Bernie Marsden Signature constantly snapping strings

Thanks to this issue I finally decided to get off my backside and do some work on the original bridge as some of the earlier posters suggested. Here is a closeup pic of the original PRS bridge where the strings emerge from their tunnels and loop up over the top surface. It's not the smooth finish I would have expected!

(See the later post where I got the pics right!)
PRS%20Bridge.jpg


And it looks a lot worse if you use microscopic jewellers glasses and magnify more I promise you. So it appears that the guys up the thread were absolutely right, there look to be some terribly sharp edges in there which would go through a string in no time if played hard. :rolleyes: I think I can probably clean that up if I need but I'll soldier on with sorting out the Gotoh replacement for now.

And here is a pic of the different inserts. The fatter ones are the originals and the longer ones the Gotohs.

Bridge%20Inserts.jpg
 
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Darn it. I can't post pictures yet, I don't have 10 posts. Ok, so this is one more, now where can I be innocuous.


EDIT: Nope, I'm showing 10 posts and still no pics. I've tried to edit the last post and reinsert them again but no dice. They are .jpg format hosted on Dropbox with correct links. What am I doing wrong? I'm trying not to introduce posts for no reason here too.
 
Darn it. I can't post pictures yet, I don't have 10 posts. Ok, so this is one more, now where can I be innocuous.


EDIT: Nope, I'm showing 10 posts and still no pics. I've tried to edit the last post and reinsert them again but no dice. They are .jpg format hosted on Dropbox with correct links. What am I doing wrong? I'm trying not to introduce posts for no reason here too.

Dropbox won't let you host photos the way they need to be hosted for the forum. You need a site like imgur or your own hosting.
 
AP515: Only that I've seen admins complain about unnecessary new threads and strings of posts by the same person when they could have been concatenated into one. If that's not the case here then - Whoopee, it's my lucky day. Free at last! :D

So Dropbox is the problem. Thanks for the heads up Alan, I'll have to find a different way.
 
The original bridge, (strings come up out of holes and bend away from us into grooves):

eQwXxN6.jpg


The edges of that original look very sharp and rough to me. The inserts for comparison:

hxPeZPs.jpg
 
The original bridge, (strings come up out of holes and bend away from us into grooves):
If the string is breaking at that bend then you are likely correct. If it is breaking at some other length then, of course, that would not be the problem. If it is the problem, polishing that surface looks like a challenge.
 
I don't know enough about that Gotoh replacement bridge to help with specifics. Can you use the original inserts and posts and just swap in the new bridge assembly?
 
They were all breaking around that point AP. I couldn't say exactly on it in every case but it must have been close every one. Certainly every case left a very short tail in the bridge which was awkward to get out in the dark between numbers and a long length of string hanging off the head. I think you are right about the difficulty of cleaning it up but I've nothing to lose. I can never trust the bridge again in the state it is in now so I'll try to gently radius each of those edges with a set of miniature diamond files then buff the curve to smooth it over. Let's be honest I can't make it any worse can I?

I certainly can't use the posts Shinksma, the Gotoh ones are specifically shaped to slot into their bridge piece and not the other way around. I can use the inserts as they are both M8 threads though I will have to drill the holes slightly deeper. I'm looking for something metal to bottom out the holes so the Gotoh studs have something solid to bear down on when they are locked after adjustment with their fine internal screw.
 
If you do replace the bridge, I'm on record a few times as saying the TonePros is dumb and annoying.

You are not wrong about that. It works (I suppose...), but man, every time I have to restring mine, I kick myself for not getting a Mann, Schroeder, or Hipshot Baby Grand.
 
AP515: Only that I've seen admins complain about unnecessary new threads and strings of posts by the same person when they could have been concatenated into one. If that's not the case here then - Whoopee, it's my lucky day. Free at last! :D

So Dropbox is the problem. Thanks for the heads up Alan, I'll have to find a different way.

Post away! Just don't break the rules. Post as many threads as you'd like!
 
