hixmix
Halibut, North Dakota
What are the disadvantages of stringing a Fender Strat with ball end strings rather than Bullets? I'm sure it affects the tone but is it harmful to the guitar?
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
Hix, I've always used ball-end strings on my Strat. Never knew any better, 'till now! Great tone, etc., etc.....
My Strat has a Hipshot tremolo, fyi, and the ball-ends fit into the receptacle just fine.
My Strat has a Hipshot tremolo, fyi, and the ball-ends fit into the receptacle just fine.
Farview
Well-known member
I haven't noticed a tone difference, but I stopped using bullets in 1983. I may not have noticed. It won't harm the guitar at all.
C
Clive Hugh
New member
Strats have been strung for years before bullets were invented without any problems.
peritus
The not fountain head
I'm curious about these.... Anyone got an illustration of the difference??... 
D
Dani Pace
New member
I've tried Bullits on a Strat, (someone told me that they were designed for use on a Strat.) They didn't sound or play any better than regular ball end strings, and I kept breaking the 4th string. I have never heard of anyone damaging a Strat by using regular strings on them and I know more Strat players than I do Bullit users.
T
Tele The Truth
New member
IMO, Bullets are just a marketing technique and nothing more. Don't believe the hype!
M
Mr songwriter
New member
According to Fender, the bullet end on them is supposed to fit into the slot in the trem block better than a ball end string would, so they're supposed to stay in tune better when you use the whammy bar, though it could, as some have suggested, just be a load of hype to get you to buy Fender strings.
Outlaws
New member
I just know that when I had my shitty Mexican strat that Ball end strings would get stuck and be a bitch and half to get out sometimes whereas the Bullets would just fall out and get lost on the floor. (about a week later I would find them them the hard way)
Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
hixmix
Halibut, North Dakota
peritus said:I'm curious about these.... Anyone got an illustration of the difference??...
Bullet ends look exactly like tiny .22 cal. bullets. About the size of a couple of grains of rice. The center is drilled out and the end of the sting is soldered inside rather than tied around like on a ball end. The "bullets" load into the slot like a bullet into a gun chamber.
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
I always tie a piece of "string retrieval line" - just a short length of sewing thread - to the ball ends. The string hangs out of the backside of the guitar and when one breaks I just pull the string. I make sure that my backup strings are prepped as well.
I only do this on the unwound strings, since the wound strings never break.
I only do this on the unwound strings, since the wound strings never break.
IronFlippy
Dedicated To My Member
Bullets tend to destroy the finish. 
G
ggunn
Crystal Flavolian
A funny and somewhat related story...
Many years ago, the band I was playing with had a HUGE (for us) debut gig. We walked out on stage, plugged in, and... ONE, TWO, THREE... "STOP!". Our lead guitarist broke a string right then. Well, no matter, our front man's brother went up to tell a few jokes while he replaced the string.
The thing is, he had a hardtail Strat with the little steel cups that hold the ball (or bullet) ends, and the last time he had replaced that string, he lost the cup, so he had just put the string in the hole in the wood. Of course, (back then) when he brought the string up to pitch, the rivet on the end of the string got burrowed deeply into the wood. Now, there was no getting it out. Three of us worked on it, and the crowd grew restless. We eventually pounded an icepick into the hole to open a route for the new string, and played the gig. I'm not sure what he did about it after that.
Many years ago, the band I was playing with had a HUGE (for us) debut gig. We walked out on stage, plugged in, and... ONE, TWO, THREE... "STOP!". Our lead guitarist broke a string right then. Well, no matter, our front man's brother went up to tell a few jokes while he replaced the string.
The thing is, he had a hardtail Strat with the little steel cups that hold the ball (or bullet) ends, and the last time he had replaced that string, he lost the cup, so he had just put the string in the hole in the wood. Of course, (back then) when he brought the string up to pitch, the rivet on the end of the string got burrowed deeply into the wood. Now, there was no getting it out. Three of us worked on it, and the crowd grew restless. We eventually pounded an icepick into the hole to open a route for the new string, and played the gig. I'm not sure what he did about it after that.
B
BrentDomann
Has a Dedicated Member.
I've noticed that I can "play with my wang bar" a bit more with the bullets in my Strat and still stay in tune.
BUT! I stopped using them because I was in a desparate jam for a new set of strings on my Les Paul and only had friggin' bullets hanging around. I used them and learned some stuff:
They don't fit into the holes on a stopbar, and stick out of the back. They don't look so bad if they are uniform, but if you bump the back end of the bullet (which happens frequently) you can weaken the string where it emerges from the bullet's front end.
Ergo, broken strings.
BUT! I stopped using them because I was in a desparate jam for a new set of strings on my Les Paul and only had friggin' bullets hanging around. I used them and learned some stuff:
They don't fit into the holes on a stopbar, and stick out of the back. They don't look so bad if they are uniform, but if you bump the back end of the bullet (which happens frequently) you can weaken the string where it emerges from the bullet's front end.
Ergo, broken strings.