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my stingray hates strings!

G

Gunstringer

Mar 7, 2008
25
0
#1
I got a musicman which droptuned to Drop Db (E string step and a half down and the others half a step down)
because of the drop tune i use 50-110 DR loriders.
but i had problem with it in the last month.
last month i broke 2 E strings while playing in one month!
both of the strings snapped exactly where the saddle meet with them, which indicate it isn't my bad technique (and im not playing that hard on the strings at all!)
why is it happening? and how can i fix it?!

Thx alot...
 
#2
Most likely you have a burr on the saddle. You need to lightly file the saddle in that place and then use a small emery board (or similar) to clean it up. Use a magnifying glass to look for the burr.

I'm assuming that you haven't had this issue in the past, or on any other basses - so it isn't a problem with your technique/attack.
 
#3
Dark Horse said:
Most likely you have a burr on the saddle. You need to lightly file the saddle in that place and then use a small emery board (or similar) to clean it up. Use a magnifying glass to look for the burr.

I'm assuming that you haven't had this issue in the past, or on any other basses - so it isn't a problem with your technique/attack.
Click to expand...

+1
had the same issue on a bass once. A little work with my fiancé's nail file and I was good to go. Had to look real hard to find it though. Use a magnafying glass and not your finger as your finger won't feel it unless it is really big.

Good luck.
 
#4
I had an original '77 Sting Ray years ago. No matter what I did, that bass ate E strings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No matter the gauge, brand, whatever. No matter what I or my luthier did to the bridge, saddles. The bass SOUNDED great, but I eventually got rid of it because the string breakage just became unacceptable on a gig. In 30 plus years of playing, I never had that problem with any other bass.
 
#5
Commreman said:
I had an original '77 Sting Ray years ago. No matter what I did, that bass ate E strings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No matter the gauge, brand, whatever. No matter what I or my luthier did to the bridge, saddles. The bass SOUNDED great, but I eventually got rid of it because the string breakage just became unacceptable on a gig. In 30 plus years of playing, I never had that problem with any other bass.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I dunno...

Maybe I'm a little messed up, but if I had a nice vintage bass, and I loved the way it sounded, but no amount of working on the bridge and saddles fixed the problem - I might have looked into a new bridge before I canned the whole bass...

I'm just sayin'...
 
#6
The core wire breaks but not the wrap wire, am I right? Not a 'burr' problem. There is too much bend in the string where it goes over the saddle. The solution is to shim the neck in such a way that you can lower the bridge saddles but still have the action where you want it. You'd be shimming it in the opposite direction than what's usually called for.
 
#7
dmusic148 said:
The core wire breaks but not the wrap wire, am I right? Not a 'burr' problem. There is too much bend in the string where it goes over the saddle. The solution is to shim the neck in such a way that you can lower the bridge saddles but still have the action where you want it. You'd be shimming it in the opposite direction than what's usually called for.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you can only shim in one dirrection.
 
#8
dmusic148 said:
The core wire breaks but not the wrap wire, am I right? Not a 'burr' problem. There is too much bend in the string where it goes over the saddle. The solution is to shim the neck in such a way that you can lower the bridge saddles but still have the action where you want it. You'd be shimming it in the opposite direction than what's usually called for.
Click to expand...
That is correct. On my old Sting Ray, the string always broke at the core.
 
#10
Engine207 said:
Hmmm...I dunno...

Maybe I'm a little messed up, but if I had a nice vintage bass, and I loved the way it sounded, but no amount of working on the bridge and saddles fixed the problem - I might have looked into a new bridge before I canned the whole bass...

I'm just sayin'...
Click to expand...

I wasn't playing it anymore, and I got a great price for it. The guy who bought it was a friend, and knew the issues.

As far as the vintage thing goes, I have a '64 P that does the vintage thing very nicely for me in the studio, and makes me good money.
 
#11
dmusic148 said:
The core wire breaks but not the wrap wire, am I right? Not a 'burr' problem. There is too much bend in the string where it goes over the saddle. The solution is to shim the neck in such a way that you can lower the bridge saddles but still have the action where you want it. You'd be shimming it in the opposite direction than what's usually called for.
Click to expand...

thats exactly it. but how the hell do i shim a neck? :X
 

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