Snapping string - is it me?

greenie44

Big King Velour
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Hi all -

I am a little sheepish about posting this, as I fear the issue may be the dreaded user error. But I am having a problem with restringing a uke.

I got a solid body uke in China this summer. It's a lot of fun, but I decided to try it with some different strings. So I unstrung it and started to put the new strings on. When I got to the E, it was, at first, slipping at the bridge (the nut is one where the string passes over the bridge and then comes out and heads up the neck, like here)

Ukulele_Bridge_with_Saddle_sm.jpg

but then I looped it over a few times and it held. I was tuning it up and it kept slipping in the tuner. Finally, it started to get close to the pitch and the string just snapped.

I have tried it twice more, with the same results.

Is it just me? Should I try to take the string to wind counter clockwise (I have been doing it clockwise, as it was before) Or has it just been bad luck, or the uke itself?

Thanks in advance.
 
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I would check and make sure that there aren't any burrs or rough spots in the nut or at the bridge, that when you're tuning a string to pitch, can act as a saw.

Just to also take care of everything, you did use the correct string, right? You didn't try to tune a string up to a pitch it wasn't meant for?
 
I would check and make sure that there aren't any burrs or rough spots in the nut or at the bridge, that when you're tuning a string to pitch, can act as a saw.

Just to also take care of everything, you did use the correct string, right? You didn't try to tune a string up to a pitch it wasn't meant for?

Yes, no problem. It was the right string all three times, from two different manufacturers.

But, hmmm. The snap always happens at the tuner, and there is a slight indentation on one side of the tuner. I wonder if that could be it? It's on the side that would get the pressure with a clockwise winding. Maybe I should try counterclockwise, where the edge of the tuner hole is smoother?
 
Or I would take a small bit of sandpaper and see if you can smooth that out. It is probably what is causing the snap, especially if it's happening in the same spot every time.
 
Are you sure you are in the right octave...many make that same mistake..if it does not sound like my dog has fleas...you probally are not one or more strings
You can burn the ends if its slipping fleurocarbons or Nylon....
 
Thanks guys. One Bad Monkey - bingo! I looked on the nut and the bridge and couldn't feel anything, and then felt both sides of the tuner, and found a little burr in the metal. I filed it down carefully (and wound the string counterclockwise to make sure I didn't put that part at the leading pressure edge) and it worked. You are one good monkey!

And Stan, a little magical wave of a match stopped the slipping at the bridge. Problem solved!
 
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