How to Break Less Guitar Strings

I'm a lover of Gibson and Epiphone guitars, especially Les Paul Standards. But as any Gibson or Epiphone guitar player soon finds out the fixed bridge can lead to a lot of string breakage after regular playing.

Years ago while jamming with an ex-brother in-law who was also a Gibson guitar fan. I broke a guitar string; he showed me how he strung up his guitars and basses. By simply inserting the string in the opposite side of the bridge, and wrapping the guitar strings over top of the bridge it reduced the angle that the string normally sat at.

When strung the standard way the strings sit at about a thirty five to forty five degree angle, thus creating a strain on the metal in the string which leads to breakage after heavy use.

But by stringing it in the opposite side (as pictured) and wrapping the string over the bridge it reduces the problem of a sharp angle on the strings. Thus extending the life of the strings and adding a little more sustain to the guitars sound.

As any pro, semi-pro, and amateur guitar player will tell you strings breaking can be costly, and time consuming especially when playing live on stage, and during studio recording sessions.
If you don't have a spare guitar already tuned and ready it can delay a concert or recording studio session anywhere from five to ten minutes, while you restring the guitar. It also can blow a great studio take, and throw the guitar player as well as the band off during a live performance when a string breaks suddenly.

This tip came in handy once I started performing live in concert, and in the recording studio on an almost daily basis. Already on a strained musicians budget, reducing the amount of strings I needed to buy for each gig was a major cost saver. It also saved on those embarrassing and time consuming moments when a string would normally break during a set or recording session.