My D String Keeps Breaking!

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Walt-Dogg

Walt-Dogg

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I've got Fender Strat that I use regularly and just restrung with a pack of Fender Super 250s (.09s) Since I have restrung the guitar the D string has broken three times, once today, once yesterday and the day before. It always breaks at the bridge, in the fashion of the core snapping and the winding coming undone. I have a couple of theories: 1.) The intonation for the D string saddle is off and the angle is making it snap. 2.) There's a bit of rust on the saddle where the string goes and the string is rubbing up against it coz it to break the string. 3.) The "slot" for the string is just really jagged and doing the same thing as the rust theory. 4.) As much as I like Super 250s, they suck.

Help me out, this is getting old and I've never had this problem before, at least in this magnitude. Not looking for suggestions for different types of strings (Roundwound vs. flatwound, lighter gauge vs. heavier gauge, coated vs. uncoated, I know what I like) I'm open to different brands (Except for D'Addarios, I hate those.)
 
You might have a tiny metal spur in your bridge that's chewing away at the string. Try and run a piece of thread through the string slot and see if it gets snagged. If so, you might need to file it (or get someone to do it). (that's your #3, I suppose)
 
antichef said:
You might have a tiny metal spur in your bridge that's chewing away at the string. Try and run a piece of thread through the string slot and see if it gets snagged. If so, you might need to file it (or get someone to do it). (that's your #3, I suppose)
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+1

It would be better to use some very fine sandpaper rather than a file though.

This is not related to intonation.
 
antichef said:
You might have a tiny metal spur in your bridge that's chewing away at the string. Try and run a piece of thread through the string slot and see if it gets snagged. If so, you might need to file it (or get someone to do it). (that's your #3, I suppose)
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Ran some thread though the saddle, no snagging... I'm gonna try filing it down a bit
 
The D string is usually the most likely to break on a Strat--besides checking the bridge saddle, check the bridge plate beneath the saddle, it may be rough or grooved too.
 
dervish riff said:
The D string is usually the most likely to break on a Strat--besides checking the bridge saddle, check the bridge plate beneath the saddle, it may be rough or grooved too.
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It breaks right on top of the saddle.
 
Walt-Dogg said:
1.) The intonation for the D string saddle is off and the angle is making it snap.
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Nope

2.) There's a bit of rust on the saddle where the string goes and the string is rubbing up against it coz it to break the string.
Click to expand...

Nope

4.) As much as I like Super 250s, they suck.
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Quite possible but they don't just break because you don't like them.

3.) The "slot" for the string is just really jagged and doing the same thing as the rust theory.
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Bingo. We have a winner.


If a string breaks in the same place for example at the saddle or nut then it is always where the problem lies. I would suggest running some very fine wet and dry in the slot to smooth it out. Al guitar tech is going to do is just that but with a nut file or rattail file.
 
muttley600 said:
Well they definitely won't break for that reason then.:cool:

Check the saddle slot. Has to be.;)
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Looks a lot better now that I've sanded it a bit. Just restrung it, hopefully this string will last more than a day.

In an earlier post, it was stated that on Strats the most likely to break string is the D string, is this really true, why or why not?
 
Strange, my rhythm guitar player had the same problem two weeks ago. It cost $6.00 Same solution.
 
Walt-Dogg said:
Looks a lot better now that I've sanded it a bit. Just restrung it, hopefully this string will last more than a day.

In an earlier post, it was stated that on Strats the most likely to break string is the D string, is this really true, why or why not?
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I've been playing a Strat for more than 30 years and I've not found it to be true. I don't break strings very often, but I haven't noticed that any breaks more often than the others. YMMV.
 
ggunn said:
I've been playing a Strat for more than 30 years and I've not found it to be true. I don't break strings very often, but I haven't noticed that any breaks more often than the others. YMMV.
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I don't either, just all of a sudden my D strings started breaking.

Hopefully I fixed it, if not I'll take it to a pro, the whole guitar needs a bit of tweaking anyways.
 
I break D strings all the time. If I play 2 gigs on one set of strings, I always break a D or A string. I never break plain strings.

A d-string in a set of 9s has a pretty small core in it. Take your broken string and take the winding off. It's probably smaller than a 9 plain string, isn't it?

Also, if you have a normal vintage radius strat, the D string saddle is higher than the other wound strings. The angle is sharper. The saddle is furthest forward, too. So the string might be deflected a good bit coming out of the block.

But those just add to the problem of a burr on your bridge plate or saddle.
 
Son of a bitch! Broke again...

I guess I need to sand it down more again... either that or give the saddle a bit of a tweak (lowering it a mm or two and bringing it back a tiny bit
 
I think you're just not holding your mouth right or something.

Try sticking your tongue out a little to one side or the other.
 
c7sus said:
I think you're just not holding your mouth right or something.

Try sticking your tongue out a little to one side or the other.
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You know what? I think you just might be right!
 
It's awfully tough to file/sand/polish whatever the groove of the saddle. One thing I've done in the past that works relatively well is, well, since your string just broke, you've now got this thin metal ribbed wire almost exactly the size of the groove of the saddle - I've had fair success by taking the string, pulling it tight across the saddle holding it on one side from the back of the guitar and through the bridge, and on the other from the front, pulling it tight down across towards the headstock, and working it back and forth to rub the saddle groove. Worth a shot.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
It's awfully tough to file/sand/polish whatever the groove of the saddle. One thing I've done in the past that works relatively well is, well, since your string just broke, you've now got this thin metal ribbed wire almost exactly the size of the groove of the saddle - I've had fair success by taking the string, pulling it tight across the saddle holding it on one side from the back of the guitar and through the bridge, and on the other from the front, pulling it tight down across towards the headstock, and working it back and forth to rub the saddle groove. Worth a shot.
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I'll give this a shot, what you're saying though sounds like you do it with a Tune-O-Matic, I'm using a Strat with a non-hardtail.
 
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