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Enhanced string breaking

Bassist1965

Bassist1965

Mar 16, 2024
35
21
60
The Netherlands
#1
Hello all,
Last year i became the proud owner of a beautiful Precision bass with a through body string setup, i have in this relatively small period broke more strings than ever before, mainly E,s and A,s I noticed the strings are a
Lot more angled than my toploaders, would it be safe to asume, that through body bridges are more unforgiving than toploaders when it comes to older strings, is the break angle maybe a tad to much,?, i use Rotosound swings, 45-105 they are my go to strings for the past 30 years so Im curious to see if other have this problem.
Look forward to hearing your opinions.
 
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#2
Some strings and basses just don’t match. When my Fender Jazz Special was my main player, I used Ken Smith stainless steel strings on it with no issues; the were my favorite string—but when I bought a Warwick Thumb NT, it broke that same model of strings at the bridge all the time. Had to switch out for a different brand and have never bought another set of Ken Smiths.

Maybe experiment with something besides the Rotosounds?
 
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#5
Bassist1965 said:
Hello all,
Last year i became the proud owner of a beautiful Precision bass with a through body string setup, i have in this relatively small period broke more strings than ever before, mainly E,s and A,s I noticed the strings are a
Lot more angled than my toploaders, would it be safe to asume, that through body bridges are more unforgiving than toploaders when it comes to older strings, is the break angle maybe a tad to much,?, i use Rotosound swings, 45-105 they are my go to strings for the past 30 years so Im curious to see if other have this problem.
Look forward to hearing your opinions.
Click to expand...

I'll assume the Precision doesn't have the top-load option. If mine, I'd probably swap-out the bridge. Some string manufacturers post warnings NOT to body-load a particular string set(s)...not sure if this applies to your Rotosounds. A different brand may take the bend with impunity but I don't like to tempt fate.

Riis
 
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#8
Zooberwerx said:
I'll assume the Precision doesn't have the top-load option. If mine, I'd probably swap-out the bridge. Some string manufacturers post warnings NOT to body-load a particular string set(s)...not sure if this applies to your Rotosounds. A different brand may take the bend with impunity but I don't like to tempt fate.

Riis
Click to expand...
Actually it does have the option and i will give it a shot, i was just curious if this was indigenous to the through body bridges, maybe not but all the info helps my research so thanks 🙏
 
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#10
Zooberwerx said:
Some string manufacturers post warnings NOT to body-load a particular string set(s)...
Click to expand...

TomB said:
I broke a Labella DTF E string that way, but then again they had warned me in advance. …sure enough. Top loading solves it.
Click to expand...
La Bella is one company that I know of that explicitly warns against thru-body installation for their Deep Talkin' Bass Flats. They do offer special thru-body version of a few of their sets.

I personally am never keen on the idea of putting any flats thru-body. I do own one bass with the thru-body option (Am Std P) and have never had any issue with string breakage otherwise.
 
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#11
michael_t said:
La Bella is one company that I know of that explicitly warns against thru-body installation for their Deep Talkin' Bass Flats. They do offer special thru-body version of a few of their sets.

I personally am never keen on the idea of putting any flats thru-body. I do own one bass with the thru-body option (Am Std P) and have never had any issue with string breakage otherwise.
Click to expand...
Thanks, before I go top loading I’ll change brands, I play x2 a week and rehearse x1 should be a month or two before I can draw any conclusions, maybe I’m just getting more heavy handed💪😀 thank guys
 
#13
Watchootognbout said:
I smell the insistence on using flatwounds.
Click to expand...
Try your sense of sight.

The OP uses rounds.
One poster above, not the OP, reported having a flatwound break on them once. Made By La Bella, which, as also said above, are the ONLY flats for which the manufacturer recommends not going through the body.

Bassist1965 said:
Hello all,
Last year i became the proud owner of a beautiful Precision bass with a through body string setup, i have in this relatively small period broke more strings than ever before, mainly E,s and A,s I noticed the strings are a
Lot more angled than my toploaders, would it be safe to asume, that through body bridges are more unforgiving than toploaders when it comes to older strings, is the break angle maybe a tad to much,?, i use Rotosound swings, 45-105 they are my go to strings for the past 30 years so Im curious to see if other have this problem.
Look forward to hearing your opinions.
Click to expand...
Any evidence of egregiously sharp points at the bridge saddles, tuning post slots, nut if made of brass or equivalent, string retainer/tree?
Do the strings always break at the same spot?
 
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#14
Bassist1965 said:
Thanks, before I go top loading I’ll change brands, I play x2 a week and rehearse x1 should be a month or two before I can draw any conclusions, maybe I’m just getting more heavy handed💪😀 thank guys
Click to expand...
Just to be clear(er), I’ve only broken a top-loaded flatwound string once in 55 years of gigs. It happened to be a TI A string, but that’s one out of hundreds of flatwound strings. The Labella problem I mentioned earlier was totally related to through-body stringing - and it never got to a gig, or even off the workbench :). Best of luck!
 
#16
Careful, the string thru vs top load is one of the most hotly debated topics here on TB.

I string mine thru body and use the extra long GHS precision flats on my Precision … and have had no issues at all with DR steels or nickels on my Lakland skyline 5.

I’d say due to proper intonation, my low string saddles are pretty far back and yet still no issues with the break angle - knock on tone wood.
 
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#19
When possible, I file some relief into the bearing edge of the through body exit hole to make it easier on the string.

Just using a round needle file or chain saw file to work in a slight ramp so the string doesn't have as hard a break coming from the body up to the saddle.

This is easier to do on ABG's and hollowbodies where I'm filing wood instead of metal. It's worth doing, I've found it to be a big help.
 

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