Hey all,

I am plagued with breaking strings on my Mexican Stratocaster as of lately. It's more than often the 1st and 2nd string that tend to break, and this set is max 3-4 weeks old.

They seem to break whenever I tune down my Strat to a drop C to play some heavier stuff.

Maybe the fact that I change so much between standard tune, drop D, drop C and a drop D that's tuned down half a step. I mostly play in standard tune, but I play along a lot of stuff that's in drop C.

Currently my string gauge is 009-042 which is what I'm used to playing. But perhaps this gauge is too light since the low E string tends to be out of tune when I hit it solidly with my pick in a drop C tune.

What do you guys recommend? Stick with this gauge? Possible moving up to a 010-048 or a 012-052 or something similar?

Having 2 guitars at this point would be handy since I could have one in a lower tune with heavier strings for the heavy stuff whilst I could keep my Strat with lighter string gauges in standard tune since I am a frequent string bender.


Cheers!

Floating 2 point Bridge 9's. 6 screw Bridge 10's.

Remember 9's are considered as ultra light strings and 10's are light strings.

Opt for a second guitar.

Where are the breakages occurring -- at the nut or at the saddles?

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Last time it was at the neck, this time it was at the bridge.

Also, a second guitar is not an option at the moment.

Question: if you maintain standard tuning, do you break strings then too as well?

I do quite a bit of acoustic alternate tuning, and string breaking is a common thing, but it can be improved for acoustics, maybe some of these ideas can help you too.
So here are a few things to consider...

Try to use some lubricant (Big Bends Nut Sauce for example) and lube all the witness points where the strings make contact with the bridge, and nut.

if that doesn't help,

Take it to a luthier, and explain the problem, he maybe able to smooth out the nut slots and bridge saddles, there could be some burrs, or some small imperfection in either of these areas that are stressing the strings.

I had my acoustics worked on and it vastly improved string breaking issues (for me, it was almost always the G string.)


9's are a bit light for this kind of work, I would consider at least trying 10's, but this will require some tension adjustments for the trem unit as the added string tension is going to pull the bridge forward, (you can add 2 springs, or if you don't have spare springs you can also tighten the 2 screws under the back plate that hold the claw in place)

Best of luck, I know what a PITA this can be!

/KB

I might try a set of 10-48s instead of 9-42s.

My strings usually don't break when it's kept in standard E tuning. I usually change them every 2 months just to have a fresh set, but otherwise they rarely break on me. It's with the constant tuning down and back again that this seems to have an effect on the strings just like an elastic band; pulling it tight and releasing it, and doing this over and over breaks the band.

I wouldn't mind going up a notch on string thickness anyway. I'd like to see what kind of different tones these can give. If there's one thing I don't like about my '93 MIM, it's that the high strings are way too bright, yet the low strings kind of lack the punch.

your theory sounds correct, all the tension changes is whats killing your strings.
A brand that can take more abuse might be a way to go also. or a second guitar that you leave drop tuned.

what brand of strings do you use currently?
the SIT strings can take a beating, but are a bit stiffer feeling than most
also DR strings are fairly resistant to breakage.

on the pickups, if you drop the high side of your pickups it will reduce the output on those strings.

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Try the 10's then. It probably is the constant re-tuning. Usually re-tuning strings this way will break them at the post end. Bridge end usually means a burr on the saddle, which would need to be polished out or replaced. Good luck.

Try a set of pure nickel EBs. They're not plated and pure nickel wrap.
Hybrid Slinky Rock n Roll strings - 9-11-16-26-36-46 - see if those
break.

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Been using 9-42 D'Addario strings for years now. The set I'm currently looking at is the 10-48 Dunlop Heavy Core set. They also sell 11-48 Ernie Ball strings.

I might have to adjust the nut a little bit with these thicker strings, but it shouldn't be much. The nut and saddles have gone through some adjusting in the guitar shop a year ago, so they should be fine. Although these were adjusted on a 9-42 string set.

actually after thinking about it a bit more, I think they are breaking at the bridge because when you drop tune you are causing excess slack. this allows you to push the string further side to side than normal making the angle increase where the string leaves the saddle.
especially chugging heavily really close to the bridge.
like this


this causes a huge increase of metal fatigue at the bridge

increasing gauge will also increase tension so it may solve the problem at the bridge.
but I suspect the constant tension changes are still the culprit at the nut end though.

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Well 2 guitars will always be the best solution, but economically speaking I just don't have room for two guitars at this moment in time.

I do own a second guitar, but it's a cheap Strat copy that I started playing with. After having played on a real Strat, I doubt I could live with playing my drop tunes on the copy. I could try it, but the feel is just horrible whenever I touch it; Neck is too wide for me, wood is horrible quality and doesn't feel nice to play, it's a hollow body (duh!), and the guitar as an entirety feels so plastic.

I may just try slap on a new string set on it and see what it sounds like with heavy distortion. After all, clean sounds isn't involved in the heavier stuff I play, and I guess anything with distortion might do the trick. I'll see how it sounds through my amp on an old set of strings. I'm pretty sure I haven't touched that guitar in at least 5 years.

This is strictly my own opinion but I'd opt for a second guitar...if you don't like the cheapy you already have, look for another and sell the first. Decent cheap knock-offs are out there for cheap right now (seems to be a buyers market, LOL!)...this past month I picked up a Hondo and a "B" for $30 each and a G Burton for $40 (all 3 Strat copies). After some fresh strings and setups, all three are very playable and stage worthy instruments (at least for limited use). In fact I just saw a rather nice used Suzuki knock-off at GC for $40...only reason I didn't snag it is because I've bought a total of 4 guitars this past month and the wife is about ready to go ballistic! LOL!

I do a bit of alternative tuning as well (particularly lately with all the Steven Stills/CSN stuff I've been doing) and I honestly can NOT imagine trying to do that all on just one guitar...it would completely take the joy out of playing for me to have to constantly swap the tuning back and forth like that...but that's just me. Seriously, if you're only using the instrument for a handful of songs, I'd get a second knock off that I was comfortable with...save the tuning, effort and strings and you'll probably have a better sound in the end.

Again, just my own personal opinion,
Jim

I do not play drop c so I cannot really advise here, but you may want to lube the contact points at the bridge and nut. Graphite works well. I have been using a product called Nut Sauce that works well for me. If you are still breaking strings then, try 10's to 12's. I also recommend pure nickels, but that is a personal choice for me.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

An 8 gauge string broke at the bridge a while back. I took a very close look at the saddle and found a very tiny burr. I removed the burr. I haven't broken a string since.

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