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How often do your strings break and which string breaks most?

From Filipe Alves
Posted April 30, 2012 at 09:55 PM

So to me is the E (goldbrokat gauge 0,27) string around every 3/4 weeks.

The only time I've had a string break was a Pirastro Gold E, literally as the conductor was raising her baton for the start of a big carol concert being broadcast on local radio - and I was leading. All I could do until the interval was to explore the upper reaches of the A on the hoof!

That string broke in an unexpected place - halfway along the peg winding. I had transferred the string the previous day from another violin and I suspect a kink had developed, and that, in metal, is of course an instant source of weakness. The moral of this story is that I never now re-use an E.

Scott has already talked about fine adjusters breaking strings (be very careful with loop ends!), and I've known other player's strings break on the bridge or at the nut., This is invariably due to rough grooves abrading the string. The solution is obvious. Loose windings after a few weeks, or even days, of playing are, in my estimation, usually caused either by finger-nails or by a heavy finger action on the strings (hammering), especially if the violin itself is set up with a high action. Again, solutions are fairly obvious.

One thing I like about plain gut strings is that they give plenty of warning when they're going to fail. The tone quality, strangely enough, seems to me to be retained almost to the end, unlike with synthetic cores, but when the string starts to fray enough so that one's fingers are aware of it when playing, or the string can no longer play 5ths in tune, then it is time to retire that string to good use in the garden.

A tip to help ensure string longevity is, when installing a new string, not to take it up to pitch too quickly, but to do it slowly and steadily. That means that you avoid a sudden peak in tension (perhaps near to its rated maximum) which can weaken the string and reduce its playing life. And make sure the pegs are properly lubricated and turn well without sticking, which itself will cause an unwanted sudden increase in tension.

That being said, the string I seem to break most often while playing is the A string (at least, it was back when I used a steel A).

If your fiddle is in good shape and the strings are newish then a breakage is quite rare.

PS. Goldbrokat's are very cheap so put a new one on every two weeks ...

The worst was when I was playing Vivaldi's Winter. String snapped. After a moment of "omg I'm dead" I exchanged my instrument with the concertmaster's and continued.

After that, I make sure the concertmaster has a spare string in the pocket. You never know...

Last year, two regular Passiones (G and A) snapped at the peg box while the violin was in its case. I was shocked, because it was the first time such a thing happened to me. Besides that, strings rarely do break for me.

@Adalberto Sometimes it happens to me too because of the weather like in hours dropping from 86ºF to 50ºF or vice-versa.

Now I have upgraded the Passiones to Dominants I have no problems.

Cheers Carlo

On violin it's always my 'e' that snaps. On viola I always wear off the winding on the 'd' string at the pitch of 'a'.