String pop on its own?

Rllink said:

So trying to keep up with what is going on here, first your C string just snapped. Then you were replacing all the strings with new ones, and the brand new A string broke. So you were replacing the brand new A string with the old one, and it broke. Is that right? Also, is this your new uke that you just got last month? This is too bad. I'm hoping that when these strings are breaking, that they are not scratching your new uke. I am not implying in any way that it is the uke that is the problem, but I would be getting hold of Chuck and asking him. He has a lot more experience with his ukes than anyone else, and he might know exactly what is going on.

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Yup, that is what happened. I didn't want to hassle Chuck with all he has on his mind right now with the lava flow. If it ever happens again I will ask but I don't think this is on him or Dirk - it looks like strings snapping of their own free will happens occasionally. After all it didn't happen before today and I have had the uke for a month or so. I think it was either me not being use to the 4:1 ratio, perhaps the way I wrapped them around the posts, or a weird coincidence.

But whew, no scratches.

Yes Staci, just two nights ago as a matter of fact. A Worth wound C on my Maui Music that has been on the uke for a year just snapped on it's own. It was hanging in the rack when I looked up and noticed that it had broken at the tuner post. Yes Gotoh UPT's. But after a year it was time for a change anyway. No damage to the uke.

wickedwahine11 said:

Yup, that is what happened. I didn't want to hassle Chuck with all he has on his mind right now with the lava flow. If it ever happens again I will ask but I don't think this is on him or Dirk - it looks like strings snapping of their own free will happens occasionally. After all it didn't happen before today and I have had the uke for a month or so. I think it was either me not being use to the 4:1 ratio, perhaps the way I wrapped them around the posts, or a weird coincidence.

But whew, no scratches.

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No hassle at all! I suspect they are breaking at the tuner posts. As Doc mentioned, those tuner posts are very small and create a tight angle where the string is wound. With plain strings I usually put them through the hole twice, only once for the bass strings. The string is wound first up the post, then down over the tail of the string. Did you restring it since you got it? Maybe it was a bad batch of strings but it seems unlikely that two strings would pop. I will send you another set of strings and we'll see what happens. If you have the same problem then I'll need to take a closer look at the tuners to make sure there aren't any unduly sharp edges at the posts. Having never had the problem before I'm a but stumped.

This has happened to me on my Pono tenor. The A string broke three times at what I figured was at the second fret. Thanks to Old Phart he pointed out that a break at that fret really was at the nut due to the stretch of the string. Using a very fine emery cloth, I lightly sanded the nut groove. No more broken strings.