Need some help. Was trying to restring my electric guitar. I broke my high e string, so I had to go out and buy another set. Can anyone suggest something to me so that I don't break another one. I tried to tune with my amps tuning feature. I have a Roland Cube 30x amp.

Practice! It's not helpful, really, to say that but I broke so many when I first started as well until I learned how to be gentle and now I haven't broken one while stringing for well over a year.

D'Addario sells single high E strings, and I'm sure other string makers do the same.

Ernie Ball does as well. I've broken a string before while tuning up after a re-string. Scott is right, practice is the key. Eventually, you just know what tone the string should have and you know where to tune it.

tune the low string first.. because it is hard to break.. and then work your way through the smaller ones form being just barely tight.

Do you stretch the strings before you tighten them up? It's recommended.

Stretching the strings, especially on a guitar, is a necessity. If you don't, they just keep pulling out of tune for a while as they stretch naturally.

When you start getting the string just a little tight, put a finger on a fret and pull the remainder of the string upwards to stretch. Move up a couple of frets until you have done the whole neck. Also, have your tuner plugged in to the guitar when restringing and be watching to ensure that you don't overtune--which causes breakage.

With the bass, just slap them babies and and roll. The strings on a bass are so thick that they don't stretch much. Once you get them tuned, they don't pull out very badly unless you play really hard.

alldatndensum: Ignore my PM, I didn't see this yet.

I'm gonna start with the low e string first and then work my way to the high e string.

No, I didn't stretch the strings

Does it matter whether I use the 9 or 10's. I broke the 9.

10's have a stiffer, heavier feel. I'm also curious if you use a trem bridge like a Floyd Rose, or you use a fixed bridge. Fixed bridges are the simplest to change strings on. If you use a FR bridge and you change the guages on your strings then you'll need to adjust the springs in the back. Otherwise it will be impossible to tune.

I got the job done this time. Also had good success with the tuner on my amp. Turned out that I was using the tuner on my amp incorrectly. I have always tuned by ear in the past.

I believe that my bridge is a fixed bridge. Changing strings is realitively simple on my guitar. I put the 10's on but maybe in a few weeks, I'll go buy a single high e string and change to the 9's. It might not make much difference for me as I am just learning. I can play chords as I learned on a nylon string acoustic guitar about 25 years ago. I need learn a lot of stuff that has come into play since those days. I never even knew power chords existed but I play standard bar chords ok, not much trouble there. Just when the fingering gets a little exotic I have trouble. Also need to learn to control the sound coming out of my amp.

Stretch the heck out of them... more than you might think at first.

I winced when I saw my buddy stringing my son's guitar, thinking he was going to snap them right then and there.