my strings keep breaking

[DJR]

i'm so tired of buying new strings when i break mine, but i have no idea why it keeps happening - i use either d'adarrio lights or elixer poly's - can you break them by simply play too hard, hitting them differently? thanks for any help

[Pickles]

theres a lot that can cause strings to break... how long have you been using them? how hard do you strum? do you use alternate tunings?

[DJR]

lets see, the elixer ones i've only had on for about 2 weeks but i really think its my strumming, i think i tend to be really percusive and hit the strings hard, but i really don't know what some people consider soft or hard, and the only alternate tuning i play with is drop D, but never had a problem there, so probably strumming

i brought this up to a friend of mine at school and he said if they keep breaking i'm doing something wrong cause he said he 'plays the shit out of his strings' so who knows? any ideas?

[jrm]

man, it could be a combination of so much stuff. I sometimes have this problem too, and I just figure its just the personality of my guitar. But I change a few things (ie. pick thickness, etc..) and try to play a little easier on the strings and that generally solves the problem. Do you consistently break the same ones in the same spot? Where?

[Appfro]

nah, i play really hard on my strings too and never break them. what kind of guitar do you have. i used to have a low end guitar that would break my strings. it had some kinda pinch on it and i never found out where it was even though i THINK it was the tuning machines, but it rubbed my strings until they broke. i haven't broken a string since i bought my martin and i had a set on there for a good 2 months. so it MAY be your guitar. that's the only advice i have. where is it breaking the strings at?
and is it the same place everytime?
mine would always break right under the tuning machine.

[jsgksu]

Maybe try a thinner pick or maybe your holding it down close to the point so that it doesnt give that much when you make contact. I really have no idea but those things could do something I would think.

[Skankerton]

The next time you change your strings (which seems to be frequently), you might want to check your saddle and see if it has developed grooves where the strings lay. I was talking to a guitar tech and he said that this can cause the strings to be unable to roll microscopically and makes them break much quicker.

[grock]

The next time you change your strings (which seems to be frequently), you might want to check your saddle and see if it has developed grooves where the strings lay. I was talking to a guitar tech and he said that this can cause the strings to be unable to roll microscopically and makes them break much quicker.

Good advice if the strings keep breaking at the saddle. if this is the case, you can either have the saddle replaced or (the cheap fix) you can take some very light sand paper and rub it along those grooves and then take a graphite pencil and rub it along where the strings make contact.

if the problem is up near the nut, it is a similar procedure. take a fine peice of sand paper and lightly go through the groovs in the nut. now take a pencil and draw in the grooves. and tada. that should do it.

i regularly put down some graphite in those nut grooves. like once every few months when i clean and polish the guitar. that adds some lubricant so that the strings do not bind and consequently it helps to keep the guitar in tune as well.

no guitar should break strings. you should be able to go months playing everyday without a problem. the strings may sound like shit but they shouldn't be breaking.

[Jay]

when they break, where do they break? at the saddle, at the nut, or just randomly?

[fatjack]

do you strum really close to the bridge?

you could just get some mediums, mine hardly ever break

[DJR]

ok lets see
they are pretty much constantly breaking near the saddle and yes, i tend to play near the far right of the strings so i guess thats contributing to it
i've been playing since january so my guitar is a cheap ibanez, so i guess that doesn't help either
the saddle also has a few grooves, but they aren't too deep, but i think everyone seems to think thats the problem
thanks for all your help guys, anything else to say about it?

[DJR]

forgot something - i use fender heavy picks (cause i kept breaking mediums haha) or these EBE pick things - kinda weird my friend gave em to me, really flexible plasticy stuff

[Dancing Ants]

get some Dunlop picks..they're the best.

[DJR]

get some Dunlop picks..they're the best.

why? thickness? feel?

[Dancing Ants]

they're just good. i use Large thin ones...they break, but they sound very nice..i just like them. the really thick picks you can't get a good up-down strum off of.