Broke a string last night

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

None of us are immune to "small areas of corrosion " its a case of balancing supply with demand , strings have a definate shelf life regardless of how well you try to store them thats why Becky orders smaller quantities now than she did in the beginning ... but at least our strings come direct from the factory and have not been sitting on a shop shelf for a month or two so they are as fresh as we can get them to you.
If I encounter the problem I mostly use those ones myself..... with my standard of playing it does`ent seem to have much of an adverse effect but with the smaller quantities I think we have overcome it.

[James Crowbear]

bleedin' 'ell Guv, it was'nt this way on the upper Zambezi !
when you get down to it, Steel string makers are menaced of extinction like the clients they serve
after the demise of Jagwires, considering Bobbe's health probs, Cobra Coils could very well be next ?
& after them ?
i've never stuck w: one brand having found many quite good : Jags, SIT, Cobra Coils
(btw, i take to the 011.5 on string 3)
tried GL's but did'nt really like them but they'll do if there's nothing else around - can't be choosy when survival is ON
it was'nt that long ago when internet was'nt around & gettin' psg strings was an ordeal or a miracle
sooooooooo, as long as there will be some steel string manufacturers to satisfy the dwindling race of steelers, i'll take the best of what is available
now get pickin' !
that Zumbustin' Jock is a hell of a character aint he ?

[Tony Russell Davis]

I use whatever I can get - SITs at the moment (but I just found two packets of ShoBud C6th that are so antique I'll not bother with them). Only broke a string once in playing and very occasionally can kink and snap one putting them on.
Here's the story though - that time (1980's) when the string broke, one of the band told me that was the reason for a twin neck!!! Anybody have E9th on both? Honestly, drummers!

[Paddy Long]

A big Hi from the Antipodes ... Whilst waiting for my latest order of Jagwires (which still haven't shown up) I ordered a few sets of the nickel wound Live Steels, as I was off last week to play the Norfolk Island country music festival ...a week long gig for me .. so I needed some spares in a hurry - Live Steel delivered in good time so I put a set on the E9th neck of my Zum and off I went to the tropics. I played 6 days worth of probably 2 gigs a day and did not break a string, nor did I feel I had to change any either. The strings sounded pretty much the same as my Jagwire Nickels which is really great, the warm tropical weather didn't seem to affect them too much. Normally with that sort of schedule I would change the strings every couple of days - so in summary they are as good as anything else and they seem to be able to deliver them in good time. Now that Jagwires are supposedly back up and running they are going to have to lift their game -- I simply can't wait for months for a string order with my schedule, no matter how much I like them

[Ken Byng]

I fear you may have a very long wait Paddy.

I got a set of complimentary nickel E9 Live Strings yesterday and put them on my Sho~Bud. Nicely burnished and wound at the ball end. Tone wise they are very similar to GHS Boomers. While I will still stick to my tried and trusted Cobra Coils (I am a creature of habit), it is reassuring to know that there is indeed another realistic alternative with no supply issues.

[Basil Henriques]

Hey.. Ken.. Did you EVER sing vocal backing on a record ?
Click Here

[Ken Byng]

Basil - where do you uncover these things? You should have worked for MI5

I have done a lot of backing harmony vocals as well as playing lead and steel guitar on sessions over the years. Cliff Whelan was a lovely guy and used to sell loads of albums on his gigs. One Christmas - about 6 months after leading the sessions on an album that we recorded in Wales, he sent me a Christmas card. Inside was 5 twenty pound notes which was a lot of money in the mid seventies. I'd already been quite well paid by the record company, and I thought that was a nice gesture.

I don't know what happened to Cliff, but he was a great Country singer.

Here is a track from around the same time that I recorded with Al Doherty where I am on backings vocals.

[Basil Henriques]

MI5 .. Nah.. "La Cosa Nostra"...
I broke a string on THIS session:- (and that's how I found your album credits Ken..)
Click Here or Clicca qui per favore

[Ken Byng]

Without wanting to keep the topic drift going too long, I have a similar Harmony H75 to the one that Cliff Whelan is holding on the cover of the album that was recorded with Basil. Always wanted one as a teenager but couldn't afford one until years later when I tracked an immaculate one down in a music shop in California and imported it.

Back on topic, I once put four consecutive 3rd strings on my ZB on a gig, and they broke as soon as they got to pitch. This would have been around 1973. No matter how carefully they were installed on the guitar, they couldn't last at being stretched from G# to A. The break was always at the same place - just by the end of the winding where it passed over the changer finger at the ball end. That wouldn't happen these days with a reasonably fresh set of strings.