guitar repairs (already :P)

[bono_man2002]

hi,

i was recently attempting the intro to I will follow...when to my surpise my string broke
my question is will it cost much to repair?, i'll take it into the store tommrow

 

[Pinball Wizard]

I'm assuming it was your high e string (1st string), because that's usually the first bastard to go. If it's just a string or two that broke it's not a big deal at all. Unfortunately most places don't sell individual strings, so you'll probably have to purchase a package of all six. Depending on whether it's electric/acoustic or steel/nylon/straw, the price will vary. But it shouldn't cost too much with any of the sets.

My advice would be to learn how to change your strings, instead of paying for the labour. You'll probably need to make a quick change at some point if you're serious about pursuing guitar further... and I'm sure someone at a local shop wouldn't mind showing you how to do it. For free.



You may as well change all the strings at this point... if you've been playing hard enough to break one, the rest are most likely dead anyway. And it gives you the added benefit of practice.

 

[bono_man2002]

acturly its my 5th string...or the A string

i'm going into the store tommrow

 

[Pinball Wizard]

That is incredibly odd.

Are you sure you were playing the right song?

 

[gragravar]

Breaking a string is nothing to worry about... it happens all the time to all musicians and seems to happen regardless of the age of the string so the sooner you learn to change strings yourself the better. Someone asked the same question (which I answered) a month or two back so have a look for a thread on this forum called something like "How do I change a string" or similar. You can't repair a string by the way, when it's broken it's broken.

If one string goes without excessive provocation the others probably aren't too far behind so I'd suggest you change the lot while you're at it. You could keep all the strings on until they break I suppose but they'll sound terrible, won't stay in tune and learning to play guitar under those circumstances won't be much fun. If you're not sure which brand you want I'd suggest a well-known brand name like Ernie Ball (personally I like these), Fender, D'addario or similar. Costs will be around $5 for bargain basement strings (best avoided) and maybe twice that for a good quality brand name. As for gauge, medium light is a good starting point. I also suggest you buy a couple of sets and make it a habit to change your strings at least every month if you're just hacking about on your own, more often if you're playing with other people.

Good luck

Mick

 

[Pinball Wizard]

Ernie Ball indeed... probably a 9 gauge.



Another word of advice, if you happen to apply the string improperly (for instance winding in the wrong direction) it's best if you don't try to use it again. Some people say you have two shots at getting it right, but in my experience it's better to do it in one try or not at all.

 

[alexvilagosh]

My high E string is broken!

But it makes it easier to play All Along The Watchtower!

I want to get a guitar without the top string.

 

[gareth brown]

You've already got one. Stop contradicting yourself.

But back to Bono_Man's string breaking. Only solution I can think is, were you resting your palm on the string while playing. ( Needlessley Palm-Muting a string you weren't using? [if you know what I mean...?] ) causing it to snap because of the 'strain'....?

Because that happened to me once...which means, you've probably got the string strung too tight. May I suggest lowering the action on the bridge so it won't be as tight.

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

if your stings are getting so weak that they break easily, it's best to change them all because they can wack you good in the hand/face. Hurts like a mofo, and can even cut you.


I've never changed the strings on my bass and I've had it for a year It's very unlikely that they'd break, but they're probably not giving me the best sound