The string

  I have conducted hundreds of experiments.  Maybe thousands.  The bass was EASY.  Just take the saddles off, “plug and play”.  The guitar however is a more finicky minx.  Over the years of trying to produce a saddleless electric guitar, I tried almost every type of ball end string.  the high “e” and the high “b” failed, literally every time.  Why?

  I often refer to my hardware as allowing the string to do what it wants, I.e. vibrate more freely, AND in more directions.  it will do so, outside the confines of current manufacturing processes, and in ways never before permitted.  The saddles have always told the string “no” in some ways, on any instrument. No matter what you make them out of, they will always restrict SOMETHING.  Since a saddleless environment says nothing but “yes” to the string, here’s what happens-

  The high “b” and high “e” will literally shake itself apart within a timeframe between 2 minutes, and 2 days.  100% of the time.  Guaranteed.

I would have filmed this if it wasn’t so boring and predictable.  My conclusion was the following:

  Asking a string to “go saddleless” is actually a big request.  Not with the bass, but definitely the guitar.  The ball end string in its current form is incapable of functioning in a reliable form, as it pertains to single wire guitar strings, on an electric guitar, in a saddleless environment.  I don’t say this in a prideful way, my gear IS novel, proprietary, patented, etc.. so it is safe to say I swim in previously uncharted waters. If I don’t find the answer, nobody else will.  I was beginning to think there was no solution, and I would have to shit-can the whole idea.

  As a last ditch effort, because they were entirely different, I tried a set of Fender Bullets.  These were patented in the early 70’s, and designed for an entirely different purpose.  Skeptical at first, because of the other 954 failures, I begrudgingly set them up on a Stratocaster.  From the first note, I knew that was it!  Bullets are unique in that they “dead end” into a totally different mass, I.e, the bullet itself.  No winding, no wrap irregularity, only one wire, and a dead end.  THIS is exactly what an electric guitar string needs in a saddleless structure!

  Some folks have voiced their displeasure in using one type of string.  I get it, BUT so far 100% of the folks who have tried my crowns no longer care that they use bullets, as long as their favorite guitar sounds like “this”.  One day I will maybe manufacture my own “dead end string”, but these parts are so good, I figured you folks didn’t need to wait for this awesome bit of tech, especially when there is a perfectly performing string out there.  Let’s face it, Fender isn’t going anywhere.

  I SHOULD MENTION-

  I am in no way affiliated, compensated, under contract, or in cahoots with Fendermusiccorp., as it pertains to the endorsement of their strings.

They just made the perfect string for my hardware- go figure.

….and yes, they know all about this.  They don’t care.