Ever break a string?

[White Beard]

When he was playing old non-reverse Thunderbirds, watt used to keep a full set of DR Low-Riders in his back pocket. Due to a leg injury, I never saw his back during the Hyphenated-Man tour.

When I played on an old Peavey Minx (many years ago), I broke strings all the time playing with my fingers. I was fourteen years old and trying to play as loud as possible with my fingers and a fifteen watt solid state amp. I was also playing an early nineties Korean Squire; so the cheap bridge may have contributed. I was also a beginner, and I learned to play as loud as possible on the tiniest of amps. I learned volume control and dynamics by playing cheap **** for years. I learned that it's about how I play, and not what knobs I turn.

 

[philvanv]

I like that

 

[tiffuts]

The only time I've ever broke a string is when I first changed the strings on my Ibanez starter bass by tuning the string too tight. Never broken a string playing though cause I play kinda soft.

 

[White Beard]

Keep in mind that I also had no knowledge of "signal chain" when I was fourteen. "Turn the gain up and that will make you louder." I had no idea about pre amps; just that my guitar playing friend told me that turning up the gain made me louder. The things you learn when you're fourteen are also the things that make you learn the hard way. I fried that Peavey with the same impunity that I abused amps far beyond my merit.

Beginner lessons need to be more than just the instrument, but also how to respect the amplification. It took me years to properly understand what how I played, affected the equipment that I played it on.

 

[Need Gigs]

I broke a string last week when I was stringing up my Spector. I'd just received them after they were shipped all the way across the Pacific and then
Other than that, only once at band practice.

 

[chris_b]

I have never broken a string. All mine die of old age.

I don't do all this high energy stuff! I play with the lightest touch I can manage.

 

[Bisounourse]

Once while playing (although I have to say; I rarely replace strings, so 5+ years on a bass is no exception), couple of times when restringing (think it was a dud).
However; it did happen to me on a double bass once, when tuning. I immediatly pushed the bass away from me (holding it by the neck), but that was brutal.

 

[Nephilymbass]

In 20 years I've never personally broken a bass string. I have seen friends do it a bunch of times over the years though. Usually there's another explanation than just playing aggressively . Mainly; extremely old strings, a poorly made saddle in the bridge with a sharp spot. Sometimes basses with string through body bridges the string turns at such a drastic angle to go down through the body it creates a weak point in the string. Tapered strings, String gauges can be a lot of it. For example guys who tune a 5 string set up to C standard or even drop c i see break strings a lot more often. Different strings also have varying levels of flexibility. I have seen victor wooten break strings. But he did it while playing so aggressive he was actually flopping the bass all over the place and he does used extremely light gauge strings.

 

[FrednBass]

I've broken 2 E strings and 1 D string.

 

[oysteivi]

When the bass player in a band I toured with broke a string on stage, he called it the end of his experiment to save cash by buying cheap strings from China ;-)