<HTML><PRE> << The breakage occurs at the becket, and usually in the upper 5th and the 6th octaves. >> Um, at the becket? Or, at the coil. It is really rare for a string to break at the becket, unless it has been taken off and put back on while flexing the becket. If it is breaking at the bottom of the coil, then it has either been tuned a lot or there is excessive friction between the pin and the speaking length, necessitating abnormally high tensions just to render the strings. So, were these strings breaking at the bend where it enters the pin? confused, Ed Foote ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com</HTML></PRE></HTML>