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Gibson Tune-o-Matic bridge slicing strings


Slash Is God

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Hi guys,

 

I've been having problems with the bridges on my GIbsons and wanted to know if it was a common problem. First it happened loads on my SG and now it's happening on my Les Paul.

 

It seems that I keep getting problems with the strings breaking at the bridge, like they're being cut. I subsequently changed the bridge on my SG to a Tone Pro's bridge, with graphite saddles, and that seemed to sort the problem.

Now it's started happening on my Les Paul, I'm thinking of replacing the bridge on this one as well.

 

Is this a common problem? Is there another way to fix it other than changing the bridge?

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Hello!

 

I`ve never broke a string on a Gibson!

 

If it happens on many of Your guitars, I`d suspect Your playing style is the cause.

 

However, it`s not a bad idea to file off all sharp edges from bridge saddles, if any.

 

Cheers... Bence

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Playing style can have something to do with it...

 

But that certainly doesn't mean you need to change you or your playing style!

 

I used to play a Strat when I was young and found it was a string-clipping machine! But I loved Strats then so it didn't matter and I made-do... It sounds to me like you're on the right track. If the stock tune-o-matic bridge is giving you trouble keeping strings on it, don't be afraid to change the bridge like you have to meet your needs. They make roller bridges and all sorts of options like this just for that purpose.

 

You may also find it useful to simply give your bridge saddles s a touch-up filing. They make bridge files just for this purpose and some may not come filed to perfection from the factory and you may need to gently touch them up...

 

If that doesn't work, I'd so do what you did with the SG. Make it suit you!

 

I've broken strings on my Les Pauls, not nearly with the common occurrence nature of Strats for me, but every once in a while I'll pop one...

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Hi, so a few questions.

 

what gauge of strings are you using?

 

are you in standard tuning?

 

across all strings?

 

you may just have some sharp areas on some saddles.

 

it ought to be easy to fix with out changing any hardware,

 

you could start out with some 600 grit sand paper or some emery cloth and just try to smooth the slots out.

 

you could also get some lubricate (like big bends nut sauce) and drop some of that into the slots too.

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Break angle (angle of the string between the bridge & tailpiece) too sharp? Could try either raising the tailpiece a bit, or feeding the strings through the FRONT of the tailpiece, then wrap them OVER it before continuing across the bridge saddles.

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Which of the six strings breaks more often...higher plain strings?

 

What string gauge?

 

In addition to all the good suggestions, slim chance but something you could possibly consider... if you have acidic hands (strings rust quickly like in half an hour), drip some WD40 on the metal saddle/string contact and brush the saddle clean after playing.

 

I've never broken strings on a Gibson saddle, on a Strat metal saddle I did, but polishing saddle surface fixed it. Most of my plain strings break in the middle due to lots of heavy bends.

 

Good luck!

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Another thing you might want to try is next time you change strings, put a small drop of 3-In-One Oil on the saddles before you instal the strings. I read this several years ago and haven't broken a string since I started doing it.

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