broken guitar strig

bubthatub

i am a complete beginner and i just got a acuostic guitar for my birthday and i have already broken the top string.can anyone tell me what i should ask in the shop to replace it or should i just buy a full set of strings

Doctor J

Buy a full set, should be no more than a tenner. New strings sound a lot brighter than old strings and you really want a consistant sound form string to string

Quattroste

You'll need to get a full set of Acoustic Light guage(if your beginning these help the fingers) strings. I am guessing we are talking about a steel string acoustic and not a Nylon strung classical guitar.

crosstownk

Buy a couple of sets to have them as spares. You can also buy a set of 6 identical strings. Continually buying full sets will leave you with a lot of lower strings spare!

feylya

IMO, it's a terrible idea to replace one string on a guitar. If the strings have more than a few hours play time on them, they will sound duller and the new string will sound out of place. Save yourself some hassle and just replace all strings in one go.

crosstownk

feylya wrote:

IMO, it's a terrible idea to replace one string on a guitar. If the strings have more than a few hours play time on them, they will sound duller and the new string will sound out of place. Save yourself some hassle and just replace all strings in one go.

Very true and especially so on an acoustic. I play an electric which has a habit of regularly breaking the high E so I usually replace the set after every three breaks of the E string.

feylya

TBH, check why the guitar is breaking the string. I haven't broken a string in about 2 years.

crosstownk

feylya wrote:

TBH, check why the guitar is breaking the string. I haven't broken a string in about 2 years.

I've a feeling there is a sharp 'edge' on the bridge as the string always breaks in the same place, but I've never gotten around to checking it properly. The guitar is my 'second' instrument. I play the piano most of the time and really hope that doesn't break a string!!!

david

I have never broken a string on either my tele, sg, Ibanez bass or takamine acoustic. I replace the electric strings every two weeks, and acoustic strings every two months or so. The bass doesnt see that much action so a set of elixers every year does the trick.

fish-head

feylya wrote:

I haven't broken a string in about 2 years.

Holy jaysus... I play with 11s and I still manage to break strings.
It's either the saddles on the bridge need replacing(they're old) or I'm a great goddamn hoss who's too rough with his guitars(this is an important factor, I feel).

feylya

I use 9's and 10's and bend the **** out of them and pull up on the floyd and nothing has snapped

fish-head

Perhaps I should be gentle to my babies... actually I don't oft break strings on my SE, it's just the Sheraton. The saddles on it are filthy and old and worn from years of use. That's one of the problems of s/h guitars. Not sure whether to upgrade it though, I might be selling it once the Gretsch arrives.

Giblet

Ah, breaking the first string. No panic like it

!_Brian_!

I remember my 17th birthday. First guitar, went through 5 e stings on the first day. Didnt know what was going on untill I eventully went back into the shop for the 4th time with the guitar, at my wits end and the tech had a gander, there was a little burr on the bridge that was snapping them, sorted after.



Anyhoo, too the OP, get a set of light elixer acoustic stings, expensive but amazning sounding and very durable, I broke my forst one there only two days ago and have been using them for about a year.

ferdi

i break a couple of strings a year. usually happens when i star 'rocking out' in my bedroom and start ripping at the strings like a demented ferret.:o

Johnny Storm

ferdi wrote:

... usually happens when i star 'rocking out' in my bedroom and start ripping at the strings like a demented ferret.:o

Y'mean there's another way? :eek:

Don1

Let there be no panic as the guys said. Just replace the set. Don't forget that cheap strings are more than likely going to last nowhere near as long as a decent set like the Elixers mentioned above.

Some people just have a knack for breaking them though, other times it's the guitar's fault (stooopid Les Paul, fixed now after too many A strings!), and sometimes it's just a fluke break or, altough very unlikely in this day and age, a manufacturer's flaw in the string itself.

Also, some set's have an extra high E, like Rotosound elctric strings. Don't know about there acoustic sets as I put Martin strings on that and never break them.