G,B,E strings on a fender bridge.

[capnkid]

I broke a string for the first time in like..... years, it was the E string. I recall reading an interview with SRV's tech and he mentioned that he put rubber at the point where the string makes the curve coming out of the bridge block where the saddle is. Well I had some old cloth covered wire that I used for an amp and slid that over the g,b,e, strings and placed it at that spot. Hopefully that gives the strings a little more insurance from breaking at that point.

 

[Clive Hugh]

What sort of bridge is it? The newer ones have a stainless cast saddle and they can become groved over a few years. If you have a machinist friend get him to file the groove out (assuming there is one) with a die file. Or do it your self ,remembering it's easy to take metal off but a real bugger to put it back.

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

OTOH, I don't think I'd get too worried if I were only breaking a string every few years. SRV played with a lot of attack and probably put many many more hours/day one his guitars than us mortals.

It's never a bad idea to change strings once in a while for tone even if you haven't broken one.

Breaking strings during a live performance can really keep you on your toes

 

[Gorty]

Breaking strings during a live performance can really keep you on your toes

Even better to address the problem and eliminate the possibilities as much as you can of breaking strings during a live performance.........................That's what I call keeping on your toes!..

 

[cephus]

I play roots blues rock and roll and I saw off D strings on every guitar. I never break plain strings really. But that is why I change strings every gig.

By the end of the first song, I get it can be a pretty bad out of tune, because I usually change them after setting up or the sound check - pretty much right up before start time. I give them all a good yank, but, you know how it is. Anyway, after you get it tuned back to pitch after that, they settle down. The only insurance I ever found from breaking strings was replacing them before the gig.

I bought some graphite saddles one time that had a more gradual break angle and they didn't make much difference except change the tone of the guitar (for the worse). I like the twang and the jang too much to tamper with the design. Strings are a consummable. Making your tone sound like dookey so you can use the same set for a month isn't worth it to me.

 

[flamin-gitaur]

I play roots blues rock and roll and I saw off D strings on every guitar. I never break plain strings really. But that is why I change strings every gig.

By the end of the first song, I get it can be a pretty bad out of tune, because I usually change them after setting up or the sound check - pretty much right up before start time. I give them all a good yank, but, you know how it is. Anyway, after you get it tuned back to pitch after that, they settle down. The only insurance I ever found from breaking strings was replacing them before the gig.

I bought some graphite saddles one time that had a more gradual break angle and they didn't make much difference except change the tone of the guitar (for the worse). I like the twang and the jang too much to tamper with the design. Strings are a consummable. Making your tone sound like dookey so you can use the same set for a month isn't worth it to me.

What brand of strings do you use? I used to have the same problem, I tried all sort of different string brands, and for me, Dean Markleys held up the best. As far as keeping your stirngs in tune, aside from from winding them around the tuning post properly, Tinning the string with solder where it wraps around the ball, can drastically make a difference on how well you geetar stays in tune. I heard about this years ago, but only recently started doing it, and what a difference. The concept here is to prevent the string winding from slipping.