The Steel Guitar Forum

Could it be just a bad batch of strings? I've read here on the Forum where that has happened.

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Lee, from South Texas
Down On The Rio Grande

Hi Lee,
I thought of that too, so I bought several batches of George L's, which are a very good string and still had the problem. I was putting one on the other night and it snapped right in the middle , not at the changer end and not at the tuner end, but right in the middle. In 40 years of playing I have never had a string do that, oh well, go figure.
Gene

Lloyd Green says this works for him. Thread the string through the brass ferule of the string creating a loop. Put this loop on the string pin(holder). It lets the string lay flat over the changer. My guitar has the slots and not the pin, so I haven't tried this. However, I haven't experienced a lot of string breakage.

Have you checked the roller nut area? if the roller is binding at all, it will cause the string to start to twist (i.e. when you break a string, does the string kinda lay flat, or is it curled like a corkscrew?) Even though the breakage is at the changer end, the twisting would cause the strign to break at the point of the most stress-- the changer... Also what they say about adding the extra wraps around the tuning key is vital-- I never thought it could affect the changer end, but for some reason it does... maybe the extra wire on the post acts as a 'shock absorber' of sorts, I dont know... Anyways, I'm sure you've checked both of these things, but next time you snap a string, double check them, what would it hurt.

Gene,

After reading Gino's reply, I felt the urge to comment on his thoughts concerning your interesting dilemma. Everyone enjoys trying to solve riddles, and I think that Gino would score pretty well in that department.

As for the .012 plain string subbing for an .011, I'm not buying into that theory. The educated foot can easily detect the spongy resistance that prevails, when the .012 is forced to pull up to the (A) note frequencies. I didn't like that "feel", and replaced it with the what I feel is a better choice - the .011. Your post is overrun with advocates, who would emphasize its advantages. How many times in life have you seen situations following a trend, and then quickly switch direction as trial and error erodes the misconceptions? I feel strongly that the .012, is not the answer, which btw can tear at your knuckles with greater force when it snaps, should its tenacity unleash its "vengeance" on your dermis.

Bill H.
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 20 February 2003 at 07:37 AM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 20 February 2003 at 10:59 AM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>The educated foot can easily detect the spongy resistance that prevails,</SMALL>

So use the ignernt foot. Works for me.

Yeah, that .012 is probably just a fad.

Your ShoBud is a 24" scale and the .012 is the better guage for that pitch on that scale....and if your scale(like lloyds '73 LDG) is over 24 inches...than the .011 or .011 1/2 is a better choice.
If the string breaks right in the middle..than you have a bad roller...or it's a bad string.
If the string goes for 4 or 5 gigs...that's pretty good and normal....and if you had a guitar that lasted longer..."different guitar".
Sorry your not getting the distance out of this string on this particular guitar...but I'm happy with 4 gigs on this string on any guitar...ha....but than again...I hit that pedal probably more than the average player...
Ricky

Gene,

Before this thread gets scuttled into a trivializing mode, please allow me to venture a guess that may very well hit on the solution. With absolute certainty, press as hard as is reasonable, on the "B" pedal, but with sufficient force to bring the .011 up as far as it can possibly go. With tuner in hand, tell me that the pitch doesn't go one cent above the "A" note.

The plot will definitely take on new credence, if this is so.

Bill H.

Hi Ricky,
So you are saying that for my 24 " scale, which I think it is, it's an early 80's model, that the .115 might do the trick? I've never tryed an .115 or .12 on this axe. Will try this for sure.
Thanks for the info guys.

And to Bill Hankey, yes it does go a little sharp, pretty close to 1 cent as you said.
Thanks
Gene


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If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!


<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Gene H. Brown on 20 February 2003 at 04:04 PM.]</p></FONT>

Gene, I play two gigs a week and practice everyday...I change the 3 and 5 before every show...With the amount of money we make today, what's a couple of bucks a week for strings ??? Since we don't have a solution for this problem, this works for me....tom

Yes Gene> if you have a ShoBud...it is a 24" scale.
Lloyd's LDG is a very rare longer scale ShoBud..and the ShoBud Permenant was longer than 24"> but other than that...all ShoBuds were/are 24" scale and should have a .012 on it.
Make sure the roller is rolling properly.
Make sure you wrap the string two times on one side of the string coming through the hole on the tuning key post and then 5 or 6 wraps up the post towards the tuning key> and either use a Jagwire made string or Ernie Ball.......and tune her right on up....and no prob.
I have snapped every other brand string at one time or another(not saying they all do that all the time)....but I have never snapped a Jagwire or Ernie Ball string right out of the pack and right on up to G#.
Ricky

I had an 80's model LDG that broke third strings pretty regularly. It wasn't too bad though, maybe one every couple of weeks. I just bought a bunch of .11 and kept them in my seat. I loved the guitar though. I have a Marlen D10 now and have yet to break a third string but I have broken a 5th string once. I notice that the angle of the strings over the Marlen changer is a whole lot less than that of the Shobud.

On the Shobud I tried a .12 on the third once. It broke as fast as the .11 but cut my right hand pretty bad when it snapped. There is a lot of tension on there with a .12.

Gene, definitely try the .0115 string from Jagwire (available right here on the Forum). I believe they put an .0115 in the Lloyd Green string set. On all steels I always found the .011 strings to be weak and unblanced sounding with the rest of the strings. So I tried .012. These didn't break any more often, but were unbalanced in the opposite direction, too loud. Then I discovered Jagwires .0115 strings. Perfect balance in sound, and they break much less often than either of the other two.

Another suggestion is to check if your pedal action for the 3rd string is different on your new guitar. If it is shorter and quicker, this could explain the increased breakage.

If none of this helps, consider switching to saxaphone. I have never broken a string on mine, no matter how many hours I play the damn thing.

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Student of the Steel, and cheap instrument connoisseur: customized 1970 Sho-Bud Maverick, Fessy S12U, Emmons S12 E9 P/P, Nashville 400, Fender Squire, Peavey Transtube Supreme into JBL 15", 1968 Gibson J50, '60s Kay arch-top, 7-string Raybro, customized Korean Regal square-neck, roundneck Dobro 90C, 1938 Conn Chu Berry tenor sax, '50s Berg mouthpiece, Hamilton upright piano. You make it, I'll play it (more or less)