uke damaged from broken string?

dirtiestkidever

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Shortly after I got my new ukulele I decided to change the strings. As I was getting the A string up to tension (still about a full step flat) the string broke. And when I looked down at the bridge I could see a short (a little less than a cm) deep scratch in the uke in the area immediately behind the hole for the A string. Since the uke was brand new and since I just removed the old A string I am 100% sure it was not there before the string broke.

Is this a common occurrence? I have a hard time figuring out how this even happened. The top is cedar which is supposed to be soft. But I was still surprised that a string could have done this.

I could post a picture if that would help.
 
Sorry, that stinks when it happens on a new uke.

Usually when string snaps on me, I find an end hits below the bridge and impales itself into a round indent about the diameter of the string. What is the finish of the uke? Sometime on a gloss you can burnish or polish it and lessen how noticeable it is.
 
That sucks. Now you can play the hell out of it. That ding has set you free.
 
That sucks. Now you can play the hell out of it. That ding has set you free.

:agree: and, yeah, most cedar is very soft, especially when protected only by a thin satin finish. I had a guitar with a cedar top and after a couple of years it was liberally covered with little curved impressions from fingernail taps and areas around the pick guard and the top treble bout were worn probably 1/32" deep...

John
 
One trick a lot of classical guitar players do is to "bead" the end of nylon/fluorocarbon strings before putting them on. Hold the end over a flame (cigarette lighter or match) until the end melts into a little ball, then let it cool.

It won't stop a string from breaking, but if it does it's less likely to ding the finish than a sharp cut string end.
 
Shortly after I got my new ukulele I decided to change the strings. As I was getting the A string up to tension (still about a full step flat) the string broke. And when I looked down at the bridge I could see a short (a little less than a cm) deep scratch in the uke in the area immediately behind the hole for the A string. Since the uke was brand new and since I just removed the old A string I am 100% sure it was not there before the string broke.

Is this a common occurrence? I have a hard time figuring out how this even happened. The top is cedar which is supposed to be soft. But I was still surprised that a string could have done this.

I could post a picture if that would help.

Let me guess. Were they Aquilas that you were stringing up?
 
Will do. Thanks. So it sounds like this is something that happens. I thought maybe I was the first one to witness some freak event.

Here are some picturs for those whose who are interested (my apologies for them being upside down).

photo (1).jpgphoto.jpg
 
Hmm. I've never had that happen with fluorocarbons. Next time you string up lay a credit card behind the bridge until you are up to tension.

It did happen to me once with Worth strings...coincidentally it was the A string as well...could it be that A string has a higher tension than the others?
 
Never had a string snap while bringing it up to tension and had only two snap when sitting in the case. I guess I been lucking out.
 
From the looks of that scrape I don't think the string snapped - I think the tie may have slipped. I have had that happen on one of my ukes as I was tuning up and it left an almost identical mark though not so long or deep. Actually, though I've only had it mark the uke once, I've had the A string slip enough times that I've taken to melting the end of the string as someone else has already recommended - the "bulb" keeps the tail of the string from pulling through the tie if it does begin to slip.

John
 
Hmm. I've never had that happen with fluorocarbons. Next time you string up lay a credit card behind the bridge until you are up to tension.

good idea. Maybe even a double layer of blue painter's tape.


dphansti, A Luthier could probably fix that scratch if it bother's you,,, right Chuck?
 
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good idea. Maybe even a double layer of blue painter's tape.


dphansti, A Luthier could probably fix that scratch if it bother's you,,, right Chuck?

Don't use blue painter's tape if the finish is lacquer. It'll leave a foot print. Scotch green tape is safe on lacquer although It wouldn't give you that much protection. Those dents can get pretty deep.
Dents are difficult to repair. It can be filled and leveled by by someone who knows what they are doing but it will likely never be invisible. Play it and don't worry about it. It won't be the last ding you get.
 
Don't use blue painter's tape if the finish is lacquer. It'll leave a foot print. Scotch green tape is safe on lacquer although It wouldn't give you that much protection. Those dents can get pretty deep.
Dents are difficult to repair. It can be filled and leveled by by someone who knows what they are doing but it will likely never be invisible. Play it and don't worry about it. It won't be the last ding you get.


Thanks for the blue tape tip..I never would of thunk it...haha

yeah...that won't be the first ding on your uke...just keep playing...I hate it when you hit the latch of your case...that is something else...ouch!
 
Thanks guys. I am not loosing any sleep over the ding. I wish it wasn't there but I its really not that big of a deal. I was more interested in the peculiar way it happened.
 
A little off topic, but kinda on.. Most people way underestimate the energy stored in a string on a string instrument. Lots of stress and energy that is released suddenly due to a break. That said, it wouldn't suprize me on a soft top that a string could dent, or at least scratch. Years ago, while playing guitar, I had a steel string pop on me. Happens all the time really, but in a freak coincidence my hand and finger was just coming up for a note/strum when it broke, and the string cut my knuckle like someone hit me with a razor. Suprized me feeling a sting and bleeding like a stuck pig right in the middle of a performace. I guess it would have gone un-noticed if we were playing a KISS tune or something.. lol .. It happens... ;)
 
@Tudorp - a friend of mine years ago was playing when his G string popped and actually went through a small corner of the fleshy part of one of his fingers between the knuckles. It went in and out in the space of maybe 1/8" - most bizarre thing I've ever seen. He was screaming like somebody had gutted him and I was rolling on the floor laughing. He had always kidded me about using "angel hair" strings because I only played tens and he was playing 13's "like real men do" and then he's screaming like a little girl over the nick.

Edit to add: Oh...and lets keep our minds above the gutter, children... :)

John
 
:confused: I was expecting to see the mark on the other side of the bridge...
...can anyone explain how the string would reach there?
 
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