So when I first picked up mandolin I broke a lot of E strings. I'm sure we all have. Not only is the E string more likely to be the first to break from general use, but it's also more vunerable to burrs on the tuning pegs, and any sharp irregularities on the hooks. If you are down tuning and up tuning several times to try to set your intonation, you can almost guarantee the stress of releasing the tension and then tuning back up over and over will break at least one E string. This is all normal.
My experience with D'addario strings was anything but normal.
My local shop used to only carry one brand of mandolin strings, I believe they were Martin Brand (they came in a purple box, maybe Martin and Co?)
I never had any issues with these strings.
Then they stopped carrying the Martin's and starting carrying D'addario. At first, this excited me, because they only had one type of Martin strings, but there were five different varieties of D'addario strings to choose from. I bought slightly thicker strings than I normally play with, and was extremely happy with the tone. I knew I was more likely to break E strings, and the other strings would probably hold up for a long long time, so I bought some extra loose E strings (my local shop is also a repair shop, so even though D'addarios aren't available as single strings, they just break a few packs open as sell them loose for a dollar).
When I went to replace the strings, I did everything I normally do. I replaced the strings one at a time. My intonation was already as close to perfect as I could get it without taking it to a professional, and my action was exactly where I wanted it. When replacing an E string, I always tune it very slowly up to C5, let it sit for at least an hour, and then very slowly tune it up to E5.
I had 3 of the 4 strings I had bought break as soon as they got to D#5, and all in the exact same place. They didn't break at the tuning pegs. They didn't break somewhere in the middle of the string. They ALL broke at the "loop end". Not the loop that you put into the string at the tuning head, the loop the manufacturer makes that attaches at the tailpiece. A day later the fourth string broke.
Now at first I thought I was doing something wrong. Maybe I was tuning up too quicky. Maybe there was an irregularity that I had missed that was cutting the string. But none of those really make sense based on where the break was. All four breaks were at the knot that the manufacturer puts into the string to form the "loop-end".
I bought four more D'addario E strings (they were .011 if anyone is curious) and tried again. Once again, all four broke, in the exact same place and all at D#5.
At this point I thought I must be losing my mind, or doing something wrong I just didn't know about. So I decided to google it. There were many novice mandolin players complaining about breaking E strings in ways that are normal and solvable. However I did find at least a half dozen people complaining about the exact problem that I was having (EDIT: all these post were specifically about D'addario strings). Some of these post were on here, some were on reddit, and they were anywhere from 5 years old to 6 months old.
So I went to Juststrings.com and bough 10 ghs E strings for 76˘ each. They work just fine, no problems at all.
My question is, does anyone else consistently use D'addario strings and nothing else, and have you encountered this problem? I almost want to call the manufacturer, not necessarily to complain, just to let them know they might have a manufacturering issue. I can't think of any other reason why this would happen 8 times in a row, all in the same spot at with the same amount of tension.
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