frequent string snapping - cheap tune-o-matic?

[gwEm]

now that i registered on the forum, i thought i'd pop a question thats been bothering me for sometime.

ever since i got it my epiphone v always snaps even strings after a few hours. because of this and the standard pickups i didn't play it for months and months but now fitted with bare knuckles it sounds great and i'm playing it again, but this snapping thing is a massive pain i can tell you.

i have fitted a set of 11s strings, and its the low E and A that snap usually. i play with less overdrive and hammer the strings hard, but all my guitars get treated this way, and its nothing like as bad on the others.

i suspect the cheapy tune-o-matic bridge. i have examined the saddles, and even tried to file away any bits of sharp metal, but there is no effect.

anyone else experienced this, or have an idea?

thanks

[willo]

if you rub a graphite-heavy pencil on the bridge saddles when restringing, thats supposed to reduce friction on the strings. Otherwise, there are lots of nuts and things (i.e. Graphtech) that you can get that claim to reduce friction and therefore string breakages.

[HJM]

Has to be the saddle - you could try reducing the angle by wrapping the strings over the top of the stop bar.

[HJM]

Like this

[gwEm]

thanks for the replies

willo - well i'll get a soft pencil and try it, maybe it helps a bit

HJM - your reply makes total sense. the guitar has the typical '58 flying v tail piece, and the string angle is really harsh. but i guess theres not much that can be done about that? or...?

[badgermark]

hmmm i snapped a string last night during a band rehersal, and was wondering if the wrap around method would work ok for a sg? only seen it done on les pauls. also do the strings feel any different? im using 10s on the sg, would the tension be any less than normal at 440A?

[HJM]

Ahhh...I'd look at some graphtech stringsaver saddles then!

[_tom_]

The same thing happened to me on my Epi LP. I changed the saddles to rollers and it worked a treat, however I will get some Graphtechs soon as these rollers rattle and take away sustain, plus its my birthday in a few weeks so I wont have to pay for em  :lol:

[gwEm]

thanks HJM, this sounds like a great tip. i researched some more and just ordered a set from wd music products at less than thirty quid even with special delivery.

i wanted to gig the guitar next weekend, hopefully i wont have to sweat a string breakage now.

its been a slow and gradual process but i've almost changed everything on that V that can be upgraded now :) soon just the wood (what a nice bit of korina it is too), nut and frets will remain.

[schmendict]

It must be the saddley/taileypiece bit, my Dean has a similar thru-body string setup, but its strings havent snapped yet....
You could try lowering the saddley/taileypiece bit, just to ensure better playability.
Useless info probably, but im just discounting the thru-body method of stringing...
I hope i have helped in some vague way...

[gwEm]

just a quick update for those following this thread, the graphtech saddles arrived yesterday and i fitted them straightaway.

the tone has a little more bite, and the sustain is a little better. time will tell if they do what they're supposed to do and reduce string breakages ;)


_tom_ : yes, those roller saddle suck :/ i have them fitted on my steinberger, and they rattle like hell and kill sustain. not much i can do about it in that case though, due to the design of the steinberger trem.

toomuchhiphop : i guess if that flying v tailpiece had a reputation for killing strings we'd have heard about it after 50 years or whatever ;) looking at _tom_'s comments its probably a combination of this tailpiece, the epiphone tune-o-matic, and a heavy handed playing style.

[gwEm]

final report:

after one 45minute gig, and several lunatic practise session where i was actually /trying/ to break the strings... i can confirm that the graph-tech saddles have made a difference.

they probably aren't worth it for the tonal improvement alone, although there is some.