Need advice 4th string keeps breaking on guitars?

Hey there
Been haveing something weird going on here latly. It started about a month and 1/2, I was ober at my brothers house and his 4th string breaks on his guitar. Then later that day my 4th string breaks on my Yamaha guitar, I buy new "Ball" brand and also buy a brand new Kona guitar (which it had factory stings). So I re-string the Yamaha and acually put it back in the case and played the Kona then last week... while we had a visiting preacher guess what the 4th string breaks! So no problem I break out the Yamaha and play it the remainder of the services and then last Wednesday while playing "*BING*"! 4th sting agian. So back to the Kona...I had gotten some "Gibson" guitar srtings re-strung it and played it today.. Sounded great and then tonight... the 4th string broke agian.

QUESION....
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?

In all the 35 years of playing guitars I have never had this happen. Sure... the bottom strings have broken ocasionally...but this is crazy!

This is the different brands of guitars (one being my brother's. Also Different brands of strings... Gibson (brand new) on guitar 4 days, Ball(brand new) on guitar for about a month, but only played approx. 4 hours during the 2 day service and practice. The other guitar strings were factory strings and were color coded so who knows?

 

tinytim, don't think I hadn't thought about that... its kinda odd I know and I have even thought it was a ring. These strings don't even break in the same place so I figured its not the bridge ect. Its like the out side wire just unravels and the string breaks inside.

I played a bango and a fiddle. Well in psalms say to play the instrument of ten strings maybe if my brother and I play together....

 

Pete if you broke the biggest string in the pack I don't feel quite as bad.
This must just be a case of sheer dumb luck (thought maybe its just a coincidence)? I asked that visiting preacher and my preacher to pray with me over my Yamaha. Might ought to do that with the Kona too? But in any case I have cliped my nails, use a soft pick, tune with the keyboard same way over the years, play the standard Bluegrass/country, old hymns and the easy/soft contemporary music. No hard rock but sometimes I play a little Jesus is the Rock, rock and roll blues. I would play the rock and roll blues more often in the past, until I finally met Jesus. Now I'm a little more mellow.

I donno what is going on, but it is a little anoying. I thought maybe it might be something with the guitars tunning keys? I thought maybe I might have a easy problem to slove. I might have to break down and put on some "Elixer" strings and just have to deal with it.

I appreciate the suggetions and thank you tinytim, Galya and Pete for your replies.

God bless~
Music4Him

 

Mike,

6-5-4-3-2-1
E-A-D-G-B-E
<--- Fat End

So I keep breaking the D string. I'm gonna blame it all on my brother cause he started it!

Although I have never used a electronic tuner because I play by ear and never had a problem hearing the key. But at this point I will try just about anything to correct the problem.

 

Yep your correct Pete.
Thats the odd thing about all of this... different guage strings, different brands, different guitars and it started at my brothers house with his guitar first (he also said he broke the string on his electric guitar also). I even thought about the case that I carry my guitars in (there different too... there both hard case but one is felt lined the other is foam and fur lined (this is the one my Kona rides in.)

 

LOL Pete! Yep! I love that ole wraaaascally wraaaabbit! But he's not the one I think I annoyed. This little feller here ---> might be the culprit though?

Acually I been doin' alot of reading on the www today and theres one more thing to check and thats for burrs. Although on the Kona the heavy guage string broke between the tuners and the nut. The D string that broke yesterday was light guage and broke at the bottom right on the bridge.

If any thing good came out of this I accually did learn another thing today... I now know all the parts of the guitar!
http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa071200b.htm

 

Got new strings and a electronic tuner last night at church for a birthday present. (They were all sneeky and surprized me big time!) My sister who got the strings said the clerk who helped her said if these strings break to have me bring my guitar in. He also had the same thing happen with one of his guitars... so now I don't feel like the lone ranger here.
BTW, The strings I got wern't Elixer strings, but D'Addario. So I am suspecting a burr somewhere on the bridge and already filed it with a baby file (like very fine sand paper). So I hope this is it... if not a new bridge may solve it.

Thank you all for the replies and may God bless you all!~
Music4Him

 

Thanks Pete! As soon as I opened the box D'Addarios I knew what the first strings on my Kona had broken. In one of my earlier post I mentioned color coded strings? That was D'Addarios that was on my guitar originally. I sure hope what you said it true.....

May you get at least 100 new chords and 2 years without a broken string

From your mouth to God's ears!
Thanks~
Music4Him