Top Wrapping Gibsons
- Thread starter gball
- Start date
Cadorman
Ambassador of the Catocaster
Never played one with all nylon. As far as feel, I can't tell a difference between nylon and brass. There seems to be a sound difference. The high strings aren't any quieter that I can tell, but maybe a little reduced harshness in the harmonics?
eclecticsynergy
Ambassador of Electric Synergy
So there's no stopping the topping?
eclecticsynergy
Ambassador of Electric Synergy
The Faber bridge I put on my Moderne has titanium saddles under the wound strings for extra snap and cut. I don't top wrap that one; it's always had a pretty loose feel. I think the odd headstock has a lot to do with that - either the fact that it has those little pulleys, or just that there's a shallow break angle at the nut.
Anyway, the low strings benefitted from a little extra tone tightening.
Ok, so today, I tried top wrapping on my Les Paul. I also used an unusual set of strings based on some broken sets.
.046, .036, .026, .015, .011, .008
The Faber aluminum tailpiece locks down solid, so there is no twisting of the stopbar as i often see on a lot of Gibson's.
The feel at standard pitch is really good. Very slinky. Bends are effortless.
I hate how it looks, but it does feel good.
.046, .036, .026, .015, .011, .008
The Faber aluminum tailpiece locks down solid, so there is no twisting of the stopbar as i often see on a lot of Gibson's.
The feel at standard pitch is really good. Very slinky. Bends are effortless.
I hate how it looks, but it does feel good.
Cadorman
Ambassador of the Catocaster
I've been doing it for a long time. I like it as I'm sure I previously stated. I use D'Addario strings and don't have any issues with string wrap sticking out, so I have never bothered with the extra ball ends. No breaks, feels good and I will keep doing it. I've had two new guitars come from Gibson with the low E string on the back of the bridge. That is inappropriate.
Cadorman
Ambassador of the Catocaster
For you naysayers read what Gibson has to say about break angle. This is in reference to their '68 Les Paul Custom reissue head angle. However, I fail to see how which end of the string is being changed matters. It works.
All my Les Paul's have aluminum tailpieces...I can hear a major difference in how pronounced the strings are with aluminum.
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You just answered most of my questions in your post.
I had some D'Angelico strings in a black vacuum pack, made in NY by D'Addario, so I tried them.
The strings break-over right behind the wrap.
Funny, I'm not sure, but I feel like the intonation of the low E might have changed slightly from this modification.
Thoughts???
Cadorman
Ambassador of the Catocaster
Since the bridge is adjustable there is inherently a little slop there or it would be too tight to adjust. Therefore, I could see a change in the angle affecting intonation slightly just as a string gauge change or anything similar would.
Doesn't seem to have changed according to my tuner anyways, probably just my imagination....
I also staggered the pole pieces on this guitar yesterday. HUGE difference in tone. The 'G' is no longer sharp and brash and the 'b & e' have a much brighter voice. Just better balance overall than previously...
Cadorman
Ambassador of the Catocaster
I do this on all of my adjustable humbuckers. I generally find strings with a smaller core diameter need to be higher. So D ends up high and G very low.
I had forgotten about it and made the change yesterday. My double neck was done this way from day one, but my other guitars kinda fell through the cracks....
OP
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
I actually went back to stringing mine through the tailpiece instead of top-wrapping. When I switched to 9's after playing 10's for decades it was just a bit too slinky, so I switched them and now they feel about perfect.
On the other hand I have never been able to tell the most remote difference in raising or lowering pole pieces, only by moving the entire pickup up or down.
On the other hand I have never been able to tell the most remote difference in raising or lowering pole pieces, only by moving the entire pickup up or down.
I netted a massive difference in tone by altering pole pieces. It also showed up on the VU meter with perfect string to string volumes.
All my humbuckers are 4/64ths from the strings when fretted at the last fret.
It can't be too slinky for me. Several of my solos have repeated step and a half bends and now I'm running 16/11/8 on the g/b/e.