# Eek! I snapped an electric guitar string. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281 "2006-08-04T03:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/1 "2006-08-04T03:26:37Z")
See, I snap strings on my acoustic all the time, but I can’t even remember if I’ve ever needed to put a new string on the electric. And I’m flummoxed. See, the bridge piece holder thing for the string I broke (high e) is all loose and slidey, but I don’t know if that’s what happens after a string snaps or if it’s not supposed to be that way and that’s _why_ the string snapped. Does tensing the string anchor the thingy in place? I don’t even know how to put the string in. There seems to be a hole, but without a pin à la acoustic how do you get it to stay in? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/2 "2006-08-04T03:31:26Z")
Easy - all you need is a willing (or not so willing) cat. o/~ A f-f-f-froggy went a-courtin’, and he did ride… C-c-c-crambo! o/~ ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/3 "2006-08-04T03:39:29Z")
What kind of guitar is it? If it has a bridge bolted onto the body, like a Les Paul type, the string slides through a hole on the back side, and out the front, where the ball catches in the socket. If it’s a Stratocaster type, the strings are loaded through the back of the guitar, and bend over the bridge and saddle on the top side. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/4 "2006-08-04T03:41:32Z")
Every electric guitar string I’ve ever seen has a kind of a bead at the end, which keeps it steady. You put the string through the hole at the back of the tailpiece, pull it through, then tie it to the tuning peg - making sure the string is laying in the groove properly. A lot of tailpieces do come loose if the strings come off. Yours is probably one of them and that would be nothing to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/5 "2006-08-04T07:25:11Z")
I sympathize. I hate it when I break a G string. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/6 "2006-08-04T10:09:57Z")
[QUOTE=Lama Pacos] . . . but I can’t even remember if I’ve ever needed to put a new string on the electric. [/quote] You have the same strings that were on the guitar when you took it from the shop? They don’t last for ever old boy. I suppose if you hardly ever play it they’ll be OK for years but I find that they go pretty dead after a few weeks, and I don’t play every day anymore. Get a whole new set, not just the one lonely E string. > [@](#): > > Does tensing the string anchor the thingy in place? Sounds like a Les Paul type bridge so, yes. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/7 "2006-08-04T11:19:12Z")
Go to a music store with the guitar. Buy a full set of strings. Ask the folks there to help, or at least watch and hang out while you do it. Change all the strings. Best of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/8 "2006-08-05T00:08:09Z")
Hey y’all, thanks for the help-- I impudently only got an E, but not because I don’t see the need for a new set, just because I don’t want to do a full restringing at the moment. So I strung it up, and after doing a few horrifying things with the little bridge thingy (like by mistake swiveling it on its axis-- hope this didn’t do anything bad), it’s all set, except the thingy that the string is on is set a bit further forward than all the other strings’ thingies. Is this bad? I don’t remember if it was slike this before. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/9 "2006-08-05T03:56:07Z")
I’m not sure what the thingy you’re talking about is, but all the strings should sit at slightly different spots on the bridge by design. I’m not familiar with the Les Paul setup, but if the thingies move around, it’s possible you loosened it and now its pulled as far forward as it can go by the string tension. If they don’t move, then you’re probably okay. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/10 "2006-08-05T03:59:55Z")
You didn’t just take the guitar and smash it and destroy your amp? What’s wrong with you? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/11 "2006-08-05T04:36:31Z")
Okay, let’s use some graphics. Is the bridge like photo #1? [![](https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/wolf_meister/GibsonSG.jpg) ](https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/wolf_meister/GibsonSG.jpg) OR like photo#2? [![](https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/wolf_meister/fendbrid.gif) ](https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/wolf_meister/fendbrid.gif) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eek-i-snapped-an-electric-guitar-string/367281/12 "2006-08-05T19:15:44Z")
If you peek at the fretboard side of your strings, you’ll see little dents from fret wear. I’m told that if you have better ears than mine, you can tell the difference in a new set. Some professionals will tell you so, especially if they have a string endorsement deal and a guitar tech travelling with them. Strings will also get a wee bit of corrosion from your finger oils, and bits of your callused fingertips will remain in the wound strings. Do these things make the strings sound bad? Maybe so.