High E String Keeps Breaking

[Eilif]

I've broken four strings over the last week (three brand new, including two Super Slinkys) at or around the 11th fret as I bend from Eb to F on the high E string. The guitar is a Silhouette, less than a year old. The 10th and 11th frets seem smooth enough, so I don't know what it causing the string to break.

After the string breaks, I put on a new string, stretch and tune to pitch, then after about 15 minutes or so the new string breaks, every time at or around the 11th fret.

I am self-taught, so I don't discount the possibility that I'm doing something wrong, (ie "user error").

But if it's not my technique, I'm wondering what could be wrong with the guitar or its setup that is causing this.

 

[Sweat]

Frets good? Saddle any spurs, seems strange but not sure what else to check, the experts should chime in as I am a novice

 

[beej]

I normally suspect saddle burrs, but if it's literally breaking in the middle of the string then that is odd. Are they all Super Slinkys? If it's one batch of strings ... contact EB customer service and ask them about it. If we're talking different brands, etc., then it has to be something else. Maybe you have sharp fingers

 

[tbonesullivan]

Do you feel any burrs or roughness on that fret or either of the adjacent ones?

 

[Eilif]

All of the strings have broken at around the 11th fret, as I'm doing the bend, just kind of snapped in half.

The four strings came from three different "batches" (ie purchased during three long-separated periods) among two different brands, so I'm assuming the problem isn't the strings.

The frets feel smooth.

I hadn't played for a long time before this, so my fingers have skin flaking off as I'm developing calluses again. Could the rough skin be enough to damage the string?

A "9" should be able to tolerate repeated bending up a whole step, from Eb to F, at the 11th fret, right? Or am I asking to much of the string? Three of the four broken strings were brand new and snapped within about 15 minutes of me putting them on, so I don't think age of the string is factor.

 

[DrKev]

A "9" should be able to tolerate repeated bending up a whole step, from Eb to F, at the 11th fret, right? Or am I asking to much of the string? Three of the four broken strings were brand new and snapped within about 15 minutes of me putting them on, so I don't think age of the string is factor.

This is really weird one.

If there’s nothing obvious on the fret that could be breaking the string, it’s either the strings or the operator. And if strings of different batches and brands are breaking, it’s not the strings. Which suggests operator? My only thought is that maybe you’re pulling too hard when you’re stretching the strings and weakening the string around the 11th or 12th fret?

If strings grew on trees, I would do two things.

1) install a new string exactly as you did before and do not bend on the 10th 11th or 12th frets see if you can make the spring break by bending anywhere else. Note where it breaks.

2) Next string install, pull more gently in multiple positions up and down the each string.

My technique:

I stretch the strings by pushing down on the string with my thumb while pulling up behind the thumb with my index fingers. I do at three or four positions along the string. When you put a string on for the first time, it will go out of tune when you stretch. So I repeat the process…

Tune - stretch - retune, 4 or 5 times until the string doesn’t go out of tune when you stretch (or almost).

 

[Eilif]

RIght now I'm assuming it's "user error", so I'll be playing the same thing on my Morse to see if that string also breaks. But the Morse has stainless steel frets, so I wonder if that would make enough of a difference to have the string not break.

In any case, thanks for the advice! I will give it a try. I've got a new pack of Super Slinkys that I need to put on the Silo. When I do, I'll try bending at other spots.

 

[Sweat]

Anything I do is user error

 

[tbonesullivan]

I haven't really had any strings break at the point of bending when bending. Usually its at the bridge. To have it break where you are bending really makes it sound like something is there wearing through the strings. Just really strange.

 

[Eilif]

String #5 just broke, also at the 11th fret. I've been doing whole step bends at frets 19, 24, and 13 in addition to the whole step at 11, but it keeps breaking at 11. The thing I'm trying to play, I'm doing pull-offs at 11, so I wonder if somehow that is damaging the string? My finger tips do feel a bit like sandpaper at the moment.

Otherwise, I can only conclude there is some issue with the fret even though it feels as smooth as the ones around it.

When I do this on my Morse, it's fine, even though its strings are much older and haven't been changed since last year.

Maybe it's a sign from the gods that I need to refret my Silo with stainless steel. Or that I should play my Morse more.

 

[beej]

It must be some kind of burr on the fret ...

Maybe worth having someone polish the frets (or do it yourself).

