String break!

[ledbye]

Hi all

I am having no end of problems with my 360 eating up strings at the moment. They always snap at the bridge right on the saddle. I have tried finely sanding them, have used 3 in 1 oil and rubbed pencil lead on them for lubricant and nothing works! I was convinced a few months ago that my nut was contributing to this phenomenon because it was pinching the string and not letting anything move, but I have made sure that nothing pinches now.

I love the sound I get out of my Rics but both this 360 and my 650D have been absolute dogs when it comes to strings which is slowly edging me away from them as I can't rely on them to get me through a gig

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

[RutleDirk]

What kind of strings, and what gauge?

[ledbye]

Dang! Missed vital info there didn't I! Ooops!

On the 360 I use D'Addario 10-52s. It used to be mainly As and Ds that I broke, but lately it's not been picky and will quite happily break high Es, Gs...pretty much any of the six it wants!!!

[beatlefreak]

If they're breaking at the bridge, it's almost assuredly burrs or roughness on the saddles. Perhaps a guitar shop that does setups can help.

[ledbye]

If they're breaking at the bridge, it's almost assuredly burrs or roughness on the saddles. Perhaps a guitar shop that does setups can help.

I have used fine files on them and had no joy (it was one of the first things I thought of). Any specific technique you know of or could point me to?

[nbfanca]

If this were a Gibson with a stop tailpiece, I would guess that the stop piece was so low that it was putting too much downward pressure on the strings.

I assume this is a standard R tailpiece with a gentle downslope between the bridge and the tailpiece. Is that right? If so there must be a burr.

The file might not be enough. On the A and D strings, which are wound, use a piece of the broken string as a file and work it back and forth through the slot. I don;t have a good suggestion for the high E however.

[ledbye]

If this were a Gibson with a stop tailpiece, I would guess that the stop piece was so low that it was putting too much downward pressure on the strings.

Ha ha! Yeah, I had a LP that was real bad until I sorted this problem out. Never ever break a string on it now.

I assume this is a standard R tailpiece with a gentle downslope between the bridge and the tailpiece. Is that right?

Yes, that's right...

If so there must be a burr.

The file might not be enough. On the A and D strings, which are wound, use a piece of the broken string as a file and work it back and forth through the slot. I don;t have a good suggestion for the high E however.

Yeah, I used an A string last night at practice and have done so before. I spoke with a guy once about how anal he was regarding smooth edges on his frets. He would take a silk scarf and run it lightly up the fretboard to see if it caught, if it did, he'd do further smoothing! Maybe I could apply similar logic here?!

[nbfanca]

Did it help - although I guess it is too soon to tell.

Make sure you use a D string in the D slot. If you use an A string, it may be too thick to penetrate to the burr.

[nbfanca]

Oh and I would guess that a silk scarf would catch in the bridge cut no matter what. It won;t tell you anything.

And while I've never tried it myself, I'm surprised your friend ever get a catch of a silk scarf on the frets - unless he never bends a string. (Sometimes you see cacthable troughs on the low numbered frets, but that's about it - a few Hendrix bends and any burr is gone.)

[ledbye]

Oh and I would guess that a silk scarf would catch in the bridge cut no matter what. It won;t tell you anything.

And while I've never tried it myself, I'm surprised your friend ever get a catch of a silk scarf on the frets - unless he never bends a string. (Sometimes you see cacthable troughs on the low numbered frets, but that's about it - a few Hendrix bends and any burr is gone.

Yeah, this was YEARS ago...like 18 years ago. I don't even remember his name!! He would only run it up the sides though....he was an odd man so he could have been full of BS!!

[beatlefreak]

Is the bridge on your 360 sitting parallel to the body of the guitar (not tilted either forward or back)?

[ledbye]

Is the bridge on your 360 sitting parallel to the body of the guitar (not tilted either forward or back)?

I'm at work at the moment, but I wouldn't say it is exactly parallel, more that it would be raised up at the bridge end if the guitar was laid flat.

[beatlefreak]

Try adjusting your bridge so that it is parallel (flat), and see if that helps.

[ledbye]

Try adjusting your bridge so that it is parallel (flat), and see if that helps.

D'oh! I know what you mean now! No, the bridge is dead flat...I thought you meant the tailpiece. Sorry.

[beatlefreak]

Well, I'm at a loss. Perhaps Paul W. can chime in here with another insight.