string breakage

[suckasucks]

i've broke two .11 high E strings on my fender highway 1 in the past week or 2 when im bending. anyone know whats wrong?

both times the string breaks at the bridge, before the string touches the saddle, so its not as simple as sanding the saddle smooth..

 

[niteblade]

maybe you didnt stretch your strings properly when you restring your guitar

 

[gjkung]

you tune your 11s to standard E? I personally find that a hard to play gauge at E standard cuz it's way too tight. Though that has not yet caused them to break, it might be possible for you.

I'm on DR strings, which I find unbreakable. What strings are you using? I use DRs and I whammy till the limts of my trem and my 11s in D tuning still stay perfectly in tune and play-ful.

niteblade is right about stretching strings, you might want to stretch them progressively. What I do is I tune my 11s on my fixed bridge to standard D first after stretching, then I tune them up to standard E the next day.

 

[suckasucks]

yeah i tune my .11s to standard E. i also usually stretch them by tuning slightly lower, about a 1/2 step, then stretch the string by bending, slightly tugging them and a little whammying.

i dont think its the tension or the stretching though. i've been using the GHS 11s for quite some time, about 5-6 months?, stringing them the same way even when i used 10s and 9s. and hasnt caused me any problems until this set (the set that broke before this was an ehx set)

 

[live33]

Hmm... stretching at 1/2 step lower and then tuning up to standard may explain the breakage near the saddle. Try sanding again to remove any burrs.

Actually, you should just stretch them at standard tuning (or your preferred tuning) by pulling a little upward with your finger (run down the string), tune up again and pull, until the tuning stay somewhat stable. It'll still take a couple of days to really stabilise.

 

[suckasucks]

anyone? i was thinking maybe it was slightly rough at the point it contacts the bridge..

 

[MackSonne]

How's your experience with other strings previously? Is this a recent thing?

 

[ShredCow]

I restring my floyd rose equipped guitar, and within about an hour from restringing, I lock the nut and proceed to play it as per normal.

I don't get it when people say it takes days for strings to "stabalize".

There's no need to be violent when stretching strings too anyway, just do regular big bends and stuff. Over enthusiastic over stretching would just weaken your strings - metals do stretch.

 

[suckasucks]

yeah its quite a recent thing. only the last 2 sets i went through. first one was a 2 week + old ehx 11s set, and a less than a week old 11s GHS Eric johnson sig set. yeah i agree with shred. strings dont take long to stabilize, just string, maybe a few stretches and its fine, wont go out of tuning.

 

[ShredCow]

Go buy some extra .11s?

If the breakage isn't due to surface to surface abrasion, as you said above, then well, its just too bad isn't it?

I've been using DR strings, they are good... the titefits are my regulars, though, recently, I've tried the Hex core DRs and I must say, they sound "better" and seem to be more stable though tension is slightly heavier, prob due to the hex core...