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akahele
Aloha
USA
33 Posts |
 Posted - 02/17/2005 : 9:25:16 PM
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Aloha all,
Just a quick question for those playing classical guitars. Do you experience occasional busted strings? If so, which string(s) seem to break most often? I've talked to some other players and they indicated that string breakage on steel string guitars is fairly common but not so on the nylon string guitars. I've had about 3 or 4 "D" strings (the #4 string or thinnest wound one) break over the last few years. It's always this string so I'm wondering if this is normal since this is the only wound string at normal tension (I play in taro patch) or if there might be a problem that I can't see on the bridge of my guitar. (yes the break is always at the bridge end.)
Mahalo,
Clif
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2005 : 08:51:49 AM
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| For me, statistically, less than 1 broken string every 2 years. Each time it's been the result of careless overwinding while installing the string. A friend with whom I play - we both play "classicals" had 1 broken string in last 5 years. |
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Auntie Nancy
`Olu`olu
USA
593 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2005 : 12:24:21 PM
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Funny, last new strings I put on, the 4th string broke at the bridge as I was puttin it on = TWAAANG!! I hadn't even gotten it in at the neck - just pulling the knot tight (no pegs or little nut on string).
OC = Orange County...... earthquakes much bigger in LA county.
And it's probably due to qual control (or lack thereof) at the factory...., you leave your strings out in acid rain?
auntie |
nancy cook |
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sandman
Lokahi
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2005 : 12:40:59 PM
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Interesting. I've had my classical for around seven years and have never broken a string, although I've changed them a number of times. Perhaps I should play more? 
Sandy |
Leap into the boundless and make it your home.
Zhuang-zi |
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kahealani
Akahai
USA
64 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2005 : 5:47:01 PM
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The 3rd (G) string seems to break a lot, probably 'cause I switch between the Double Slack and the Taro Patch tunings a lot.
Because of the strings breaking so often, I have developed a "tuning phobia" (i always get a free slap on the cheek)  . |
Brittni Paiva
www.brittnipaiva.com
www.myspace.com/brittnipaiva |
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akahele
Aloha
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2005 : 4:21:13 PM
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Aloha all,
Just some other info I noticed on the back of the package of strings - I use D'Addario Pro Arte hard tension strings and on the package it lists the diameter and tension for each string. Amazing what you can find when you just look Of all the strings, the 4th (D) is actually at the highest (16.3 lbs) tension. I suppose the high tension coupled with the smaller diameter would lead to this being one of the most frequently broken strings. The high E or first string is of slightly smaller diameter and similar tension would also possibly be likely to break but the different construction maybe makes this less likely. For those that are curious, I've listed the strings below by diameter (inch/mm) and tension (lbs/kg) from the high E to the low E.
Clif
E 0.0285/0.0724 15.8/7.17
B 0.0327/0.831 12.0/5.44
G 0.0410/1.041 12.4/5.62
D 0.0300/0.760 16.3/7.39
A 0.0360/0.910 15.9/7.21
E 0.0440/1.120 14.5/6.58
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Edited by - akahele on 02/22/2005 4:22:42 PM |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2005 : 5:31:39 PM
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I am surprised that the tension listed above is so high. These are classical strings - right?? It's hard to believe that a plastic string is holding over 16 pounds while the steel strings are set to only 20 pounds! I would expect the classicals would be strung at something like half the tension of the steel.
Very interesting....
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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akahele
Aloha
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2005 : 8:54:36 PM
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Lawrence,
Well your comments got me to do more research - I went searching for the D'Addario web site and this is what I found. You are right in that the classical strings are strung to about half the tension of steel - I just did a quick check of their medium gauge bronze strings and those tensions (in lbs) are 27.4/26.3/34.3/34.8/32.8/27.9 going from high E to low E. Switching to the light gauge the tensions are 23.3/23.3/29.4/29.5/28.4/25.1 so for the D string that I seem to keep breaking, it sits at about half the tension of the steel strings between the light and medium gauges. While I was browsing the D'Addario site, I found this:
Note: It is common for classical plain nylon treble strings (1st, 2nd, & 3rd) to last longer than the wound bass strings (4th, 5th & 6th). Most professional classical guitarists will go through two to three sets of wound bass strings for every set of plain nylon treble strings.
So had I seen this before I wouldn't have used all this bandwidth wondering if something was wrong with my guitar! 
Clif |
Edited by - akahele on 02/22/2005 8:59:29 PM |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2005 : 07:19:43 AM
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Seems my memory is not accurate here either. My recollection of 20lbs is much lower that the numbers you quote. I will have to go back and check the MathCad document I made years ago that calculates the ideal diameter for any string for any given tuning and for any preferred tension. The number I remember was certainly for light guage strings (and d'Adarrio to boot).
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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