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CAVEAT EMPTOR
Just recently I decided to change the gauge of strings on my three-year-old Les Paul from 10s to nines. I don’t play in a band, just at home, and so I hardly ever change strings; as long as they stay in tune I’m happy. I ordered three sets of Ernie Ball strings, including free postage, for £11 on eBay. The photos of the packets looked genuine, so naturally, in order to save money, that was what I went for.
Firstly, the strings took three weeks to arrive. It merely stated “Free Economy Delivery” and that the strings were “Located in: Dunstable, United Kingdom”. In any case, after fitting the strings the A and D strings were buzzing terribly. I thought that since I’d dropped from 10s to nines the guitar might need a setup. After doing everything from adjusting the neck to setting the bridge, it still sounded more like a sitar than a guitar, and so I gave up and took it to a luthier for a setup, costing £50. Still no luck. Then he noticed the Tune-o-matic bridge was slightly concave and suggested very slightly filing the string slots to
