Well, I saw this thread during breaks today (UU is my favorite breaktime activity), and exhanged some e-mails and PMs with both strombo & Teek.
First, what strombo is referring to is the sign of a bad flourocarbon string. While we mix materials in our sets, the string in question was a flouro.
It can happen when a string is nicked the wrong way. The manufacturer can do it, we could do it during packing, or the customer could do it in any number of ways. It could also, however, be a bad batch from the manufacturer.
The bottom line is that 3 out of 4 of those possibilities are not the customer, so we just replace sets if something like that ever happens. It hardly ever does.
We buy from 10 different sources over 3 continents, and one time a few years ago we actually did have a bad batch of material. It was customer feedback that alerted us then, and feedback is something we treasure.
We could actually have a thread here on UU: "Problems with Southcoast Strings". It wouldn't be a very active thread, but I'd check it all the time. Not only could it alert me to possible problems, but also give insight into ways to improve our string sets.
Teek, for example, mentioned a "nicking" sound on one of her strings. After a couple of messages, I found that the set she was referring to was our Linear Ukulele set - one of our most popular. The sound was coming from the 1st string.
As it happens, this string is a rather unique material - designed to give a soft finish - well suited to the overall feel of the set. In the past, members here at UU alerted me to a "balloon-like" feel on the 1st string of another trial set. Wasn't the same material as on the Linear, but similar density. Thanks to a "test" here at UU, we found another material. Here's the thread:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...d-for-Southcoast&highlight=Southcoast+Testers
Teek's picking technique may very well be somewhat unique. We've probably sold thousands of those sets, and she's the only one that's mentioned this. I've never heard it, but then I chord more than pick. On the other hand, maybe she's just the only one to say something. Based on what I heard from members in the "Soft Light" post, however, I'll take a look at that set. Maybe the material I changed to on that set will sound as good as what we have now and help Teek out at the same time.
I point this out as an illustration of how feedback works. We think we have very good strings. O.K., I'll admit it, we think our strings are the best out there. Some of that has to do with with our basic concepts and the work we put into our formulations, but a lot of credit also goes to folks like strombo and Teek who alert us to possibilities of improvement.
BTW, the string in question on strombo's set was the 3rd string of our Medium Gauge. This is another set where we sell a ton, and so far he's the only mention of a problem, but if anyone else sees something there, do us a favor and let us know.
Thanks for all the kind words -