SG tailpiece height?

[Sérgio]

I find my SG quite comfortable to play. The action is quite low and it plays ok, but when I look at the tailpiece (stopbar) it looks like it's too high.

The bridge itself is quite low down:

I can set up a Fender quite all right but I don't know much about these. Does it look ok to you or should I deal with it?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[DonP]

The tailpiece is not too high. Ideally it would be a bit higher still so the break angle over the bridge is identical both sides.

 

[Tony M.]

I find my SG quite comfortable to play.
The action is quite low and it plays ok, ..........Thanks in advance!!

So why would you want to mess around with it?
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Go play the guitar.
It's fine.
You said so yourself.

 

[gball]

Looks fine to me. Mine is about the same height.

 

[JohnnyGoo]

Long as the tailpiece is high enough for the srings to clear the TOM bridge ur good to go. So after you adjust the bridge to the heigth you need or like adjust the tailpiece so the strings clear the bridge.Or as Don said alot like the tailpiece adjusted so the string angle matches that of the headstock angle.

 

[Paul G.]

It's fine.

If it bothers you, you can screw it all the way down and top-wrap the strings.

 

[smitty_p]

I'll just echo others; it's fine.

 

[Biddlin]

Ideally it would be a bit higher still

I concur.

 

[Chubbles]

I like it higher, it makes it easier to bend notes. I tried real low, didn't like it. i also had a bridge collapse on a cheap Dean years ago (the bridge sagged in the middle.) Tons of fret buzz. It made me paranoid. It was a strings through body. Too much of a break angle caused the collapse.

 

[ivan H]

I like top wrapping as Paul G suggested, though some don't. Worth a try to see if you like or not. Here's the break angle I get with it screwed down & top wrapped
A tad less break angle than 17 degrees but the action is low. Cheers

 

[Walks Backward]

¡Esta Bueno!

 

[Sérgio]

I won't mess with it, no.

I wanted to ask this because I didn't know if it was all right. If it is, then all's well.

It does play well

 

[Inspector #20]

Its fine. Most Gibson's are like this....but I don't like it. I bought the Faber Locking Tailpiece and it greatly improved my sustain, plus the tailpiece doesn't fall off anymore.

TP-59 gets you a nickel plated aluminum tailpiece with nickel plated screws and assorted spacers.

You can also get just the screws and spacers by themselves...

Despite my bridge height, I have really low action.

 

[Inspector #20]

I like top wrapping as Paul G suggested, though some don't. Worth a try to see if you like or not. Here's the break angle I get with it screwed down & top wrappedView attachment 3675
A tad less break angle than 17 degrees but the action is low. Cheers

See the twist on the tailpiece???? I don't like that...

 

[ivan H]

Yeah, but its been done for decades by many, many people with no ill effects. Both the posts & tailpiece can take it. I suppose I could quite easily make up a couple of U shaped shims to eliminate if it bothered me. Cheers

 

[DonP]

Yup, the twist is of cosmetic significance only.

 

[Inspector #20]

Yeah, but its been done for decades by many, many people with no ill effects. Both the posts & tailpiece can take it. I suppose I could quite easily make up a couple of U shaped shims to eliminate if it bothered me. Cheers

Admittedly, I'm a funny duck. The gap in the fit between screws and tailpiece is why you get the twist. I think it' never good to have highly tensioned articles subjected to forces out of plane, so on a Gibson, I like the Faber screws and spacers...

The Faber crews and spacers are only $40.00USD and are available under part #3000.

 

[Inspector #20]

I like top wrapping as Paul G suggested, though some don't. Worth a try to see if you like or not. Here's the break angle I get with it screwed down & top wrappedView attachment 3675
A tad less break angle than 17 degrees but the action is low. Cheers

Looks like Ivan is sliding an unused string ball onto his strings like Joe Bonamassa's tech prefers to do....

 

[Inspector #20]

You know, I really have to say that owning a Gibson has given me a greater appreciation for the simplicity and adjustability of a Fender...While in many respects, I can see where Gibson puts a lot of work into the set neck and the glued-on 'ears' on the open-book headstock, I see a lot of issues they create too.

One thing that amazes me is how radically different the bridge heights are on Gibsons in general. For example, my bridge, as evidenced by the photo above, is quite high in order to get fairly low action. In contracts, Sergio's SG has dramatically lower bridge height.

In these cases, I have noticed a difference in the set angle of the necks. I have examined a lot of Gibson's with a super critical eye after buying my 2016 SG last year, and if you really, really look and measure, you will find the rearward tilt of Gibson necks is all over the place. The further the neck sets back towards the player, the higher the bridge has to be to achieve a decent action height.

The local Guitar Sinner has a brand new Gibson SG Standard where the bridge is almost screwed out of the guitar body. The setup is good and the action is within spec, but because of the extreme neck angle, the bridge is up as far as it will go, and because of this, it has a visible tilt towards the nut.

I suppose all of these things are subjective, but they bother me. I hated the seating position in my old Ferrari's - not enough headroom (I'm 6'-3") and sitting with your feet angled towards the center of the car, but most people never noticed because they were driving a Ferrari, whereas I notice everything.

 

[JohnnyGoo]

See on a Fender bolt neck or other bolt neck guitars you can shim or adjust the neck angle so you dont have to raise tailpieces and such to clear the bridge or saddles in a Fender type tailpiece.On a set neck your stuck with what ever neck angle it got glued in at.