PRS CE String Breaks

[devster]

Guys I am finally a fully fledged member of the forum after I upgraded my Santana SE to a 2004 PRS CE last week. I'm loving it.

The only problem I am having is that in the 2 weeks I have owned it I have broken 2 strings. After each break I replaced all the other ones as well. Firstly it was the B then last night at a gig, the G. With my other guitars I rarely ever broke a string and indeed they were changed due age rather than breakage.

The strings seem to be breaking around the saddles.

Anyone have any ideas/cures

Thanks

[devster]

by the way I use D'Addario 9/46s

[Valtiel]

Probably got some rough spots on your saddles, very common problem. You can either polish them a bit or get some new saddles.

[Dakster]

My 24 has graphtech saddles, and I rarely break a string at all....although, I have also noticed I don't break near as many since I went from 9 to 10's either...

[Flanagan]

Big ups to Graphtech as well.In addition to the reduction in string breakage,I think your tuning stability improves,'cause your main contact points are graphite/graphite instead of steel/graphite.

..and depending on the color of your guitar,they can look really cool,too.

[devster]

Well after having my CE set-up again and having the saddles sanded the strings still break at the saddle. Even the A and D string. My tech said the saddles must be too worn and the strings are moving sideways in the saddle when I play rather than being fixed.

Anyhow, I need to get a set of new saddles. The problem is I live in Hong Kong. The PRS stockist here seems to charge a fortune for the saddles (plus the ordering and delivery time). I found another seller on the web "Guitar Heaven" but they only deliver to the USA. I have also seen the thread about Manmade with some delivery problems noted.

Does anyone of a company/indiuv who will ship internationally ??

Many thanks and lovin my CE

[Valtiel]

Check out mannmadeusa.com. I dont know if he ships international but his saddles should solve your problem.

[Aldwyn]

One of my earlier guitars did that... I was first owner, so it was still under warrentee, and PRS replaced not just the saddle which was breaking the strings, but ALL of the saddles.

Just an aside note! :)

Anyway, run some very fine sandpaper down the string guides on the saddles... restring... see if you get a break then.

[Chiba]

My tech said the saddles must be too worn and the strings are moving sideways in the saddle when I play rather than being fixed.
I don't mean to rag on your tech, but that's a load of crap.

There's two ways saddles wear - evenly and unevenly. If your saddles wear evenly, you'll never have a problem because the bottom of the string slot will be utterly smooth. If they wear unevenly, you'll get broken strings.

The two places your strings move the least is at the saddle and nut. Those are the two fixed points along the string length that determine pitch, and they are, as a result, the two firmest points on the continuum.

Get a small, ultra-fine file or some very fine sandpaper and gently and slowly rub the string slot a few times in both directions. Don't press too hard. When you're done, rub a little pencil lead (graphite) into the slot.

If you want to test for burrs, just take a plain t-shirt and wipe that across the string slot. If you feel any pulling or see thread left behind, you've got a burr or rough spot in the saddle.

--chiba

[Dan Desy]

Another small piece of advice - try different strings. Give PhatDaddy a call, his new strings are pretty awesome.

I used to play Ernie Balls, and I broke a hell of a lot of strings. Even just going to GHS made a big difference to me. Although I do prefer Thomastik Infeld strings, they cost a lot but last MONTHS!

[Dakster]

Another small piece of advice - try different strings. Give PhatDaddy a call, his new strings are pretty awesome.

I used to play Ernie Balls, and I broke a hell of a lot of strings. Even just going to GHS made a big difference to me. Although I do prefer Thomastik Infeld strings, they cost a lot but last MONTHS!I always had that problem with Ernie Ball too

[Bill McDowell]

Well after having my CE set-up again and having the saddles sanded the strings still break at the saddle. Even the A and D string. My tech said the saddles must be too worn and the strings are moving sideways in the saddle when I play rather than being fixed.

Anyhow, I need to get a set of new saddles. The problem is I live in Hong Kong. The PRS stockist here seems to charge a fortune for the saddles (plus the ordering and delivery time). I found another seller on the web "Guitar Heaven" but they only deliver to the USA. I have also seen the thread about Manmade with some delivery problems noted.

Does anyone of a company/indiuv who will ship internationally ??

Many thanks and lovin my CE
Mann Made saddles - I had the same problem, and this is the cure. http://www.mannmadeusa.com/

[KevinB]

The problem is I live in Hong Kong. The PRS stockist here seems to charge a fortune for the saddles (plus the ordering and delivery time). Try searching eBay STORES (not individ sellers), there are a lot of music shops in the US who have eBay stores and will ship internationally. I did a quick search for example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/GRAPH-TECH-FERRAGLIDE-SADDLES-FOR-PRS-TREMOLO_W0QQitemZ250116873668QQihZ015QQcategoryZ10 1977QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS IS THE SET YOU'd NEED AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS SELLER. Its just an example of something I found after a quick 20 second search. Shipping is definitely going to be more, but its another option. Hope that helps.

[Bill McDowell]

I tried the Graphteks - they solved the problem, but changed the tone of the guitar (to my ears of course).

[Slyib]

SRV's guitar tech used to cut pieces of a drinking straw and insert the string through it so that the straw covered it just *before* the string broke over the saddle. (See page 45 of the Erlewine repair book.)

Granted, that's on a Strat, not a PRS.

I should ask if you use the trem a lot? Or is it significant string bending that may be contributing to the breakage? Standard tuning?