# Nylon string continually breaking.



## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

My Perez classical guitar is driving me nuts. I play the guitar very seldom, always finger style and not very hard at that. I regularly find, on going back to the guitar, that the 5th string winding has snapped. It never breaks when I am playing it. It always breaks at the bridge which is no sharper at the 5th string position than any other. I always use tied off strings, not ball end. I do not particularly want to leave guitar detuned when not in use but I will if need be. The guitar is in an unheated room, though not a cold room (currently around 68'F) and out of sunlight.
Any thoughts and any advice?


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

take a look at the saddle, and the way the strings angle off of it.
if theres any kind of point, or burr on the saddle, where the string contacts it, the string will break.
i angle acoustic saddles so that as the string comes out of the hole, it touches a soft rounded edge at the saddle. then, as it peaks across the top of the saddle,
its a smooth, gentle transition. that way the string is supported, but not impeded in any way.
get you some sandpaper and round off the saddle top a bit.
should essentially be an upside down U shape- gentle rise to peak, smooth top.
something is cutting into the windings of that string-
whereabouts is Kirkcaldy?


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

My first thought is a burr too. Does the guitar live in a case when you're not playing? Could something in the case be rubbing there?

Have you experimented with different brands of strings?


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## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

On closer examination I found string is breaking where it is tied off and trapped by itself. I use the conventional method to tie off but it is my intention to try tieing knots this time instead of the loop and trap method.
Fraser. Kirkcaldy is in Fife, across the Firth of Forth, NE of Edinburgh and about 30 miles from it.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

or you could try using beads- like glass jewelry beads- feed the string thru the bead, then tie the knot. thats what i like to do with my old classical, brightens up the tone a bit.
anyway, good luck.
cool- ive still got family in bonnyrig, just across the firth lol


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

Is the fraying happening on top of the tie block or at the back or it? Are you looping the string around itself twice or once? Is the final loop happening on top or at the back of the tie block? Is it getting kinked when you loop it around itself?


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## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

The part of string that gets cut is where, as the string passes over the bridge and into the tie block, it passes under the loop from bottom of tie block. It is always the 5th string.


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

Can you post a picture of your tieblock with the strings on it and also mark where the string is breaking?

Have you tried different brands of strings?

Are you using the wrong end there?


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## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

*Wrong end ?*

Therein could lie the problem. I did not realise there was a right and a wrong end. Last night I restrung guitar using glass beads and knots to attach the strings. That method certainly seems to make the tuning more stable. I have always used d`Addario strings in the past but this time I have used Adagio.


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

On some brands the wound strings have an end that's less tightly wound, sometimes with a small loop on it. It's leftover from the string making process. Other brands cut it off before packing the strings for sale. Using that soft end could cause what you're describing.


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## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

Thanks kat_ I will look out for that in future.


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