Top Wrapping Gibsons

iblive said:
The tailpiece and bridge are made by TonePros. Metric of course since they’re on an Epiphone. Id have to double check. But pretty sure the bridge has the set screws as well. Makes it so you don’t have to hold in place while restringing. Or while the strings are off and you’re cleaning, they don’t fall off. Not a huge deal, but I sorta like them. Best part was. I was having tuning and intonation issues with the Epi bridge in place. Put these on and my problems went away.
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The TonePros is much better than the Epiphone bridges but not a big improvement on the Gibson, just the grub screws keeping stuff on, as you said. They don’t lock rigid. For a true locking bridge look at the Gotoh 510
 
As part of the experiment I have now top wrapped all of my guitars (I guess the two with wraparound/lightning bar tailpieces technically already were).
So far I am digging it and will most likely keep them that way. There is a little something in the feel that is just a bit snappier and makes the string tension feel more balanced. And in the case of the Les Pauls the wound strings have a little more punch, and my SG Standard sounds bigger and thicker (though I also took off the factory aluminum tailpiece and put a Zamack one on, so it could be in part that too).
 
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gball said:
As part of the experiment I have now top wrapped all of my guitars (I guess the two with stop tailpieces technically already were).
So far I am digging it and will most likely keep them that way. There is a little something in the feel that is just a bit snappier and makes the string tension feel more balanced. And in the case of the Les Pauls the wound strings have a little more punch, and my SG Standard sounds bigger and thicker, though I also took off the factory aluminum tailpiece and put a Zamack one on, so it could be in part that too).
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Funny... I didn't know that zamack is just zinc die-casting. IMO, that's kind of an inferior alloy compared to aluminum or denser metals. Hopefully the zamack tailpiece holds up and never gives you any trouble.

What about going the opposite way with a tailpiece machined from solid steel billet? One of my SG's is very happy with one of these!
 
syscokid said:
Funny... I didn't know that zamack is just zinc die-casting. IMO, that's kind of an inferior alloy compared to aluminum or denser metals. Hopefully the zamack tailpiece holds up and never gives you any trouble.

What about going the opposite way with a tailpiece machined from solid steel billet? One of my SG's is very happy with one of these!
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Yeah, zinc alloy. It's the stuff Gibson used for many decades before going back to aluminum as stock in 2017. The one I put on it is a Gibson factory tailpiece that came off of another guitar that I perhaps ironically put an aluminum tailpiece on. The tailpiece is approx. twice the weight of the stock one and I have found that some guitars seem to sound better with zinc, some with aluminum. I actually think the studs make a much bigger difference than the tailpiece and I always put steel studs on my guitars.

Thing is, I think they went to aluminum a few years ago because "that's how they did it in the 1950's" more than any other reason.
 
gball said:
The tailpiece is approx. twice the weight of the stock one and I have found that some guitars seem to sound better with zinc, some with aluminum.
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Got to agree with this somewhat. My old '71 SG Standard has gone through a lot in the 42 years I've had her. I think I went through three different tailpieces at the suggestion from much more knowledgeable people many years ago. The first tailpiece was zinc. The other two were aluminum. The second aluminum tailpiece was lighter than the first aluminum tailpiece. At that time, I was satisfied at just leaving the poor girl alone. Then one day while surfing through a forum, I notice a few responses about going heavy on a tailpiece for SG's if you think the guitar needs some more acoustic chime to it. So on a whim, a pricey whim at that, I did some business with Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supply and got their CNC machined steel tailpiece. I was surprised in the amount of difference that steel tailpiece made to that guitar. More chime and more sustain. I would not be surprised if I used that same steel tailpiece on a different guitar and have it come out sounding like a dud.
 
syscokid said:
Got to agree with this somewhat. My old '71 SG Standard has gone through a lot in the 42 years I've had her. I think I went through three different tailpieces at the suggestion from much more knowledgeable people many years ago. The first tailpiece was zinc. The other two were aluminum. The second aluminum tailpiece was lighter than the first aluminum tailpiece. At that time, I was satisfied at just leaving the poor girl alone. Then one day while surfing through a forum, I notice a few responses about going heavy on a tailpiece for SG's if you think the guitar needs some more acoustic chime to it. So on a whim, a pricey whim at that, I did some business with Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supply and got their CNC machined steel tailpiece. I was surprised in the amount of difference that steel tailpiece made to that guitar. More chime and more sustain. I would not be surprised if I used that same steel tailpiece on a different guitar and have it come out sounding like a dud.
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I should maybe try a steel on on it. It's one of my favorite guitars, but it is exceedingly bright sounding which leaves it useful mostly for just high-gain settings. It's almost shrill and plinky played clean. I tried the zinc to try to fill out the lower mids and it did work, but at the expense of a touch of low-end firmness. Maybe a steel one would be the ticket?
 
I tried top wrapping twice in the past and didn't feel a difference one way or the other, but this new LP seems to benefit from it.

The 10's feel slinkier and easier to bend. I usually don't like 10's, but they feel fine. Maybe it's the brand and style of strings???
 
Sp8ctre said:
I tried top wrapping twice in the past and didn't feel a difference one way or the other, but this new LP seems to benefit from it.

The 10's feel slinkier and easier to bend. I usually don't like 10's, but they feel fine. Maybe it's the brand and style of strings???
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I can definitely tell the difference in feel on a couple of my most-played guitars. It seems to balance the tension or something. Also, with the tailpiece decked I don't have to think about what height to set it at.
 
Sp8ctre said:
The decked tailpiece is a plus in my book! Also I have never had an action as low as this one!
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Les Pauls can be set up so low it actually becomes a problem. I find that if the action is too low I am less accurate and can't bend notes as well. When I got the new LP Special it came set up so low from the factory I had to raise it up a fair bit to make it feel right.
 
gball said:
Yeah, zinc alloy.

I actually think the studs make a much bigger difference than the tailpiece and I always put steel studs on my guitars.
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The zinc alloy is commonly called "pot metal".
I like the Faber locking steel tailpiece studs & have them on all my Gibsons.
Sp8ctre said:
The decked tailpiece is a plus in my book!
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The Faber locking studs & shims approximate a decked tailpiece by locking it solidly to the guitar body, the three different sized shims allow optimal height to be obtained. Cheers
 
Sp8ctre said:
I tried top wrapping twice in the past and didn't feel a difference one way or the other, but this new LP seems to benefit from it.

The 10's feel slinkier and easier to bend. I usually don't like 10's, but they feel fine. Maybe it's the brand and style of strings???
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Have you tried (totally off topic) the David Gilmour strings from GHS in any of your Strats?
 
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