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String Break Driving Me Crazy.

I've built about twenty CBGs in the past year (three, four and five stringers. Fretted and sliders). I've used a number of different style tuners and only occasionally break a string.

Recently, I built a six-stringer with a Piezo pickup. I'm using good quality medium weight, bronze wound strings (0.013~0.056). My tuning is standard guitar tuning (E A D G B E).

In the past three weeks, I've broken the three-string twice, the four-string once and today, the one-string. I'm using an electronic tuner, so I'm not over tightening, but I've never broke strings like.

Note: Every string is breaking right at the point where the string exits the tuner shaft.

I'm using the Gitty black Tombstone sealed tuners. I've used them on at least four other builds and never had a problem.

So, does anyone have any idea what might be causing the breakage?

Has anyone had a similar problem?

Has anyone ever had to smooth and re-contour the string holes in the tuners?

Could they be the cause? A bad batch maybe?

I'm pulling out the last of my hair over this and I really hate pitching almost-new strings.

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on January 31, 2016 at 11:48am

The one time I had string breaks, I had a bur on the ferrule where the string bent out to the body...

If you're breaking strings at the tuner, could they be binding at the nut? If strings bind on the nut, the pull from tuner to nut would be much higher than the string tension...

Let us know how it works out.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 31, 2016 at 12:12pm

Hi Wayfinder.

I'm using a zero fret, so the nut is nothing more than a string guide. The slots are all very generous. Still, I'll drop a bit of graphite in the grooves.

The one-string is only 0.013" and un-wound. I'm pretty sure it is not too tight in the nut groove.

I'm leaning toward inspecting and "de-burring the tuners.

It is a bit frustrating to use a setup you've used several times before with components you've used before and suddenly get a new problem. Yikes!

Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 31, 2016 at 1:36pm

Wayfinder, I can try for photo, but they "are" black

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 31, 2016 at 2:11pm

Wayfinder,

Here are a couple of photos of the tuner that broke two #3 strings.

I compared this one to some gold open tuners that I've used a number of times without problem. To me they look close to the same.

What to you think of this one?

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on January 31, 2016 at 3:20pm

Meh, I don't see a problem here... How are you wrapping your strings? I always go one wrap up above the tail, the rest down...

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on February 1, 2016 at 12:51am

John,

Funny thing. I do the same approach. I saw it somewhere.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on February 1, 2016 at 12:56am

Wayfinder,

Nothing unusual about the headstock. Pretty much the same as all my others:

- 10 degree down angle from fret board. to headstock.

- Strings routed to the inside.

- No unusually sharp angles from nut to tuner post.

- No string guides or such.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on February 2, 2016 at 12:47pm

First pic. I see a shiny little divot at the holes edge that could be breaking your string.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 31, 2016 at 12:07pm

Thanks, John.

The tuners are black, so burs might be hiding without close inspection. I may just have to un-string the guitar and pull my magnifying glass.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on January 31, 2016 at 12:51pm

If no burs are found, it could be bad strings. That's something I've dealt with lately. Had some Martin and Southbound strings that had several breaks. Went back to my trusty D'Addario.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on January 31, 2016 at 1:37pm

I understand bad strings, but having so many different strings bad is unusual. But not impossible.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on January 31, 2016 at 1:29pm

If they all break at the tuner post Tom,i'd think most likely a hard edge on the hole,maybe a batch made just before a tooling change,it does seem too many