We’ve all been there…
Your guitar plays fine for days—even weeks—and then you get to the big show, it’s almost time for your solo, and your string breaks. It sucks.
The good news is, by learning a bit about why guitar strings break, we can learn how to prevent it. And in most cases, the problem can be diagnosed by taking a close look at where the string is breaking and making a few small adjustments or improvements to your setup, to ensure it doesn’t keep happening.
Sidenote: As a guitar string company ourselves, there’s nothing more frustrating than having someone write in to explain that they’ve had five straight High E strings break right at the bridge, and asking what’s wrong with our strings… In most cases, strings break because they encountered something sharp on the guitar—and this is especially true when your strings are consistently breaking at the same place.
1. Guitar strings break because the bridge is too sharp
Like I mentioned in the sidenote up above—does it seem like it’s always the same string breaking, over and over? Take a look at where the string is breaking. If it seems to always happen a few inches from the ball end, your bridge might be to blame.
Of all the places where guitar strings can break, the bridge is undoubtedly the most common location. Tune-o-matic bridges are especially unforgiving when it comes to strings. Sometimes, especially with new guitars, the saddles are just too sharp.
If this is the case, take a small file or a bit of sandpaper to the crease in the bridge where the string lies and see if you can smooth it out a bit. If you don’t have any on hand, another option is to take a used string and rub it over the bridge slot a bit to try and smooth things out—though admittedly this doesn’t work quite as well as the sandpaper/file option.
2. Guitar strings break because of rough fret edges
Maybe it isn’t the same string that always breaks, but does it always seem to happen in the same spot? If that spot is anywhere up near the neck, a rough fret edge may be to blame for your broken string woes.
If your strings are breaking mid-way between the bridge and the neck, take a close look at your frets and see if there are any burred edges. Even if you can’t see anything on your frets, you may just want to take note of where your strings are breaking. Simply take the end of your freshly broken string and stretch it out from the bridge to see where the break occured.
Just as above, if your frets seem like they might be to blame, try to smooth them out with a bit of sand paper or a file. Since most guitar frets are Nickel Silver, they’re soft enough for you to get the job done without exerting too much force.
3. Guitar strings break because the nut is dirty or worn
If your strings are breaking near the nut, that should be a red flag that something is wrong up top. Usually there are two instances where a nut can contribute to string breakage: dirt gathering in the slot of the nut, or a nut that has been worn by heavier strings.
It’s always a good idea to clean the nut when restringing to remove any dirt or grime that might have settled in. Nut sauce or lubricant can also be a really good option to employ during string changes and has the added benefit of improving your tuning stability, since there’s nothing for your strings to catch on there in the nut.
If you suspect that the nut may be contributing to your guitar strings breaking, it might also be a good idea to file it down a bit to remove any sharp edges that might have been created by switching between string gauges. Again, very fine sandpaper or a small file are the best tools for the job.
4. Guitar strings break because of burred tuning posts
If your guitar strings are always breaking right near the tuning posts—you guessed it—your tuning posts might be to blame.
Rarely, guitars come from the factory with burred edges on the tuning posts that can cause breakage, even on a brand new guitar. This doesn’t mean that burred edges can’t also occur over time of course, as that certainly can happen as well.
The best technique we’ve found is to use an old wound string (preferably a thick one) and work it through the string hole in a circular motion against the edges to smooth out any offending burrs.
5. Guitar strings break because you’re using the wrong strings
Guitar strings are made to hold up to a lot of tension, so in most cases, repeat string breakage is due to a mechanical problem with the guitar itself. But if you are using standard strings for an alternate tuning, forcing some strings to hold higher tensions than they were designed for, this could easily cause a string to break.
The best solution is to always use the right strings for the job. Our balanced guitar string sets are a great choice if you’re playing in standard tuning—but if you’re playing in an open tuning it’s best to get a custom set of strings that lets you keep tension even between the individual strings.
We made a whole video talking a bit more in depth about these difference causes of breakage, and more importantly, what you can do to fix them:
23 Responses
None of these five reasons why my guitar string broke the D string just uncoil it self and I haven’t played the guitar in awhile so I don’t know how it could’ve snapped.
If it didn’t happen at any of the places identified in the article, you might just have a bad string. What brand are you using?
I just bought a brand new sterling maj100 icr John Petrucci signature guitar and the high e string broke in the same spot twice in 2 days….. the string broke almost directly in between the locking tuner and the nut, what should I do?
Are you using the Ernie Ball strings that come with it?
Is it common for a new guitar with factory strings to have the strings break more easily?
Yes, just because factory strings are typically cheap to begin with, and are sitting on a guitar for months (or even years) by the time it gets purchased.
Nice to know valuable reasons why guitar strings often break. Recently I have repaired the parts of guitar neck but now one of the strings has been broken and I have to replace. At present my guitar learning is stopped due to this and I want to replace the guitar string by myself. This article gives me information about the reasons for breaking of guitar strings but now I need information how to replace it. Please provide some information about this.
Hi Nethan, thanks for reaching out! Search “how to change guitar strings” on YouTube, there are tons of good tutorials.
I’m a bass player, and my E string broke… Again. What do I do?
Hey Lizz! Is it breaking at the same place on the guitar?
I just got my guitar about an hour ago. I wanted to start tuning it, and my 1st string (E) broke. What do I do?
Grab a single E string and try it again! Be sure not to over-tighten it.
I was tuning my d string and the e string broke. For some reason the e string was connected to the d tuning nut. I only know 2 chords. Now it’s going to take me a while to find new strings. The worst part about my string was the fact that it broke in guitar class!
That’s a bummer, I’m sorry to hear it! We do sell single strings, and if you switch to playing our strings we replace ones that break early.
Now I will give you the real reason strings break, (no matter where they snap) when using an electronic tuner. It is because the tuner is not registering the note you are trying to tune it to. I discovered this after breaking several strings trying to get a 12 string guitar tuned properly. I finally noticed that as I tried to tune the “B” strings that the tuner was skipping from “G to “D” leaving out “B”
and I kept turning the key trying to find B until the string broke. EGBDF is the scale the tuner should progress through. I think it probably has something to do with the unique frequencies of B and D.
Hey Charles — I think this is an experience that’s somewhat singular to you… It sounds like you have a dud tuner.
I don’t think so. Some tuners will worble back and forth between two notes for whatever reason. You get used to it though and are able to adapt.
Hey Dan! That’s not a good thing—I’d take a look at your tuners and even your nut to see if the problem could lie there and be fixed easily enough.
That same thing happened to me on the same string.
Voila, give thanks. There was a lot of technical info on this. Let me check out mine. I always break the No. 1 E string nearer to the bridge.
I hate it when i experienced broken strings especially in the middle of the gig. The Hassle of replacing the guitar string during the set makes me wanna walk out and leave. i guess these following reasons will help me find out why i keep having a broken guitar string.
This was so helpful!
i was breaking the third string and looked real close found the nut had i very small crack in it