Had to repsond to this one...I can kill a set of string in 20 minutes. I'm one of the unluckies with a high acid level. A good friend used to have a plastic container in which he kept the 'brass ends' of strings he obtained over the years. Every 2 weeks or so he would loosen his strings and slide another ball onto each of them then restring the guitar. His thought was that strings break because the frets rub a slight groove in the underside of the string causing them to break more easily. He had low acid content and wouldn't let other players touch his guitar. He gigged consitantly and hadn't changed strings in 2 years when I met him. Takes all kind I guess...lol