 

[Mace13]

To be clear, it's not rough skin.

Maybe you sweat acid?

Strange one.

 

[Eilif]

I've been practicing (ie butchering) the same solo on my Morse (also strung with 9s), but there have been no issues with that; it's just the Silhouette. What's most puzzling to me is that the frets really do feel smooth, and the ends as well.

Breaking the first string: OK, this one's old, was strung last year.
Breaking the next two strings: OK, maybe it's a bad batch? These were bought at the same time.
Breaking the fourth string: This cannot be coincidence, as this was a brand new pack of Super Slinkys.
Breaking the fifth string: <headdesk> Clearly the Gods/Fates are not happy with me.

 

[DrKev]

Thinking how hard it is to break strings, and knowing that guitars that frequently break strings at the tuners or bridge it's always a sharp edge or burr from wear, I simply cannot fathom how strings can break mid-span, at about the same fret every time, and there not be an obvious issue on the fret. It just does not compute.

In all my years on this and other forums, and all the client's guitars I've seen over the years, I've heard of this maybe 2 or 3 times but I've never seen it in person.

I wish I had an answer for you!

K.

 

[Vito Porkleone]

One other thing I would bring up is watch where you are purchasing strings from. I have heard stories about counterfeit strings on Amazon, etc. Get them from somewhere reputable.

I did go thru a stretch about 3 years ago where I snapped 2 high e-strings from a 3 pack I bought at Guitar Center. Looking at the inserts in the packaging, they were very old, and had probably been in the warehouse for a while. Some warehouses don't exactly work on a FIFO basis with everything. Since then I have only bought my multi-packs from Sweetwater, and have not had any issues.

Having said that, I do think you have a burr somewhere...

 

[Sweat]

I buy my strings directly from EBMM at the Dallas International Guitar festival. they always have plenty at a good price and I buy enough for the year!

 

[Eilif]

Update: Last night I broke the high E, playing the same thing, on a PRS, at the same fret. The only thing it has in common with my Silhouette is that the frets are nickel-silver. (Fret height and width are different for both guitars, as is scale length and neck width.) I noticed, while playing unplugged, that as I bend the string I can hear it "scraping" against the fret, especially on the Silhouette. I haven't broken a string on my Morse (yet?), and that has stainless steel frets, and I don't hear any "scraping" with the Morse. The PRS and the Silhouette frets feel smooth to my fingers. So I'm thinking it's not a burr (I guess there could be burrs on the same frets on both guitars?) but perhaps friction (string rubbing against fret) weakening that point on the string, causing it to eventually break as I play the same thing over and over.

I guess I need to polish some frets. (Steel wool? What grade would be best?)

Or maybe it's how I'm doing the bends? It's a whole step up, from Eb to F at the 11th fret and again from F to G at the 13th fret. Occasionally I go a little sharp but most often I'm a little flat on the bend, so I don't think I'm bending the strings too much. And once upon a time, a salesman at a guitar store swore that he could bend from D to F# at the 22nd fret, so I'm assuming I should be able to do my comparatively wimpy bends with my weak fingers without breaking the string.

Or maybe I should try 9.5? But I'd rather keep the 9-42 set on the Silhouette.

I get my strings from a local Guitar Center, from a local EBMM dealer, from Amazon ("sold by Amazon"), and from Sweetwater. The strings that have broken were all the high E from 9-42 sets of Super Slinkys and GHS. Six so far in the last two or three weeks. None of the strings had any rust coming out from the package.

 

[Eilif]

Update #2: The string just broke on the Morse, at the same point on the string, doing the F to G bend at the 13th fret.

Maybe it's time for me to dust off my RIC bass. It hasn't seen any love for a couple of years now.

 

[Bungholi0]

Maybe its a combination of a couple of the equipment and the user?

1. Crown the frets on the silo
2. Apply less pressure on the the fret when bending. Hard when avoid when doing full bends but try to focus on sliding the string up the fret. Not pressing the string into the fret/fretboard.

 

[Mace13]

really strange. Maybe a stress riser is getting put into the string, like a small notch or nick. This would cause the string to break under since it is under tension and more so during a bend. I've been playing Guitar Gently Weeps a lot lately, which has plenty of 1.5 step bends, as do some other solos I play regularly. No broken strings.

Do the strings come into contact with any sort of tool or something during installation? Something that could be putting a nick on that string?