High e string keeps breaking

[W.L.Weller]

does the G break at the ball end? I have been torturing my JM since day one and never busted a G. TONS of Es, and a couple Bs, but never a G.

One or 2 of them broke at the ball, but it was more common for them to snap at a fret position. I used up the 6-pack of .018 wound strings and haven't bought more. Now I'm working my way through a 12-pack of .024s. I think that may be a little too fine a gauge for a wound string, or possibly I managed to smooth out whatever fret burr by breaking so many of them (I don't think this is actually what happened, because they wouldn't snap at the same fret.)

[eligit]

does the G break at the ball end? I have been torturing my JM since day one and never busted a G. TONS of Es, and a couple Bs, but never a G.

One or 2 of them broke at the ball, but it was more common for them to snap at a fret position. I used up the 6-pack of .018 wound strings and haven't bought more. Now I'm working my way through a 12-pack of .024s. I think that may be a little too fine a gauge for a wound string, or possibly I managed to smooth out whatever fret burr by breaking so many of them (I don't think this is actually what happened, because they wouldn't snap at the same fret.)

Huh. That IS interesting. I can count on one hand the number of times i have ever broken a string (in 20+ years of playing guitar) at the frets on ANY guitar (rather than at the nut, at the bridge or at the ball end). Really strange. I would not think that any element of a jazzmaster would put undue stress on the string say at the 12th fret or whatever. Definitely at the bridge and more definitely at the ball end.

Sidenote: I was not always the most delicate player but by FAR the worst string breaking issue I have ever had was on high E strings, at the ball end, on my Jazzmaster. It was so bad it made me hesitant to gig with it. It was phenomenal to get it sorted out. now I play it hard every day with zero issues.

[loveinathens]

Hey, do any of you have experience with Kalium Strings or D'Addario Prosteels/NYXL? I play 12-52s most of the time, and Ernie Ball don't seem to make RPS sets in my gauge. I've been breaking strings at the ball end. It's usually from the string hoop around the ball end breaking from the tension.

[Aeon]

Check out my tip regarding flipping the screw on the tremolo, so as to prevent the winding on the strings from breaking due to contacting the top of the screws:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=104853" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This may be the solution to the OP's problem.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Sorry to revive an old thread but I got my AO60's Jaguar about a month ago and I've snapped 3 high e strings in that time. The string is definitely not in contact with the screw head. Every one of them has snapped at the ball end. The wind is still intact on the broken string.

I just got out the dremel tool with a round tip and ran all around the lip of the string hole in the vibrato just to make sure there's no burrs or sharp edges. I also went out and bought a pack of the Fender Super Bullet strings today and slapped them on. I guess we'll see what happens. None of the strings are making any contact with the tail piece or screws.

[Horsefeather]

I posted on this a while back, theorizing that ball end breaks occur due to concentrated tension on the lower side of the loop when the ball is oriented vertically. My proposed solution is to ensure the ball is positioned such that the string loop is flat relative to the guitar body and flexes evenly on each side. To that end I crafted a small bracket to insert in the top two strings. I haven't broken a string since making that post.

https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vi ... 7&t=114936

[HarlowTheFish]

I posted on this a while back, theorizing that ball end breaks occur due to concentrated tension on the lower side of the loop when the ball is oriented vertically. My proposed solution is to ensure the ball is positioned such that the string loop is flat relative to the guitar body and flexes evenly on each side. To that end I crafted a small bracket to insert in the top two strings. I haven't broken a string since making that post.

https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vi ... 7&t=114936

I found something similar on my Kiesel headless - the ball-ends rest in a little claw that gets pulled back to set tuning, and the closer they are to vertical (relative to the body), the likelier they are to break there. Less strain than on a JM as it's a hardtail, but it's pretty noticeable.

[doctorock78]

Just got a jag, instantly broke high E string with tremo use. Soldered ball end on new one, no issues since. It has to do with the ball end torquing in place and weakening the string / wrap.

[Powdered Toast Man]

I posted on this a while back, theorizing that ball end breaks occur due to concentrated tension on the lower side of the loop when the ball is oriented vertically. My proposed solution is to ensure the ball is positioned such that the string loop is flat relative to the guitar body and flexes evenly on each side. To that end I crafted a small bracket to insert in the top two strings. I haven't broken a string since making that post.

https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vi ... 7&t=114936

That is EXACTLY how my strings are breaking too. Soldering won't do anything whatsoever to fix this.

The weird thing is I owned a TVL JM from January to November and I didn't break a single string on it the entire time. My AO60's Jag I've had a month and I've snapped 3 strings on it so far.

[doctorock78]

Thanks for the thought! I would disagree, however, as I have 3 offsets at the moment (2 of which I have gigged / recorded extensively). Soldering the ball ends has completely solved the issue. Like clockwork, if I don't solder, the string breaks very quickly (I am a tremolo abuser). Same phenomenon with 2 other offsets (both JMs) that I no longer own as well. I have a hard time believing that the solder is not a factor.

I posted on this a while back, theorizing that ball end breaks occur due to concentrated tension on the lower side of the loop when the ball is oriented vertically. My proposed solution is to ensure the ball is positioned such that the string loop is flat relative to the guitar body and flexes evenly on each side. To that end I crafted a small bracket to insert in the top two strings. I haven't broken a string since making that post.

https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vi ... 7&t=114936

That is EXACTLY how my strings are breaking too. Soldering won't do anything whatsoever to fix this.

The weird thing is I owned a TVL JM from January to November and I didn't break a single string on it the entire time. My AO60's Jag I've had a month and I've snapped 3 strings on it so far.

[Snowmonkey]

I read this with interest this morning as I have snapped a couple of strings at the ball end. Ernie ball Slinkies.

And then just now, ping, the e string snapped. It seems to unwrap itself from the ball (or at least I am left with the ball with no string around it.

Time to try different strings?

[Snowmonkey]

For what it is worth, I am not much of a tremolo user...

I don't have a full set of strings handy as I already nicked the e string from my spare set. So currently my B & E are both 11s....

[Powdered Toast Man]

I read this with interest this morning as I have snapped a couple of strings at the ball end. Ernie ball Slinkies.

And then just now, ping, the e string snapped. It seems to unwrap itself from the ball (or at least I am left with the ball with no string around it.

Time to try different strings?

Some here rag on D'Addario's for being cheap. I've been using them for over a decade on every guitar I have through many gigs and I can count on one hand the number of strings I've broken in that time. All of a sudden I snap three of the same string in a month? On one particular guitar? Yeah I don't think the brand of string is the issue here.

I just tried a set of Fender Super Bullets because they have a completely different construction at the ball end. We'll see what happens.

[Snowmonkey]

I just tried a set of Fender Super Bullets because they have a completely different construction at the ball end. We'll see what happens.

Keep us posted...

[doctorock78]

Heat up the ball end with a soldering iron and wick some solder around the ball and the wrap next to the ball. You won't break that string anymore. Brand doesn't matter.

I read this with interest this morning as I have snapped a couple of strings at the ball end. Ernie ball Slinkies.

And then just now, ping, the e string snapped. It seems to unwrap itself from the ball (or at least I am left with the ball with no string around it.

Time to try different strings?