” the repair guy with the most guitar-player-looking soul patch I’ve ever seen, who listened to my guitar and then stated convincingly:

Oh man, that’s way out there! No man, that’s a Santa Cruz, the saddle’s good stuff, they compensate it at the factory. I bet it’s just your string, man, it happens a lot. They’ll sell you a single string up front, just try fixing it right here man, cause if that doesn’t work we got problems. Santa Cruz is good stuff!

He was right, and my self-repair cost me a grand total of $1.09. Good stuff.