Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

[Tor]

I have a Grissom model. I absolutely love it. I never broke any strings for the couple of years I have had it. However, the last few months the B-string has broken 4 times. I have always been a bit concerned about the entry hole through the bridge, as it seems as if the strings are resting towards the edge of the hole (the metal). It has never been a problem until now, though. It seems as if the string breaks off just at that point. I guess the strings have carved some rough spots at the edge there.

I don't really understand how I can alleviate this. It'd not benefit the intonation if I bring the saddles further back, for instance.. What do you guys think? What can I do to get rid of the problem? (sorry for the dusty guitar, it's a crime I know).

 

[JeffB]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

polish the break point with a thin polishing rope or similar. see if it helps.

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

Is the string breaking right at that point? Because if it's breaking someplace else, that's not the culprit.

BUt if so, yeah, what Jeff said.

 

[Tor]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

polish the break point with a thin polishing rope or similar. see if it helps.

Yeah, that could help. But it's only relieving the bridge of its symptoms. And I'm a bit weary of metal spoons around in the area...

Is the string breaking right at that point? Because if it's breaking someplace else, that's not the culprit.

BUt if so, yeah, what Jeff said.

Seems like it happens right at that point, yes.. And it is the only logical spot of the system, because everything else "seems" fine.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

The saddles are way high and that's not ideal. It will cause excess tension over the breaking point.

 

[Tor]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

Yeah, I was also a bit skeptical of the high saddles when I got the guitar, but I have seen other DGT models with the same "issue"..

I will try filing, with my vacuum cleaner in the other hand..

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

The high saddles wound createextra pressure at the saddle, though, NOT at the...hole in the bridge plate. I don't know what to call that. It's not the ferrule...

Whatever you call it, as you raise the saddle, the angle of entry into the body actually lessens. And no matter what the angles involved, I've seen a lot more strings snapped by a rough patch of metal than I have from extreme breakovers.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

If you can take the bridge apart it might pay to do it and then take something like a dremel tool and bevel the edge where it comes out of the trem block.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

If it's just starting to happen get a magnifier and look at the saddle, most likely a burr or something there that is causing it to break...lots of options to smooth it out. Pretty common after some wear and tear.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

Or you could put a piece of shrink wire insulation over that part of your string.

But, personally, I would use a small rat tail file and round off that edge (sandpaper will work but will take 3-4 hours. A file will take 3-4 minutes max). A Dremel with the right tip will take about 30 seconds.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

polish the break point with a thin polishing rope or similar. see if it helps.

THis is good for regular maintenance too. I clean and oil the nut and saddles between every string change on my guitars (acoustic and electric albeit acoustics don't have individual saddles like an electric.)

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

The problem is that the strings go too deep into the block so the wrap that attaches the ball end to the string is where the first break point from block to saddles is. That rougher area of the string (which doesn't like to be bent in the first place and becomes weaker when bent) is digging into the metal causing a bur and eventually breaking. You can file and sand it which will fix it for a while but it will happen again. I'd file and sand it smooth but also cut off a ball end from an old string and slide it down the new string each time you put a new set on acting as a spacer to keep the wrapped portion deeper in the block and the smooth part of the string bending at that point.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

The problem is that the strings go too deep into the block so the wrap that attaches the ball end to the string is where the first break point from block to saddles is. That rougher area of the string (which doesn't like to be bent in the first place and becomes weaker when bent) is digging into the metal causing a bur and eventually breaking. You can file and sand it which will fix it for a while but it will happen again. I'd file and sand it smooth but also cut off a ball end from an old string and slide it down the new string each time you put a new set on acting as a spacer to keep the wrapped portion deeper in the block and the smooth part of the string bending at that point.

Awesome tip!

 

[Tor]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

Thanks guys, lots of good input!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Struggling with string breakage, possible faulty setup of bridge?

The problem is that the strings go too deep into the block so the wrap that attaches the ball end to the string is where the first break point from block to saddles is. That rougher area of the string (which doesn't like to be bent in the first place and becomes weaker when bent) is digging into the metal causing a bur and eventually breaking. You can file and sand it which will fix it for a while but it will happen again. I'd file and sand it smooth but also cut off a ball end from an old string and slide it down the new string each time you put a new set on acting as a spacer to keep the wrapped portion deeper in the block and the smooth part of the string bending at that point.

Exactly!! I've done this on a couple guitars. One only needed one "extra" ball, another guitar required three (yes, 3!!) extra balls. This trick works perfectly for what you described. But you still have to file the burs off of the bridge and sand it smooth.