Filing Saddles

[Bearded Fish]

How should I go about filing the grooves out of my Strat. saddles? I want to try this before I buy new saddles as I always break strings the saddle contact point. Once I've done this I'll also try using some 'nut sauce' or similar to help but I want to know the best way to smooth them out. Should I use sandpaper or needle files? What grade? What's a good method? If anyone's got any experience doing this that they could share I would be grateful. Thanks.

[Tonefreak]

Filing out bridge saddles carries with it very little practical reward or change to a string breakage problem unless the contact points with the strings are burred or noticable harsh or irregular. If this is the case, then I'd take out the burrs or irregularities with a Dremel. It's labor intensive already, even with a electric tool like this...far worse by hand, and you can't work a contour with a hand file. They're breaking a A contact point, not THE contact point. What that means is that any contact point where stress is evident could be breakpoint.

I have found over and over again that if bridge saddles are the culprit indeed, replacing them is cheaper and more effective than dicking around with pencil files and Dremels...

What type of Strat? ( Some models are worse than others for this) What year? Is it degeneration of time or a steel change in a particular genre that causes irregularities What type of bridge? ( Vintage, etc) Tremelo? ( If so, how is it set up) How are you playing it? This might determine how I'd set it up for you...or I'd tell you just to not do stupid crap with it!! Eg. I've had players come with Strats that are just abused. They thought they were Hendrix to start with, installed some gawd forsaken whammy system, put huge pressure on the bridge assembly and did it all with 10-46's on A-440 tuning...and then ask " Why ...") What gauge of strings? How deep are the grooves? What's grabbing the string on a bend? What do the burrs look like under a magnifier?When you go into a bridge repair, you usually get all this info together so you can attack the problem at root.

Fish, this is a common shop problem for repair dudes, and can I say this? Many times it's something else before a saddle issue. IF it's a saddle issue, then filing is most often a poor resolution. Unless of course it's taking out a speicfic burr or irritant. Strats most often go hard for years and years and years on the same bridge...so I'd question lots of stuff first before I'd start filing away. In my opinion and experience... :)

[Bearded Fish]

Gee... wasn't prepared for that!

[Tonefreak]

It's OK, Fish...most people aren't! Hey, glad to help, and if it is indeed the saddles in your opinion, just change them to new saddles. It'll elminate your doubts, and if you continue to break strings, at least you've got new saddles!