How often do your strings break?

[scrubhelmet]

I was having a practice session last night with my funk band and I was a bit surprised since the G string felt softer. I feared that it might break, so I became more conscious of how I pop it.

I never broke my bass strings before but I'm a bit paranoid now since, aside from my experience last night, two of my bands will be playing on big stage in May. Also, it's my first time to use these strings: Rotobass, although I forgot the type but I remember the cover being yellow. And it's probably light to medium gauge.

 

[Docduval]

I’ll let you know if it ever happens.

 

[MrAB4003]

I was having a practice session last night with my funk band and I was a bit surprised since the G string felt softer. I feared that it might break, so I became more conscious of how I pop it.

I never broke my bass strings before but I'm a bit paranoid now since, aside from my experience last night, two of my bands will be playing on big stage in May. Also, it's my first time to use these strings: Rotobass, although I forgot the type but I remember the cover being yellow. And it's probably light to medium gauge.

On bass, never. On guitar, maybe once a year.

 

[LowWay]

I don’t break bass strings now in my later 50s, but I did in my mid/late 20s. My Kubicki was prone to breaking G strings. I used to play very hard. Flea was my idol. Now I play with much more finesse.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I've been playing bass for [checks calendar] 52 years now, and in all that time I have only ever broken a string once

...and the only reason I broke that one string is because I was trying to burn off some extra silk winding with a lit match!

Playing the bass? Never.

 

[5StringBlues]

It can happen, especially with basses strung thru the body where the bend over the bridge is more pronounced than on a non-stringthru bridge.

Add in a lot of palm muting on the bridge on hot outdoor gigs. Sweat eventually gets to the inner core and corrodes it. Once that corrosion is enough, one good thumb slap will pop it.

Granted, this was playing 4 to 6 gigs a week, but popping one every six to nine months was common.

It has rarely happened on basses that weren't strung thru the body.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Only twice, within a fews days of each other. Turned out it was a burr or some such on the saddle for that string. Once I figured that out and filed it down, no more broken strings. That happened sometime way, way back in the mid-late 1900s.

 

[Pep]

Last time I broke a string was when I was restringing. Other than that it’s been at least 30 years.

 

[Sweeps]

Interesting thread, I have broken several strings in the past whilst practicing after playing for nearly 14 years but after 10 years of gigging last week was the first time I broke a string at a gig (during the soundcheck) and didn't have any spares or a second bass with me. Luckily it was the D string so after taking the string off I did the whole gig on the E and A string pretty much. But am kind of glad it happened because it shows if it does happen you will be fine Hope this helps

 

[Element Zero]

Hmm… not since the 90’s

 

[Moredator]

Never. My touch is soft as a whisper.

 

[RattleSnack]

Never while playing.
Broke G string once when I was young, while restringing it for a third time, and I was realy abusing it.

 

[fretno]

Just one bass string in 40 years. That was way back when I thought old strings ruled. I still have old strings on many but the gig instruments get more frequent changes. That string that broke was 5 years old +/-

 

[beaglesandbass]

I was having a practice session last night with my funk band and I was a bit surprised since the G string felt softer. I feared that it might break, so I became more conscious of how I pop it.

I never broke my bass strings before but I'm a bit paranoid now since, aside from my experience last night, two of my bands will be playing on big stage in May. Also, it's my first time to use these strings: Rotobass, although I forgot the type but I remember the cover being yellow. And it's probably light to medium gauge.

I've been playing bass since 2001. I've broken exactly one string. It happened to be on the very first note of the first song at a gig, so worst timing imaginable, but still, only one.

 

[Nebadon2000]

In 50 years playing and thousand × gigs: once playing late 70's it was A string and once 2018 restringing a D string

 

[Reno2]

I've broken 1 string in 25ish years, at the end of a song where I got over-excited popping it. It was an E string. But that's it

 

[baxter_x]

Not even once

 

[Watchootognbout]

Once.
Back in 1984.
Tuning up a G string and it broke at the peg.

 

[IanStephenson]

same story... once some time in the early 90s.

Was at the end of a rehearsal. No drama, nothing "happened". It just fell off!

 

[el murdoque]

I've had strings go bad on me, where you get a chorus-like sound out of them and fret buzz in some areas - if that counts, I think that happened twice.
I did break an E or A string (can't remember) somewhere around late 1995 - early 1996, mercifully it was in the last song of a gig.

And I've had flatwounds pop while installing them, maybe three times. Once I was to blame, the other times I cannot say what happened, but I got the broken strings replaced under warranty.