# Broke a string in the middle of a song for the first time, video included!



## Dores (Aug 5, 2012)

From now on I'll always keep the backup guitar on stage, and not backstage

String break happens around 1:10 when the vocalist backs into me for the 38th time during that gig, it was crazy.
Shadowmind - Infected LIVE @ Grottene - YouTube

At first I though "Well the song is almost finished, so I'll just transpose that shit one octave up", but then I remembered that I have a floating tremolo, so it would sound like crap no matter what I did. So I had to run through the audience to the backstage area, get my other guitar, plug the wireless inn and start playing while running back up to the stage. It was awesome!

Share your string breaking stories!


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## Luke Acacia (Aug 5, 2012)

After a zillion years, I still have never had it happen. I still have a spare guitar off stage every show just in case. Now much can throw me on stage but im sure breaking a string would.

I remember being at Schoenbergs first show and Shayne broke a string during the intro to their set about 10 seconds in. They had to stop and re start their whole show which was pretty funny.


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## myrtorp (Aug 8, 2012)

Hehe! Never had it happen to me (then again I haven't played live much)
But nice quick swap, and right back into action dude!

I remember last year when the "big four" played in sweden, i watched it on tv. One of the bands, cant remember, the guitarist broke a string, D or G i think, but kept on playing, solos and all, without any noticable problems, sounded good too! 

My first time playing live (a 15 minute set) I still brought 2 guitar just in case haha!


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## myampslouder (Aug 8, 2012)

I played a show a while back and my buddy's band went on after us. My buddy's guitar broke a string halfway through the set and he didn't even bring extra strings. They ended up saying fuck it and just cutting the set short.


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## TankJon666 (Aug 8, 2012)

All my years of gigging I have never broken a string but ALWAYS carry a backup ...its not just strings that can break!


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## Winspear (Aug 8, 2012)

I broke my A string for the first time in fucking forever on the first verse of the first song of a set I played 
That sucked. I didn't have a backup. Played out the song shifting any A string riffs down to the low A (EADGBE band but I played a seven in AEADGBE, barely used the low string in the band). 
I was able to pick up my friends backup afterwards, which was a 6 string explorer with a really low strap + straplocks so I couldn't change it out. It's a piece of shit as the guy doesn't care for his guitars. Setup awfully and with strings probably at least 6 months old. 22 frets when I used 24 quite a lot in that band. I also hadn't played a 6 string in over a year and it was confusing as fuck 
Good gig though nevertheless!


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## iRaiseTheDead (Aug 11, 2012)

That's my biggest fear playing live. What happened? Were the strings old?


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## Augminished (Aug 11, 2012)

Damn dude you handled that well. It happened to me when I was gigging. I had a backup but there was so much shit from the previous band it took me awhile to get to it. It was, I believe, my 4th string during an epic bend. I don't think anyone noticed though which is key!


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## noUser01 (Aug 11, 2012)

That's hilarious man, I would've just faked it until the end of the song!


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## Dores (Aug 12, 2012)

iRaiseTheDead said:


> That's my biggest fear playing live. What happened? Were the strings old?



Old as hell, the local shop was all out of strings and I was waiting for new ones from ebay. The low B broke just as the vocalist stepped back and collided with me, and the string just partially disintegrated where it meets the bridge.

I tried faking it and just transposing the riffs up an octave in the beginning, but at that point I did not remember the fact that my trem was floating and everything would be way out of tune no matter what I did.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Aug 12, 2012)

^ouch! the only downside of floyds... well that and the fact that they take forever to tune -.-


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## Dores (Aug 12, 2012)

Yeah, but even though if I break a string and it stays in tune, I swap guitars anyways. They don't really take forever to tune when you're used to them and get the hang of it though. But it's taken me a few years to do so...


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## Edika (Aug 12, 2012)

Good come back dude and quick thinking! You kept your cool and the concert was not compromised!

The few times I played live I made sure my strings were new because I didn't have a backup guitar or could afford one. In my first live, with a shitty deathgrind band, the other guitarists string broke. Of course he didn't have a backup or strings to restring the guitar. Out of curiosity I had learned the parts the other guitarist was playing (more lead parts), since the songs were not that difficult, but it was my first year of playing guitar so I was not that confident. I got wind of the situation and started playing the other guitarists parts and we finished the set with one guitar.


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## -OTW- (Aug 15, 2012)

ConnorGilks said:


> That's hilarious man, I would've just faked it until the end of the song!




Theres no faking that when you have a Floyd lol...Happened to me recently, old strings just kept playing and trying to tune here and there throughout the song. It was ugly, but we always have a backup guitar ON stage. Unfortunately it was the other guys on his sides if the stage.

I bring my backup from now on.


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## noUser01 (Aug 19, 2012)

-OTW- said:


> Theres no faking that when you have a Floyd lol...Happened to me recently, old strings just kept playing and trying to tune here and there throughout the song. It was ugly, but we always have a backup guitar ON stage. Unfortunately it was the other guys on his sides if the stage.
> 
> I bring my backup from now on.



This is why I only own two guitars with trems, and ordered Tremol-No's for both.


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## PauliusI (Aug 21, 2012)

Remember how i broke two strings while playing Venoms - Countess Bathory with my band.
The G broke during the intro (not a big problem) then later on the D popped as well.
Thankfully another band gave me their backup strat copy, to finish the set


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