Titanium saddles?

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

It seems to break where I'm picking.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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 . . .

 

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

 

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.

 

I call AAA

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

 

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.