Titanium saddles?

[CS'56]

I posted this in The Small Compnay Luthiers because I know some of the small builder use them.
Anyone use them? Will they stop string breakage like a graphtech? I need to use them for my Strat only if they stop string breaks.

http://www.allparts.com/categories.php?cat_id=421&cat_name=SADDLES for STRAT®

 

[cuttooth21]

I bought titanium saddles to help with string breakage, but it didn't help. I have a USA strat and I break the D string at least once a week. It might be the thick picks I use or the way I pick. I've been playing guitar for 20 years and been breaking the D string for the last 10-12 years.

 

[KLB]

Does the string break where it exits the bridge plate before passing over the saddle?

That is a sharp bend. The D string has a small core diameter, which makes it more sensitive to breaking there.

You can have a guitar tech bevel and sand the string exit holes on the bridge plate to get rid of the sharp angle. Or, you can slide a small piece of teflon wire insulation over the string and slide it down to cushion the string where it bends.

 

[Zane]

Lentz used them on his "S's" right before the end. I think he still does on the 2 L-90 guitars with the "S" type bridge. I've got them on my Lentz "S" & I've never broken a string.

 

[cuttooth21]

Originally posted by KLB
Does the string break where it exits the bridge plate before passing over the saddle?

It seems to break where I'm picking.

 

[cuttooth21]

oops! sorry, didn't mean to highjack this thread. Not sure if that question was meant for me or not.

 

[CS'56]

My high E always breaks on the saddle. It's weird because the saddle looks great with no burs. I now have replaced the high E saddle with a graphtech. I would rather not have the graphtech on the guitar. That's why I'm thinking about Ti saddles.

 

[Roe]

the prices on titan guitar hardware varies a bit. people also think that detemple make titan parts, but they - as all the others - use kts parts.

 

[Gordon]

Hey Mark,

The reason people are going to titanium is the sound. If your guitar sounds muddy in the midrange and doesn't quite have the high end you would like then Ti will help. It conducts the acoustic energy in a way that discards some midrange and emphasizes the high end (to my ears anyway). As for breakage, I can't say. But one thing I can tell you is that it helps to make sure that the string goes over the saddle at exectly the same place every time that you restring. Even if you don't see it, a little groove develops there and that's all it takes to break a string.

 

[Roe]

Originally posted by Suhr

IMO and a few of my customers with dog ears the Titanium sound thinner than Steel...

That's important. Still titanum could be good for some guitars - for instance som 335s, LPs, or even some (hollow) telecasters

 

[KLB]

John,
What is your opinion about Titanium trem blocks?

BTW, I use Tri-Flow oil on friction points. It has teflon in it. Available at bike shops. Smells like ripe bananas!

- Ken

 

[KLB]

Originally posted by Suhr
Same thing, we all thought they sounded smaller I actually checked out some titanium stuff 4 years ago, I would love to have used it.

Triflow is cool but if it gets onto the nut it gunks up the open string tone

John,
Thanks for sharing your experience with Titanium bridge parts.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that Triflow "gunks up the open string tone". Does it actually affects tone? (in what way), and/or does it makes the nut misbehave in terms of tuning stability? I could see that a porous bone nut would absorb it and possibly change, but what about Tusc and other synthetics?

- Ken

 

[Reeek]

Not to hijack this thread either but rather to extrapolate more on string breakage and causes; I have to wonder about string breakage in so far as it must be a combination of physical tangibles such as the points John made along with player intangibles.

I say that because I've been playing for 30+ years but the last 8 have been faithful efforts to get better and better. To this day, I can't remember breaking more than 3 strings in the last 8 years and I bend the crappola out of 'em. 1 1/2 notes and 2 notes if the strings will go that far, is not uncommon. I play almost everyday too. Some of my guitars are cheapos but good sounding wonders like the Agile AL-3000 Prestige, some are middle of the road with good appointments like my Carvin CT6M and Fernandes Vertigo Deluxe and some are high end like my Suhr Classic and my 1967 Epiphone Emperor. Not one of them is more prone to breaking than the other. Hmmmm . . .

When I break a string, it's such a shock that I usually stop playing for the night rather than restringing right then and there.

I guess this logically brings us to another string breakage element and that's string brands. Burrs and sharp edges aside, has anyone paid attention to brands and breakage rates? I use d'Addario EXL110 in my case.

Just wondering . . .

 

[KLB]

Originally posted by Reeek
(snip...)

When I break a string, it's such a shock that I usually stop playing for the night rather than restringing right then and there.

(snip...)

Just wondering . . .

That's funny!

When you get a flat tire, do you just park your car and walk away?

Three broken strings in 8 years must be some kind of record.
Congrats!

- Ken

 

[Ian Anderson]

We offer the Ti saddles. The strings don't bite into and scar them like they do to modern steel saddles. Tonally they add a crispness to the note similar to Brazilian rosewood.

 

[Reeek]

Originally posted by KLB
That's funny!

When you get a flat tire, do you just park your car and walk away?

Three broken strings in 8 years must be some kind of record.
Congrats!

- Ken

I call AAA

Addendum: I don't play on stage Yet . . .

 

[CS'56]

Originally posted by Ian Anderson
The strings don't bite into and scar them like they do to modern steel saddles.

Scott Told me about the Ti saddles reducing string breakage. Since they don't bite in and scar, there should be no burs to break strings. Correct?

Do the strings leave any impressions at all in the Ti saddle? Or is it just not as deep as a steel saddle?

 

[Ian Anderson]

Thats correct. Less breakage. Scott has a theory they used to harden the saddles back in the 50s and 60s as he says they do not scar up at all where the new ones do.

I have not noticed the strings leaving marks int he Ti saddles.