How many times have you broken a string?

[KevB]

Never whilst playing, one string broke from new when I was fitting a new set many years ago (replaced FOC iirc) but that's it. Which means I will inevitably break one at tonights gig

[Painy]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1471595926' post='3114227']
Another corrosive sweater here (still break guitar strings constantly) I used to break a lot of Bottom Es, with my fingers.

I stopped using rounds, got flats, moved my hand a bit further from the bridge, and haven't broken one in years now.
[/quote]

Glad it's not just me with the corrosive sweat thing. If it makes you feel any better though I remember reading an interview with Jason Newsted when he was still with Metallica. Apparently his sweat is so bad it actually corrodes the electronics in his basses - so much so that all his Sadowsky basses are fully salt water proofed. He even claimed in the interview that before Roger Sadowsky sends a bass to him, the loaded body gets dumped in a bath of salt water for 24 hours and if it works once it's dried out then Jason will accept it!

[Trueno]

Never. Always play with fingers... always played fretless once I started serious gigging... wonder if fretless makes a difference?

[tauzero]

Once, so long ago that the details are hazy - I think it was a friend's bass that I was using for some reason, and the A broke where it passes over the bridge.

I have also had either two or three Ashbory strings break while sitting unused, but that's not terribly unusual.

[FinnDave]

Been playing over 40 years, mainly with fingers, pick for last few months. Never broken a bass guitar string. Not a gentle player, either. Use medium to heavy gauge strings.

[odysseus]

Once, about 24 years ago... G string, attempting a ridiculous bend with strings where just the core goes over the bridge.... 'superwound', is it?... don't see them any more...

Anyway, silly idea, lesson learned!

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1471598157' post='3114275']
Glad it's not just me with the corrosive sweat thing. If it makes you feel any better though I remember reading an interview with Jason Newsted when he was still with Metallica. Apparently his sweat is so bad it actually corrodes the electronics in his basses - so much so that all his Sadowsky basses are fully salt water proofed. He even claimed in the interview that before Roger Sadowsky sends a bass to him, the loaded body gets dumped in a bath of salt water for 24 hours and if it works once it's dried out then Jason will accept it!
[/quote]

Apparently corrosive sweat is one of the reasons for Rory Gallagher's strat looking as it did (along with its night under a hedge).
Related - since I cut down on my drinking, my strings don't break as often.

I've seen Angus Young flood an SG with sweat until it failed on him as well.

[ubit]

Twice. One of the times was during our first song at a gig. First song, first note. I managed to finish the song but didn't have a spare on me. We had to drive up to my house to get one. I always carry spares and a spare bass now!

[HengistPod]

Been regularly gigging for almost 20 years, and regularly breaking strings - every 3 or 4 gigs an E or A will go. I tend to get a bit enthusiastic at times, and almost always play with a pick close to the bridge.

I always have two sets of spares with me, plus a few old (but not ancient) single strings. As a mid-gig replacement, generally one of the older ones will get whipped on in double-quick time. Then the whole set will get changed afterwards.

I do wipe my bass and strings down conscientiously after a gig.

[Hobbayne]

I have never actually broken a string by playing. I have, on occasions had a roundwound string winding unravel on me, where it has been sitting over the bridge saddle.

[Mattpt85]

Once for me, the G string, typically during the biggest gig of my life playing a stadium supporting Bryan Adams (In my old band, we only got the gig through luck)
Being a cocky young lad I had no back up and no spare strings, blagged my way through the rest of the song then managed to blag a spare bass off the roadies!
Can't remember what bass it was but it was tuned down a half step, felt weird aiming for the fret above for the rest of the gig.

[RockfordStone]

once for me, when i was new and changed strings for the first time, tuned too far with cheap strings and piiiing

[RhysP]

Never ever broken a bass string in 37 years of playing, and only broken one acoustic guitar string but that was when I was putting the guitar into a non standard tuning & got it wrong.
I buggered a few up putting them on though.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1471551916' post='3113991']
I'm surprised how many E strings get broken, I would have thought that one would be the least likely to break, given how thick it is
[/quote]

I've managed to break every string on a 5-string bass at some point including the 130 low B. The low B was back in the 90s when I was struggling to find a string manufacturer capable of making a 36" scale one consistently good, consequently it used to stay on the bass longer than the others while the latest one went back to Rotosound to be replaced by one that didn't sound completely dead straight out of the packet.

[jacko]

5 or 6 times in 40 years of playing. Almost always at the point where they cross the bridge saddle. Usually the A string although I did once snap a B on my first Alembic which turned out to be a Burr on the bridge saddle.

[lefrash]

3 times on stage over a 16 year period. A few times more whilst practicing or general f***ing about.

[bassbiscuits]

I've broken strings a few times on bass, using my fingers or a pick.

I think at the time it was due to some wear and tear on the bridge saddles, which meant a rough surface in contact with the strings.

It can also happen if you use older strings which you've boiled more than a few times - i don't think its very good for them other than to get you out of an emergency!

Anyway, I gently sanded the saddle surface, buy new strings rather than boiling old ones, and I now haven't broken a string in about 10 years.

[rushbo]

I've broken about five strings at gigs since I started playing in the mid eighties. Flatwounds seem to be a bit more resilient, in my experience.

...but here's a cautionary tale. About a lifetime ago, I saw the La's (supporting All About Eve - now there's a mismatch, right there...) and John Power snapped a string on his P Bass. A replacement was handed to him by his attentive roadie and off he went. Thirty seconds later, he'd popped a string on that one. too. Fortunately, his roadie had just finished re-stringing the first bass and Mr Power was able to continue without further string snappage. The moral: either have a super-on-it roadie or take a spare of everything.

[JTUK]

2-3 times, iirc. First ever bass and tuned it too high, the other two were from fatigue as I would clean them up 5 or so times.
This is one reason why I like top loading bridges so you don't need to unwind them then.
Now, I retire strings when they feel bad ..which is sooner than they sound bad...but with rotation and decent care and attention, I only
buy 3 sets per year or so, which for 3 basses and a string turnaround of 6 -10 weeks is not bad, IMO.
Having said that, some clean-ups don't last too long when the string has basically had it...maybe 3-4 weeks.
I like the strings to be peaky..I don't like them thumpy at all...

Edited August 19, 2016 by JTUK

[Oopsdabassist]

Twice, an E string, on stage, 1st bar into our 1st song, frantic brainstrain trying to rejig to get to the end of the song, 2nd time was a G string while changing strings.

[2elliot]

All of them more than once. That was many years ago, since my second wind I haven't snapped any,maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.

[acidbass]

I once did three gigs in one day at the Hillsborough Oyster Festival, and broke the A string half way through gig 2 with no spare. Did a gig and a half just making do with E and D!

[M@23]

Never. Unless it's down to a faulty string.

[Raymondo]

I think four times ....not sure really .... always the D string and never snapped ....just stretched and stretched...never did find out why . I still have the same bass...22 years now at least ... still use Rotosound round wound strings ......Not had a problem for at least ten years!

[kodiakblair]

Broke bottom E. Hit it right down by the saddle and it just snapped.
Don't ask me why, it was back in the drinking years,