Suno decides break length by feel unless you give it a bar count. Bar counts are the only reliable length control.
1. Always specify bars:
[Guitar solo: 8 bars, then back to verse]
[Instrumental break: 4 bars, building]
'8 bars' is a contract; 'short solo' is a wish.
2. Bracket BOTH ends. Open the break AND close it:
[Instrumental break: 8 bars of piano]
[Verse 3: vocal returns]
An unclosed break wanders; a closed one lands.
3. Match length to purpose: 4 bars = a breath. 8 bars = a statement solo. 16 bars = a showcase. If your break feels wrong, it's usually the wrong SIZE for its job, not a bad performance.
4. Too long? The break probably lacks direction — [8-bar solo, starts sparse, builds to a peak in bar 6, hands off to vocal] gives it an arc that fills the time.
5. Too short? You may have starved it — breaks need a setup bar. [Drum fill into 8-bar sax solo] lands better than a solo that starts cold.
Good luck! Hank founder of SonorixPG