High e string keeps breaking

[doctorock78]

an update on the Fender Bullet strings - not only no breakage, but i'm getting unusually great sustain on low-overdriven single-note lines. this is allowing me to use the '59 JM on material that i used to reach for my modern guitar on. very pleased about that! i did some bridge and saddle tweaks, too, but i think these strings have opened 'er up quite a bit. well worth the $6!

they are a good design. i find fender strings a bit weak perhaps, but this seems to be countered by the fact the strings are open behind the bridge, if only another manufacturer has a similar design i'm sure they could be more awesome...for third bridge playing i also recommend them a lot for increased volume behind the bridge.

E string breakage is neither burs, nor to do with contact with screws. Have no possibility of that on my guitar. different brands stay on for longer, but if they have the usual metal windings without covering or reinforcement i've had this issue eventually with all strings of this type i try, this is the only string i routinely break, on any of the guitars i've owned.

Culprit is to do with the trem putting stress on the string, even causing it to twist to make it unwind, or just an awkward angle then again, its probably to do with the weird angles at play. the string enters at an angle into the tailpiece into a plate going the opposite angle, so theres not equal tension on each side of the loop. thus its going to push or pull the windings apart on the knotted side of the loop. exacerbated by trem use. then weakened until it snaps.

This.. Jorri hit the nail on the head

[46346]

aye. i have also noticed a stronger output from behind the bridge raking and picking, as jorri has mentioned. i may have finally settled on pure nickel Bullets for my JM!

[Bronco Billy]

I know this is an old thread, but I think this might could be useful info.

I've had several issues with the the high e unravelling on both my AVRI JM and my JPN JM. I've have had the Mastery bridge on both.

So I wrote John Woodland from Mastery Bridge and he told me to try GHS, since they wrap the end of the string differently. (He changed Nels Cline ETC over to GHS since it started happening with Daddario 4 years ago and he haven't had any issues since)

So I've bought a batch of GHS's but I haven't had the time to change them yet.

And I've been trough both Daddario, B52's, Ernie Ball, Rotosound they all do the same.

I'm sure that there is no touching of the machine screws, it's simply the string twisting, pitching down, and finally unravelling.

[tubeswell]

Bad news, I had GHS e-strings unwind on me.

If the string bobbin winding is touching the nearby trem-plate screwhead, then when you use the whammy, it'll eventually make the winding come undone.

The only real solution I've found is to shim the neck angle to the point where you've had to raise the bridge enough so that the winding clears the screwhead. I've done this with my AVRI '62 JM and the problem is solved. I had to use quite a thick shim in the end, and so I made a solid wedge shim from hardwood that covers the whole neck pocket. IIRC the shim is like 3mm or more thick at the thick end. The solid shim also gives better sustain than a pile of stacked credit card offcuts.

Since doing this, I've never had any problem with the bobbin unwinding, and its been that way for about 9 months now - a dozen gigs, several jams and untold practices and many-many whammies. YMMV

My Jag is going to get the same shim treatment.

[Bronco Billy]

Bad news, I had GHS e-strings unwind on me.

If the string bobbin winding is touching the nearby trem-plate screwhead, then when you use the whammy, it'll eventually make the winding come undone.

The only real solution I've found is to shim the neck angle to the point where you've had to raise the bridge enough so that the winding clears the screwhead. I've done this with my AVRI '62 JM and the problem is solved. I had to use quite a thick shim in the end, and so I made a solid wedge shim from hardwood that covers the whole neck pocket. IIRC the shim is like 3mm or more thick at the thick end. The solid shim also gives better sustain than a pile of stacked credit card offcuts.

Since doing this, I've never had any problem with the bobbin unwinding, and its been that way for about 9 months now - a dozen gigs, several jams and untold practices and many-many whammies. YMMV

My Jag is going to get the same shim treatment.

Just Sayin'. I actually changed one of the parts of the vibrato, to get the trem-piece up higher, so it wouldn't touch the screwheads.

I'm sure that there is no touching of the machine screws, it's simply the string twisting, pitching down, and finally unravelling.

[tubeswell]

I actually changed one of the parts of the vibrato, to get the trem-piece up higher, so it wouldn't touch the screwheads.

What did you do to change it (out of curiosity)?

[Bronco Billy]

I actually changed one of the parts of the vibrato, to get the trem-piece up higher, so it wouldn't touch the screwheads.

What did you do to change it (out of curiosity)?

I took the metal plate the 3 screws are screwed into from another vibrato. The one that is on my 59' build atm.
It had a slimmer profile than the avri, which made the holes on the tremplate get a bit further away from the body.

It did though make the break angle smaller, but since I'm a mastery guy it wasn't an issue.

