jameswithesg Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 so what is the difference between a lowered stopbar, a higher stopbar, wrapping your strings around the stopbar, etc.... i know its a preference thing, but what do you guys like and why??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_randy Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I emailed Gibson cuxtomer service while back asking if there is a height in which it should be and this is the response.Not sure if it helps in your questions or not The height of the stopbar tailpiece is personal preference. The lower the tailpiece, the more sustain—the higher, the less sustain. But if the angle is severe between the bridge and tailpiece, such that the strings actually touch the back of the bridge, then you are at risk for string breakage. Most techs recommend that the tailpiece sit up off the body a bit, but not too much. I hope this helps. Best regards, Vincent Wynne Gibson customer service service@gibson.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 ah thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I'm eager to have more people answering this thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Great question as I've been wondering this myself. Anyone else... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 If you do a search on that subject you will find lots of information as the subject has been covered several times... Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninety1vee Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 i dont raise my stopbar only because my friend did that to his firebird and the posts that hold the stopbar bent over (crushed the wood) at about a 25 degree angle i fear this so i top wrap so my strings dont touch the back of the TOM, and the stopbar can sit all the way down it was such a shame, he had a tobaccoburst firebird=p~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 i dont raise my stopbar only because my friend did that to his firebird and the posts that hold the stopbar bent over (crushed the wood) at about a 25 degree anglei fear this so i top wrap so my strings dont touch the back of the TOM' date=' and the stopbar can sit all the way down it was such a shame, he had a tobaccoburst firebird=p~ [/quote'] What's with this top wrapping? Wouldn't that scratch the chrome finish and also can't the strings slide side-to-side when wrapped this way? I know Zakk Wylde does this but A. He's a frickin' maniac and B. He can afford a new Les Paul every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 B. He can afford a new Les Paul every day. C. He probably gets some for free every sunday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 What's with this top wrapping? Wouldn't that scratch the chrome finish and also can't the strings slide side-to-side when wrapped this way? I know Zakk Wylde does this but A. He's a frickin' maniac and B. He can afford a new Les Paul every day. I tried the top wrapping thing on my SG, but stopped this after a couple of weeks as the strings were eating into the chrome (it looked like acid corrosion- not massively noticeable from a distance granted). The damage occured at the point where they exit the rear of the stop bar and make contact with the top back edge of the stop bar. For what it's worth I did feel that the sustain was better with the tail piece screwed right down this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Robinson Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I prefer the tail piece screwed right down and the strings wrapped around . Some guitar greats have done this - on les pauls as well ( eg Joe Bonamassa being one ) and its recognised to give more sustain , better tone and less string breakage . It also looks quite cool ... But having said that Dereck Trucks does nt and personally I dont think there is s any change in tone , but it does look good and I can see how it will reduce string breakage . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninety1vee Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 What's with this top wrapping? Wouldn't that scratch the chrome finish and also can't the strings slide side-to-side when wrapped this way? 1) my guitar is a player's guitar,chrome gettin' eaten away is the least of my worries 2) no, unless you have no grooves in ur TOM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btrprsly Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I only recently began to wonder about this, having always screwed the tailpiece down to the body (based on the truism regarding sustain). But I was restringing my Epiphone Les Paul Special and decided to try to set it up properly for once (it's my beater; I generally don't bother), and I noticed that even with the bridge screwed down as well (as I've always had it), the strings were in contact with the top of the holes where they exit the tailpiece. It occurred to me that it might be better if they didn't touch, but were more "free-floating" within those holes. So I raised the tailpiece enough to achieve that (about 1/4") and it completely changed the sound of the guitar. Frankly, I never thought it sounded very good before, but now it actually has some of that "Les Paul growl" that we all love. It's a whole new instrument. However, as ninety1vee described, the inserts are pulling slightly out at the back, for obvious reasons (higher posts = more leverage). It doesn't concern me in the least, in this case; but if it was a more expensive instrument I'd think twice about raising the tailpiece. Then again, 1/4" is pretty high; I'd guess that 1/8" ought to be low enough to avoid this issue, so if one could achieve "free-floating" strings at that height then I'd recommend it. As far as sustain goes, I've noticed no loss of it -- if anything, it seems to have more now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockman82 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I raised my stop bar a little bit so the 1st 2nd and 3rd strings wouldn't touch the top of the stop bar. That way they won't break at the stop bar. I'm not top wrapping this time, so i'm a little concerned about string breakage this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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