Why I'm Always Breaking the e String?

[weimark]

Why god damn it?

I've broke 3 of them the last two weeks while soloing.

I really should start playing with 5 strings god damn it .....

 

[Harry Hughes]

Probably picking way too hard.
I used to break strings when I picked way too hard all the time.
After a certain point, picking harder doesn't actually sound better (sounds worse, in fact), and when I realized that, I found that balance where it sounds optimal, and now it's been years since I broke a guitar string.

 

[weimark]

haha you just made me realize i pick way too hard while playing rhythm. does this affect the tone?

 

[Nuno Filipe]

^ yeah. I am recording a song and I was picking the strings too hard and there is a lot of noise coming from the pick now that I hear better and picking too hard brings sloppiness. I have to redo some shit because of that.

 

[xFkx]

i'd guessing your guitar's bridge might need some maintenance

 

[weimark]

i'd guessing your guitar's bridge might need some maintenance

unfortunately i fail, not my guitar.

 

[weimark]

hey, sorry for the double post but do you know what maybe causes a buzz on this guitar?

 

[Terminus]

i'd guessing your guitar's bridge might need some maintenance

+1 Take it to a technician and get it looked at. I use graphite saddles and have never had a string break except one time on stage when I got a little excited and tried to do the pete townsend windmill arm thingy.

 

[weimark]

+1 Take it to a technician and get it looked at. I use graphite saddles and have never had a strong break except one time on stage when I got a little excited and tried to do the pete townsend windmill arm thingy.

No technicians around a radius of 300khm so....

 

[Notuern]

99,9% of re-occurring string breakages are due to a burr in the bridge saddle(It happens to all guitars over time.).
What you can do about it is take some fine grit sandpaper(400 or so.) and then you fold it with the sand facing outwards and use it as a file gently running through the saddle.
Don't push too hard, let the paper do its job.
Before you start to sand, put the broken string back in and try to see approximately WHERE the string got worn of and start from there(If you have good eyesight or a magnifying glass you will be able to see where it is.).

IF you fuck up, a new saddle wont cost more then about ~10$ anyways(And you will still be able to play the guitar.. but the string might slip and stuff like that.).
The complete bridge is listed for 55$ in our parts catalog.. i don't have the complete catalog here so i can't check what the saddle costs, but i seriously doubt that it costs much more then 10$.

 

[Notuern]

Oh, another thing that just hit me: One of our regulars always broke strings and wanted us to check his guitars.. turned out that he bent the strings before the saddle for some reason.
It might sound stupid, but if thats what you're doing: STOP!

 

[hurdy]

99,9% of re-occurring string breakages are due to a burr in the bridge saddle(It happens to all guitars over time.).
What you can do about it is take some fine grit sandpaper(400 or so.) and then you fold it with the sand facing outwards and use it as a file gently running through the saddle.
Don't push too hard, let the paper do its job.
Before you start to sand, put the broken string back in and try to see approximately WHERE the string got worn of and start from there(If you have good eyesight or a magnifying glass you will be able to see where it is.).

IF you fuck up, a new saddle wont cost more then about ~10$ anyways(And you will still be able to play the guitar.. but the string might slip and stuff like that.).
The complete bridge is listed for 55$ in our parts catalog.. i don't have the complete catalog here so i can't check what the saddle costs, but i seriously doubt that it costs much more then 10$.

This

 

[kev]

Harry speaks the truth on this. In my first 5 years of playing I snapped tonnes. I used to play ernie ball strings then more, but im not saying that had anything to do with it. (daddario now) Its just a case of learning the limitations of the instrument you have and how far you can push. I also dolce the nut and saddle with a bit of pencil led from time to time which was a tip i got from somewhere years ago.

 

[Notuern]

Harry speaks the truth on this. In my first 5 years of playing I snapped tonnes. I used to play ernie ball strings then more, but im not saying that had anything to do with it. (daddario now) Its just a case of learning the limitations of the instrument you have and how far you can push. I also dolce the nut and saddle with a bit of pencil led from time to time which was a tip i got from somewhere years ago.

I'm still 99% positive that its the guitar.
I seriously doubt that you would manage to break three strings in two weeks because of faulty technique.
Sure, beginners tend to break strings more often due to incorrect picking angles, but again.. i doubt that you would manage to break that many strings in such a short period of time.

 

[kev]

Aye, for this guy, highly likely- thats a hell of a lot of string ownage.

 

[weimark]

Sure, beginners tend to break strings more often due to incorrect picking angles

ah some times when soloing i'm bending waaay to much that a 9 string can't handle it..

 

[hurdy]

ah some times when soloing i'm bending waaay to much that a 9 string can't handle it..

Naa its ur bridge saddle

 

[Rhys Llewellyn]

No one's questioned when it happens... From strumming, heavy trem use, bending strings... and it seems Weimark has perhaps just answered it, and it being the most obvious situation...!

If strings are snapping from strumming too hard, you are doing things VERY wrong! From bending strings though? Absolutely!

A sharp bridge saddle seems unlikely to me on a trem unit such as the one used on the Ibanez Gio posted. A Les Paul type bridge is more susceptible to it since they have a thinner saddle surface area.

If it is only happening when you're bending strings, I'd suggest you look at your technique and that you're not using a light gauge if you're a heavy player and also that you're not trying to bend up 2 tones!

** Oh and plus, a good way to check... Where does the string break? If it snaps anywhere other than directly over the bridge or nut, then it's either down to the string itself or your manhandling!

 

[Trevoire520]

I used to play ernie ball strings then more, but im not saying that had anything to do with it. (daddario now)

To be honest I used EB's when I first started out as they were the cheapest strings I could get, I broke strings ALL the time, moved to daddario's and went to breaking 1-2 a year max. A few of my friends have had the same experience.
Now I honestly can't remember the last time I broke a string, and I use 2mm plectrums and pic HARD.

 

[Mago]

99,9% of re-occurring string breakages are due to a burr in the bridge saddle(It happens to all guitars over time.).

Had this issue too with my Epiphone Les Paul.
But the strings sometimes allready broke during putting the strings on
I started to buy another e string to each pack because I didn't knew what was going on...one time broke even the seperate one broke too lol

Eventually after 3 or so changes it stopped. Guess the bridge wasn't sharp enough anymore