Dead A string.... help needed ASAP

[ASBass]

Help needed from you guys who know it all please!
All of a sudden, sometime between this past Sunday and last night, my A string has gone dead. What used to boom, now is a pathetic thud. This is an old killer Epiphone plywood with Velvet Garbo strings that are only about 6 months old. Nothing was changed about the setup and the G, D, and E strings are still great. The string itself looks fine. HELP!! What could be wrong?

[NKUSigEp]

Change the string...the core could have fractured somehow.

[ASBass]

OK, so I replaced it with an Innovation Super Silver from a set that I had laying around. You're right, it was the string. This one seems fine, although I don't like it like I did the Velvet.
Now a couple more questions.... can I use the 3 Velvets with the one odd Innovation? And shouldn't Velvet strings last longer than 5 months???

[samriley]

yes velvet garbos should last a lot longer than that.
ive had a set on my bass for over 2 years. and the A string has just gone recently.
as i understand, the newer batch of garbos are not as good and dont sound the same as the older batch, before the company split. apparently they are not made the same anymore. perhaps you are playing one of these strings?
have you tried plain gut G & D strings?
i've gone from plain gut, which ive played for years - many different brands etc, then went to the garbos because they stayed in tune a little better and i got more mileage out of a set.....never really liked the garbo G tho. i was using a couple of golden spiral G & D strings. wish they still made those......, while using garbo A & E.
anyway there are much better strings out there than the garbos.
ive got a dlugolecki G & D, and kurschner A & E which im about to try out now...
and to answer your question, yes you can mix strings. as long as the tension feels ok to play, and you like the sound!

[Jake deVilliers]

You should be asking questions of Velvet or the store that sold you the strings, not us. From what I understand, Velvet stands behind their products. Maybe they'll replace it.

[Gearhead43]

I think Velvet has a year guarantee on their strings.