excessive string breakage

[Freaky Fender]

The other night I was playing a gig and I broke TWO strings. Over the last couple of months I've had a problem with breaking strings on stage. Usually they happen while playing finger style but the first of the two was with a pick, and the second was with a drumstick.

Now, let me clarify here, there's a song we wrote where I hit the strings with a drum stick. Fairly hard, but not enough to actually snap them at the first hit.

I have a MIM Fender Jazz, and I replaced the stock bridge with one from allparts.com (This one). It came with no instructions so I just lined it up with the old one and drilled it in.

I've noticed whenever I break a string on stage a very large percentage of them break at the bridge saddle. I have been currently using DR strings.

Could it be my bridge? Am I playing too hard?

[lethargytartare]

Check how far back your saddles are -- if they're really far back, the string is going to have a very sharp break angle, which can be hard on the strings. If you have any saddles pulled as far back as they can go, that would be a sign of this. Compare the two bridges -- your new bridge might actually be intended to be a bit farther back, so when intonated properly, the saddles would be further forward (towards headstock), thus giving a more gentle angle on the strings. So you could, conceivably, need to move the bridge back a bit.

And then check the saddles themselves for any sharp edges that might be digging into the strings.

Does it tend to be the same strings -- you can try swapping the saddles around to see if one of them is guilty more often than others.

I've had bad sets of strings, have broken a lot of strings from cheap sets, etc. So you could consider trying a different brand just to experiment.

[202dy]

The new bridge is a direct replacement for a Fender bridge. If the original holes are in the right place, the bridge is, too.

If the strings are breaking at the saddle, the problem is likely going to be the saddle. Check for burrs in or on the sides of the saddle groove. Any sharp metal can be quickly and easily brought smooth with a good file. It also might be a good idea to make sure the strings fit into the individual grooves correctly. If the groove is too small, a burr can be raised by the motion of the string-especially round wounds. Fitting the groove to the string will take care of this problem in the future.

[alembicguy]

+1 on the angle over the saddles and you may want to check for any small imperfections or burrs on the saddles.