Fear of breaking strings…

[metropolis_4]

I have a horrible fear of breaking strings during a show.

I’m playing this show where I have a long extended guitar solo towards the end and then I launch into Johnny B Goode as an encore. Every night I think what would I do if I broke a string right before this solo. So I’ve been changing strings every 1-2 weeks.

Tuesday I put on fresh strings and 2 days later at their first show I broke one right at the end of Johnny B Goode

Way too close for comfort.

And now I can’t even feel confident with brand new strings

 

[la szum]

Can't you just adapt and improvise? If a string breaks and it is not with a Floating Trem, then you should still
be in tune and can play the same licks (mostly) on other strings, or in a different position.

I am just so used to shit happening and going with the flow at this point. I think when we experience enough
"failures," then we realize they will inevitably happen, so we become sort of fearless.

Not that it is any comfort to you.

 

[metropolis_4]

Can't you just adapt and improvise? If a string breaks and it is not with a Floating Trem, then you should still
be in tune and can play the same licks (mostly) on other strings, or in a different position.

I am just so used to s**t happening and going with the flow at this point. I think when we experience enough
"failures," then we realize they will inevitably happen, so we become sort of fearless.

Not that it is any comfort to you.

Even without a floating trem it pulls all the other strings sharp enough that I can’t play before a quick tune.

But yeah, I’d figure something out if it actually happened. I probably worry too much about it, it’s almost like a phobia.

When I was a kid I had a brand new Dean ML with a Floyd and I brought it to a gig the first night I had it. I broke a string and I had no spare strings and no backup guitar. It was a nightmare, and ever since I’ve had a thing about string breaks.

 

[Lopp]

Do you bring a backup guitar?

As some reassurance, the audience is typically very forgiving, especially for a mishap like a broken string. If all the strings go out, just make a wild bend on one and then switch to your backup. The audience will love you made a fun production out of it.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Even without a floating trem it pulls all the other strings sharp enough that I can’t play before a quick tune.

But yeah, I’d figure something out if it actually happened. I probably worry too much about it, it’s almost like a phobia.

When I was a kid I had a brand new Dean ML with a Floyd and I brought it to a gig the first night I had it. I broke a string and I had no spare strings and no backup guitar. It was a nightmare, and ever since I’ve had a thing about string breaks.

It's crazy how moments like this dig into your mind. Ugh.

 

[metropolis_4]

It's crazy how moments like this dig into your mind. Ugh.

Yes! I was just talking to someone about that last night.

When I first started playing I had one pick I found in my moms guitar case. I lost it one day and I couldn’t play for like 4 days until I could get my parents to drive me across town to the music store and buy me a new pick.

Today I have a drawer full of hundreds of picks and I keep stashes of them everywhere I play.

 

[metropolis_4]

Do you bring a backup guitar?

As some reassurance, the audience is typically very forgiving, especially for a mishap like a broken string. If all the strings go out, just make a wild bend on one and then switch to your backup. The audience will love you made a fun production out of it.

Yeah, I definitely always have a backup.

The audience is probably a lot more forgiving than I think in my head.

I think about it a lot more when I’m doing these theater gigs because I have some parts where it’s like the emotional climax of the whole show, and there’s silence in the theater, and then all everyone hears is me playing… and I think what would happen if I broke a string right before that part!

For example: when I played The Sound of Music, at the end the audience is in tears, and there’s dead silence as Captain Von Trapp steps into the spotlight, everyone’s full attention is focused on the moment, and the only sound in the building is my guitar as he begins to softly and emotionally sing Edelweiss… SNAP

 

[Los-D]

Oh, I’ve been there. Scarred for life.

I’ve broken strings at gigs both during soundcheck (Steinberger guitar back in the 90s and had to drive across town to find the only local double-ball distributor), as well as live (Les Paul copy once, no issues there; Floyd Guitar another time, MAJOR disaster). Nice thing about the Steinberger guitar was I could lock the bridge to finish the gig, but like you miss my high E string so needed workarounds, but with the Floyd superstrat it meant borrowing a guitar from other bands mid set.

