Question about my clamps..
 

I have an alpha pioneer dc + and one of the clamps is so hard to clamp. I have to push really hard and it feels really grainy/sandy and feels like its gonna crush the string. The other one is very smooth and clamps easily. It is not that it is too tight because the string will slip if I loosen it a little. I was thinking about upgrading to some eagnas 3 tooth clamps if I cannot fix this problem. Any suggestions? I have also cleaned them a few times.

Thanks to all that answer!!

have the clamp always been this way? or is this a recent development? also, maybe contact alpha? they have great customer service. if i'm not mistaken the clamps come w/ a 5 yr warranty.

It just started a few stringjobs ago. I might contact alpha if there is no way to fix it.

Anyone...?

Did you take it apart to see what might be causing the problem?

No I haven't. Would they still give me the warenty if I took them apart?

Typically you take them apart when you clean them..... that doesn't void the warranty.....

You're not going to know what the problem is without taking it apart.

I would try cleaning the 'cam' part of the clamp and the surface it rides on. Alcohol would be my first choice. Just rub some on with a cloth and wipe dry.

as others have mentioned, you'll want to take apart the clamp and see what's causing the roughness. there are some very small springs inside so just be careful not to lose those when you take it apart.

What exactly am I looking for?

Have you tightened the base of the clamp that's giving you trouble? I called Mark at Alpha and he walked me through the procedure and was happy to help. My clamp stopped grinding while tightening on the string after that.

Is it the blue part that youre talkign about or the clamp its self
Generally I would contact Mark as he is always here to help around. Which clamp do you have?

No it's not the base it's the clamp itself. I took apart the clamps and cleaned everything, if that doesn't work I will call Mark. Thanks guys.

Have you oiled the piece that the clamp always slides on? that might cause the rusting if it does
Sometimes i get that crackling noise its cause you need to put oil on it

I'll go put some oil on it, thanks.

The instructional video doesn't say anything about using oil on it. I wouldn't do that.

The base of the clamp is blue, and I have the stock clamps that came with the machine.

its to make it more slippery like wd40 kinda like thing i use slick grease when that happens it solves it

you can lubricate the hinge of the clamp, but make sure the oil doesn't get on the surfaces that physically touch the string.

They recommend silicon for the tracks that the clamps travel along and rubbing alcohol for the teeth of the clamps. That's it. They didn't say anything about oil or WD40. Ask Mark what's going on. Tightening the clamp base solved the problem for me.