When's the last time you broke a string during a gig?

1991, I think.

After that unsettling experience, I adopted a steady practice of replacing my strings regularly.

It was never a problem again.
 
Dr. Dipwad said:
1991, I think.

After that unsettling experience, I adopted a steady practice of replacing my strings regularly.

It was never a problem again.
Click to expand...
2024 - 1991 = 33 years. Assuming you've got at least 2 gigs a month that's 792 gigs.

1 broken set of strings in 792 gigs is not going to blow out anyone's career.

It makes me think having backup guitars just for the purpose of a potential string break is utterly a waste of money given the low probability of it happening.
 
Once in a decade and it was only because I stopped changing strings as frequently and I broke 1 live. Had I done what I always do, change before every gig and use them at rehearsals and home use. This never failed and when I strayed, it occurred. I buy inexpensive EB strings, so not that big of a deal to swap out.
 
When was the last time I gigged?
As a guitarist I mean?
Don't remember exactly, lost in the mists of time...
But I did, a lot, for a long time...
Things change...

But I do break strings occasionally playing at home, probably at least partly because I don't change them as often as I should.
 
About 8 years ago. I still have a second guitar on stage, and swap between them during the night. It gives the audience something different to look at, and provides a backup.

I also haven’t blown a fuse in longer than that, or had a bad cable in as long. I still carry spares of those. Whether habit or good practice, it’s a professional mindset, IMO. I’ve never regretted having insurance I didn’t use.
 
I broke a string more than 10 years ago while changing strings and stretching too much (really too much) a high E.
I use cheap EB strings, mostly 9-46 and I'm not that light while playing.
Don't take me wrong but I always thought that strings brake when a guitar has a poor design, mainly due to the fact that I use only modern guitars..
 
quite a while ago. i had one break at the beginning of sweet home alabama. it was a top E and i had some in my guitar case. i managed to get to my case and get the strings out, but they were tangled together. i didn't get the new string on by the end of the tune, because i spent abut 3 or 4 minutes trying to untangle them all. they keyboard player watched all this with some delight, btw. but the one before that was at the beginning of what's going on and i managed to do a swap, tune and stretch and come in bang on cue for my solo at the end. some guy actually cheered when i stood up and started to play. locking tuners for the win. that's two i can remember and i think there were maybe two more. that's over 16 years. i got into the habit of taking another guitar, but the quandary was always whether to take something i could finish the gig on, or something to give me some different tones for different tunes.
i used to use regular d'addarios, but i switched to those fancy coated ones with the stronger steel cores. cost a bit more, but boy, do they last a long time.
 
Last month, High E string, played 2-3 songs without it, restrung quickly on stage in between songs with a long piano intro. Locking tuners help.
 
My last string break (at a gig or at home) was sometime in the 1980s. I do a lot of bends and play pretty hard with a stainless steel pick, but for some reason don't break strings. Still, I bring multiple guitars to a gig because I don't want the same sound all night.

Side story...I have a friend who does a solo acoustic act playing a Guild 12 string. He plays 3+ hour gigs with no breaks, and segues from one song to the next without stopping. He doesn't use a set list...his wife works the room taking requests and writes them down on sticky notes, putting the notes in front of him has he's playing. He has hundreds of songs in his repertoire in virtually every genre, ranging from rock to jazz to TV and movie theme songs. If he doesn't know a particular song, he almost always knows something else by that artist or in that style. While he's playing a song, he's already planning what the next song will be. I saw him break a string at a gig once, and he finished that song while his wife retrieved a replacement string for him. As he was putting the new string on his guitar, he sang an acapella version of a Janis Joplin song, and by the time the song was done, his new string was in place and tuned and he went right into the next song. This guy also has an uncanny knack for getting audiences to sing along with him. On virtually every song, the crowd is singing too. He puts on a very entertaining show.
 
At a gig, only once. Pretty sure it was a bad string, unwrapped at the ball end, only string that ever broke on that guitar. I'm really rough on strings, too, but I change them religiously and always carry at least two guitars. Not necessarily as a backup (though backups are a really good thing to have and not need), but just to change it up some.

When I first started, I did all the normal beginner things like wrapping them over themselves on the last wind, not wrapping enough, general setup issues like saddle burrs or incorrectly cut nut slots. I learned, though... I think I once went through 3 or 4 sets just to get one high E on right! Now, I get a bad string every few years or so, but I can't complain.

Had a friend who worked in produce at a grocery store. He could just look at a guitar and corrode the strings, rust out the bridge. Could've been just different body chemistry, but I always wondered if it had something to do with the acid from the fruits and vegetables he handled. Not a clue, but I don't think I ever remember him breaking a string on stage. He changed his strings all the time because he had to, they just became unplayable too quickly if he didn't.
 
It will happen, for sure, without fail, definitely.
I used to regularly break strings, which became less of a problem when I started replacing them weekly. (And I was playing bass!). Made sure there were no bridge, nut or other problems on the ol’ 4001, but I’d break them if I left it 2 weeks. Guess I was hammering the poor thing haha, and we were pretty busy at the time.

Thanks
Pauly

dsouza said:
2024 - 1991 = 33 years. Assuming you've got at least 2 gigs a month that's 792 gigs.

1 broken set of strings in 792 gigs is not going to blow out anyone's career.

It makes me think having backup guitars just for the purpose of a potential string break is utterly a waste of money given the low probability of it happening.
Click to expand...
 
Gig? Can't remember.
Home? High e, probably 3 months ago, and I play about 10 hours a week on average. I think I have a lighter-than-average touch.

Was breaking that high e every few days when my Majesty in the avatar was new, but I found and fixed the saddle burr/sharp edge that I'm pretty sure was the cause.

So for me, if my strings are recently new, stretched so they no longer go flat, and have some playing time on them, it'd be highly unlikely I'd break a string at a gig. If I ever gig again (still a possibility), I'd most likely have an extra guitar for a different tuning, but not for the remote chance of breaking a string.
 
I have never gigged since childhood but I have never broken a string in my life practicing at home or performing in front of small families.

I think the reason is I play The Edge/u2 90% of the time, and he's not known for wild string bending maneuvers.
 
I hadn't broken a string for decades and have lost 3 at different times on my Majesty. One of them was during a gig. I was VERY happy that I had blocked the trem for dive only (drop D a few songs) as all the other strings stayed perfectly in tune. I was able to install a new high E as the band started the next song and join back in about 1/3 to 1/4 of the way in.
 
If I restring just before a typical four hour gig, I will probably make it through the show. If I use the same strings for a second show, I will most likely break an 'E' or a 'D' string. At home, a set will last long enough to loose their tone before one breaks. But at a gig, not so much. It's always been like that for me. Multiple bridges/saddles, multiple guitars, different string brands and materials, etc..

If I consciously play further from the bridge, it doesn't happen. It's me. I've literally broken hundreds, and hundreds of strings. I thought that it was kind of normal?
 
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