Double Bass Snapped

[Michael Karn]

Well, something that had never happened to me and that I was definitely NOT expecting happened last night in Miami Beach, a long way from home

I had my Jed Kriegel-ed New Standard plywood for a John Pizzarelli trio gig at the Miami Beach Jazz Festival, we hadn’t even finished the first chorus of the first tune (a bass feature no less) when my Spiro weich D string snapped. I’ve never broken a string on a gig, even when I played guts, and it never occurred to me to bring an extra set of strings (that’ll never happen again), so I played the whole first set on three strings. Thanks to yeoman’s work by several people associated with the festival a D string was obtained for the second set and I was able to playing in D minor again. I always have backup strings in my bag at home, but it never occurred to me to bring some on the road. Pretty smart guy, huh?

 

[Don Kasper]

(I will not be hitting the "Like" button...)
OUCH! That sux.
I guess Dminor is the Saddest of All Keys.

 

[Don Kasper]

Mike - was this D string one of "mine"?
I hope not.

 

[Don Hergert]

I had a string unexpectedly snap, the double bass on its stand, one evening while my wife and I were eating dinner. It shook the house and all of our pets went on their defense mode.

This was with a mid-tension synthetic string -- I can only imagine what a Spiro D would snap like.

No fun. I hope you suffered no injuries!

 

[TroyK]

I've never broken a string, but I picked up my bass at home once and was tuning before I started practicing when the tailpiece wire snapped.

I'll never forget that sound or the sight of my bridge being shot across the room and bouncing off of a wall.

Fortunately, I didn't have a gig and got it sorted before I did, but I went out to hear the Benny Green Trio that night and he introduced me to Peter Washington and I mentioned it to him. He said it happened to him once tuning up before the first set at the Iridium (I forget who he was playing with, maybe Kenny Barron). I asked him what he did and he said "Nothing to do. I went home, they played without me." (paraphrasing)

 

[Michael Karn]

Mike - was this D string one of "mine"?
I hope not.

Nope, I just put one of yours on as the replacement

 

[Michael Karn]

I had a string unexpectedly snap, the double bass on its stand, one evening while my wife and I were eating dinner. It shook the house and all of our pets went on their defense mode.

This was with a mid-tension synthetic string -- I can only imagine what a Spiro D would snap like.

No fun. I hope you suffered no injuries!

No injury other than to my pride when the first person asked “you didn’t bring extra strings?!”

 

[Don Hergert]

... when the tailpiece wire snapped.

Troy, can you tell us about what kind of tail gut this was? I'm wondering if I should be looking over my shoulder...

 

[TroyK]

Troy, can you tell us about what kind of tail gut this was? I'm wondering if I should be looking over my shoulder...

It was a long time ago and I don't think it was the wire's fault. It was the normal braided steel* variety. It's something that I had never heard of and assumed was an anomaly, but it evidently does happen from time to time. I think that was probably my once in a lifetime, so I should be good from here on out.

*I actually have no idea what tailpiece wire is made of. It wasn't "gut" or that Velvet rubbery stuff and it wasn't the coat hanger variety. It was just what I think is the standard stuff that is on 99% of basses.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I’ve broken two E strings, but never anything else. The first time, I didn’t have an extra, and had to play the last set without an E. Never again. Glad you got it sorted!

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I've never broken a string, but my E-string tuning peg split in half once when I was tuning up before a church service. The pegs were original 19th-century mystery wood on my Tyrolean. I had to have a whole new set of pegs turned, which took quite some time to get done. Hopefully the hard maple used for the new pegs will last another 150yrs.

 

[BobKay]

Not only do I have an extra set of bass strings with me, I also carry an extra set of guitar strings with me in case my playing partner runs out of a B or E. I guess anal-retentive is an understatement. I need to get professional help.

 

[Steven Ayres]

I've experienced broken DB strings only twice. The first was due to a tuning-up error after I'd trucked the bass to Reno for the big-band festival, and I had to borrow a bass from our B band for the competition (which we won, both categories). That was a Kolstein Heritage D. The second one happened just the other day — I walked into the music room to find an old wrapped-gut Lenzner A had spontaneously expired, broken at the nut.

 

[Don Kasper]

I.E.D. - definition:
"Improvisor's Exploding Dstring".
Ha. I crack myself up sometimes.
Yer' Welcome!

 

[Charlie Tuna]

In Miami Beach it is typically more favorable to break a G-string than a D-string so better luck next time.
-Someone had to say it.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I've broken an E and an A, both years ago. It happens...

 

[GretschWretch]

I long ago had a gut A-string snap at 2:00 am as a cold front passed through Shreveport, LA. The descending temperature made the string go over-taught. Once heard, that is a sound you never forget, just like standing in the curve of a grand piano when one of the bass strings gives way. Which I also have experienced.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

View attachment 7405534
I had my Jed Kriegel-ed New Standard plywood …

Does that mean you had the removable neck thing done? That does make the strings somewhat vulnerable at the point of contact at the bridge. I haven’t had issues with the Spirocores on the E and A but it eats Olivs like they’re potato chips. They don’t break, but the outer winding starts to go…

 

[Don Kasper]

That does make the strings somewhat vulnerable at the point of contact at the bridge.

Yeah. That's what it looks like happened to Mike's string.
...Blessed Day, etc.

 

[Neon Scribe]

I have a good friend who is a cellist, a touring soloist. I was in the audience when he performed unaccompanied in Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Within a few minutes after starting the concert, his C string (the lowest one) broke. It made such a noise in the cathedral that it took a few moments to understand what had happened, He walked away, returned in less than ten minutes, and started the concert over. When I asked him about it later, he told me that not only does he always carry a complete extra set of strings, but they are already broken in, so he doesn't have to deal with a new string easily going out of tune. I've still never broken a bass string, but I've had many guitar strings go when they weren't even being played. I did once have someone borrow a 5 string bass guitar who didn't understand that it had a low B string. When he tried to tune the B string up to E, the string exploded violently.