They were all breaking around that point AP. I couldn't say exactly on it in every case but it must have been close every one. Certainly every case left a very short tail in the bridge which was awkward to get out in the dark between numbers and a long length of string hanging off the head. I think you are right about the difficulty of cleaning it up but I've nothing to lose. I can never trust the bridge again in the state it is in now so I'll try to gently radius each of those edges with a set of miniature diamond files then buff the curve to smooth it over. Let's be honest I can't make it any worse can I?

I certainly can't use the posts Shinksma, the Gotoh ones are specifically shaped to slot into their bridge piece and not the other way around. I can use the inserts as they are both M8 threads though I will have to drill the holes slightly deeper. I'm looking for something metal to bottom out the holes so the Gotoh studs have something solid to bear down on when they are locked after adjustment with their fine internal screw.

Where are you located? I may have a spare bridge laying around that I can send you.
 
Thanks Bodia, I always do my best to play by the rules, I'm not a natural trouble maker. I'm based just north of the South Coast of England, about 20miles up from Portsmouth/Southampton area. Looks like you're in Chicago. We're a million miles apart aren't we? ;)
 
Troybaer: "...every time I have to restring mine, I kick myself for not getting a Mann, Schroeder, or Hipshot Baby Grand."

I agree these are nice parts but the cost is ridiculous. I really can't get to pay around £150 for just a bridge, the guitar only cost just over 3x that and that was brand new! As an engineer I also have to say that the difference in performance rarely matches the difference in price. Just because something is better doesn't mean that the price should be doubled or more but I accept I'm out of step with most people's thinking on that one. Today's attitude seems to be increasingly, "it's better, it costs a fortune, I gotta have it!". Not playing like a latter day Gary Moore I can't afford to think like that.
 
Thanks Bodia, I always do my best to play by the rules, I'm not a natural trouble maker. I'm based just north of the South Coast of England, about 20miles up from Portsmouth/Southampton area. Looks like you're in Chicago. We're a million miles apart aren't we? ;)

Well, if you want me to look and see, I will. Not sure if I can get it to you without you having to pay import duties though. I've sent a couple of things across the pond that I "bought" and "gifted" for peeps. Two got delivered without issue, the other had to pay import.
 
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That Forum Brotherhood thing is spreading! :D

Just a thought. The threads on the Gotoh bolts are the same diameter as the SE?

Could you re-insert the SE studs, remove the extra length on the Gotoh bolts and problem solved! No drilling into your Bernie and if you decide to replace the original bridge, you can.

The amount that you will have to remove from the Gotoh bolts shouldn’t be so much, that if you decided to use the bridge on another guitar, you could also do that?

Happy modding :D
 
Well I got there! I took a deep breath, made sure of my calculations before I started, measure and calculate twice then, I drilled - once. I put in a secondary well down the centre of the original holes, about 3-4mm deep and about 8mm diameter. The original inserts will sit in that as though it hadn't been modded and the original bridge will still fit exactly as it had.

I then cut two circles of steel from a piece of 8mm round bar I had from an old bass bridge, about 1-2mm thick. These were pushed down into the new wells I had just drilled. With the old inserts back in their original holes the new Gotoh posts can be screwed into the inserts and now have the clearance to accommodate their extra length. The stud central locking screws can also be used as intended as they now have a steel base to push down on.

They actually do not need much tension at all. The stud/insert threads are a pretty coarse match with a fair bit of play, that's the same with the original studs not just the Gotohs. Once in place and nipped up manually the locking screws push the thread of the stud upwards in the thread of the insert centring it and making it contact around its full circumference on the upper surface. Without that the contact points are actually very small and only on the front lower and rear upper points of each turn of the threads as the bridge tilts forward a touch on the slack in the thread.

iagqJm2.jpg


That shows the bridge in place before the setup and the overall change to the look of the guitar. Looks aren't of too much importance to me but I will say I prefer it with black fittings over the silver bridge and those orange knobs from the "ginger tomcat" version. (But I'm sure others will disagree with that and quite rightly too.)
 
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