I switched to mostly hard-tail or non-floating tremolo (blocking the trem system myself) for live playing, and had a buddy’s FR-equipped fully floating guitar for the 1-2 songs I actually needed it. Eventually I stopped using the fully floating guitar completely out of fear.

Of course I don’t play live anymore and my “practice time” consists of me posting memes in this forum so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[metropolis_4]

Oh, I’ve been there. Scarred for life.

I’ve broken strings at gigs both during soundcheck (Steinberger guitar back in the 90s and had to drive across town to find the only local double-ball distributor), as well as live (Les Paul copy once, no issues there; Floyd Guitar another time, MAJOR disaster). Nice thing about the Steinberger guitar was I could lock the bridge to finish the gig, but like you miss my high E string so needed workarounds, but with the Floyd superstrat it meant borrowing a guitar from other bands mid set.

I switched to mostly hard-tail or non-floating tremolo (blocking the trem system myself) for live playing, and had a buddy’s FR-equipped fully floating guitar for the 1-2 songs I actually needed it. Eventually I stopped using the fully floating guitar completely out of fear.

Of course I don’t play live anymore and my “practice time” consists of me posting memes in this forum so take it with a grain of salt.

Yeah, same here. I used to love the idea of double locking floating trems, but I stopped using them for live playing. It just wasn’t worth the risk. Now it’s hard tail or non-floating only.

Which works fine, I can’t remember the last time I was asked to play something live that required a floating trem.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Yes! I was just talking to someone about that last night.

When I first started playing I had one pick I found in my moms guitar case. I lost it one day and I couldn’t play for like 4 days until I could get my parents to drive me across town to the music store and buy me a new pick.

Today I have a drawer full of hundreds of picks and I keep stashes of them everywhere I play.

You definitely got some backup picks from the looks of your pick pile in the other thread!

 

[metropolis_4]

You definitely got some backup picks from the looks of your pick pile in the other thread!

D*mn right I’ve got some backups! I’m not going through that again

 

[Stone]

Fortunately for me if i break a string my cat wont care
but i have not broken any string in a long time like maybe 3 years now

 

[DrewJD82]

I might have mentioned this in another thread, but snapping strings is exactly what got me to calm myself down before gigs. A couple cocktails + anxiousness + high energy metal riffs + picking up my guitar by the whammy bar like Vai = a lot of snapped strings.

There were like 5 gigs in a row I snapped a string on my JEM by the 2nd song, usually right away in the first one. At this point I can’t even remember the last time I snapped one live, I just snap them when I’m not paying attention on a reverse headstock or the bottom tuning machines on an acoustic, I always forget to turn the tuning machines in the opposite direction.

 

[Baba]

Of course I don’t play live anymore and my “practice time” consists of me posting memes in this forum so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[fretworn]

 

[mbenigni]

I know some players go so far as to change their strings for every show, but I could never understand it. I've never trusted strings to be properly stretched until they've got a few days on them (nor do I particularly like the sound of brand new strings.) And if I were changing them every week, I'd be more worried about increasing the odds of running into a defective string than anything. A week or two of playing is less "wear and tear" and more like QA.

 

[hippietim]

This is easy to take care of. For your big solo song before Johnny B Goode, you switch to your trusty new Fesley super strat. If you break a string, the guitar pays dearly because you're going to smash it to pieces. The audience will love it. Problem solved. You're welcome.

 

[dk_ace]

Where are you breaking the strings at? If they’re always breaking in the same place(s), it’s probably something that can be fixed.

D

 

[la szum]

Also, if you really fear breaking a string just be like Tim and avoid the bends at all costs.

 

[mbenigni]

Also, if you really fear breaking a string just be like Tim and avoid the bends at all costs.

Worst Johnny B. Goode cover ever lol.