[muffin]

String breakage update.
I have now solved the top E string breaking at the ball end problem on my Squier VM Jaguar fitted with 9-42 Daddario.
As I said previously had no problems for five months then all of a sudden breakage every time I played it. my 1963 original Jag does not break strings at all so something had changed with the Squier after five months. I checked with a magnifying glass and could not see any burrs or points where the string was touching the tailpiece so I compared the dimensions with my 1963 original. The bridge parts are made of thinner material on the Squier and more importantly the hole is smaller. I enlarged the hole to the same size as my 1963 and also install the string so that the ball is horizontal to the body. This reduces the chance of the string, as it leaves the ball end ,from touching the sides of the hole when the trem is used. Even though the Squier does not have the trem lock I have set the spring so that the two bridge plates are parallel to each other at rest as this is how it was designed to be set. If the spring is set so that the bottom plate is angled down(so the trem arm at rest is closer to the body) then the angle of the bridge plate where the ball sits is angled forward and is even more so when the trem is pushed down. This also allows the string at the ball end to touch the hole surround. Hope this helps.

[josheboy]

This was happening to my band mate. He just upgraded from 11s to 12s and then 2 gigs and 1 rehearsal in a row the high e broke. He thought it was bad batch of strings, D'addario sent him replacements, but it still occured.

He filed the trem hole so there was no burrs and it still happened. Broke right at the ball end and during trem use.

He ended up doing the solder on the string trick, and also getting a little piece of gaffer tape between the ball and the hole. 2 gigs and some rehearsals later and no string breaks.

Hope this helps.

[eligit]

just throwing in one note on this:
The high e string breaking issue has plagued me on both a stock avri trem and the mastery trem (which definitely has a nicer action to it...but still breaks strings)
the string breaks around the ball. it's definitely unrelated to the screws because the mastery has countersunk screws so there is no contact between screw and string. it seems to happen equally with 10s and 11s and is usually preceded by the string detuning a bit and is caused by either vigorous trem use and/or a whole step left hand bend. upon close inspection it looks like the break always occurs right above the wrapping from simple tension. it can't be a burr because the string itself does not make contact with the trem plate. going to try out the solder thing (and maybe the gaffer tape). it's unfortunate because it's my best sounding guitar but this issue makes me scared to gig with it without having a second guitar on a stand ready to go (not always possible...and even if you have a backup who wants to break a string in the middle of a solo?).
i also have an issue with the mastery bridge saddles sliding from side to side when doing string bends...but that's another thread!
thanks for the tips in this thread....

[fisonic]

[eligit]

Nice!
Have you seen a source for single plain strings of these?

[Moloch]

just throwing in one note on this:
The high e string breaking issue has plagued me on both a stock avri trem and the mastery trem (which definitely has a nicer action to it...but still breaks strings)
the string breaks around the ball. it's definitely unrelated to the screws because the mastery has countersunk screws so there is no contact between screw and string. it seems to happen equally with 10s and 11s and is usually preceded by the string detuning a bit and is caused by either vigorous trem use and/or a whole step left hand bend. upon close inspection it looks like the break always occurs right above the wrapping from simple tension. it can't be a burr because the string itself does not make contact with the trem plate. going to try out the solder thing (and maybe the gaffer tape). it's unfortunate because it's my best sounding guitar but this issue makes me scared to gig with it without having a second guitar on a stand ready to go (not always possible...and even if you have a backup who wants to break a string in the middle of a solo?).
i also have an issue with the mastery bridge saddles sliding from side to side when doing string bends...but that's another thread!
thanks for the tips in this thread....

I was having the same problem with my Mastery vibrato. Put a little bit of solder on the wind just up from ball end of the string and you should be good. It seems to strengthen things enough to prevent the string from unravelling. Hope that helps.

[eligit]

just throwing in one note on this:
The high e string breaking issue has plagued me on both a stock avri trem and the mastery trem (which definitely has a nicer action to it...but still breaks strings)
the string breaks around the ball. it's definitely unrelated to the screws because the mastery has countersunk screws so there is no contact between screw and string. it seems to happen equally with 10s and 11s and is usually preceded by the string detuning a bit and is caused by either vigorous trem use and/or a whole step left hand bend. upon close inspection it looks like the break always occurs right above the wrapping from simple tension. it can't be a burr because the string itself does not make contact with the trem plate. going to try out the solder thing (and maybe the gaffer tape). it's unfortunate because it's my best sounding guitar but this issue makes me scared to gig with it without having a second guitar on a stand ready to go (not always possible...and even if you have a backup who wants to break a string in the middle of a solo?).
i also have an issue with the mastery bridge saddles sliding from side to side when doing string bends...but that's another thread!
thanks for the tips in this thread....

I was having the same problem with my Mastery vibrato. Put a little bit of solder on the wind just up from ball end of the string and you should be good. It seems to strengthen things enough to prevent the string from unravelling. Hope that helps.

Much thanks.
Separate mastery vibrato question:
When I push the bar all the way down to the body I get this "clunk" sound on the way back up to pitch (and I can see the back trem plate sort of moving side to side)
Do you experience any oddness there?
Otherwise the trem is superior in every way imo.

[fisonic]

Nice!
Have you seen a source for single plain strings of these?

You could try here:

http://mobile.ernieball.com/products/el ... ain-6-pack

http://www.the-music-store.com/store/in ... ts_id=8487