high g# breaking problem

[Harrison Dole]

hi all - i keep breaking my high g# string (it’s the only one i have a problem with. i use ghs .011pg’s on it. do you recommend a different gage? i don’t see anything wrong mechanically with it that would be causing it.

thanks!

[Jerry Overstreet]

What's the rate of breakage? Can't get one up to pitch when replacing? Every 2 or 3 days? Couple of weeks? Longer?

As you probably know, a certain frequency of failure is just the nature of the beast, so it depends on the event.

There are several threads recently here on the issue and things that can cause this depending on the circumstances surrounding the failures.

[Larry Allen]

Go up to a .012..

[Nicholas Cox]

I use .0115s and they don’t break nearly as often.

[Bobby D. Jones]

Where is the string breaking, At the changer finger, At the key head. Or just any where in between..?

Bad string wire can break anywhere on its length.

Check the cross hole in the cap span shaft for burrs. Cut string long enough to put enough wraps on cap span shaft, To wind string across the hole to smooth round shaft.

[Harrison Dole]

the string is breaking on the tuning end. sometimes it break while getting up to tune. i’ll try to search for those other threads you’ve mentioned (sorry, sometimes the search function is a miss for me).

[Roger Crawford]

Go to the Mullen site. They have a tutorial on winding that string. I use a .012 and wind that way, and never break a string.

[Dennis Detweiler]

Breaking over the roller nut? Is the roller free and moving? What Bobby said.

[Al Brisco]

If it is breaking at the tuning key, you probably have a burr on one side of the string hole. I use a small rat-tail file, turn the tuning key to a vertical type angle so you can file the edge of the string hole to smooth out any burrs. Note unless you can determine which side of the string hole has the burr that's cutting your string, then smooth out both sides of the tuning key's string hole.

Have you tried a reinforced string such as the GHS 11PG, or other brands of reinforced string?

[Harrison Dole]

i currently use ghs 11pg, which have been snapping. that said, i did one with more wraps then i would normally do and that seems to have done the trick (at least for the time being). i will check out the peg to see if there is a burr when it breaks next. i have also ordered some .0115s to see how they work.

thank you for all the advice.

[Tommy Mc]

Go up to a .012..

I agree. It's counter-intuitive, I know. With a 24" scale, a .012 tuned to G# has roughly 6 more pounds of tension than a .011 so you'd think the higher tension would be more prone to breakage. Apparently, the extra meat on the string makes it stronger. Is it the gauge, or is it the NYXL strings I'm using? Can't say for sure, but I haven't broken a string since going to 12's.

[Bill C. Buntin]

I’ve been using 012 for 30 years. Gene Fields gave me that tip. Sitting in the early gfi shop in Arlington tx. Gene was a great guy. .012 will break, but I’ve had great luck using 012 ever since then..