LP R8 Tailpiece issue ?

[JGW]

Bought this 2015 R8 LP. Noticed that tailpiece is not fully screwed into body, but wood has been imprinted fully imprinted - like it was fully screwed down to compress wood but unscrewed again - didn't notice this in shop. So metal base is about 5mm raised above body. See photo's attached.

Is this a problem ? Guitar does vibrate fairly well - more than some other more expensive ones. Did the B string test (while guitar hangs on wall, pluck B and look for vibrations near jack end), and also resting it horizontally on 2 hands like a tray, strumming strings with left hand, while feeling resonance at back of body with right hand - gave quite a lot there, and sustain seemed OK as well. So initially seemed like a good one. However, my R6 has tailpiece fully screwed in to the metal base. Is this a problem - i can still take it back to shop.

Thanks

[Ian s]

If I understand what you're saying right, it would seem it's just been adjusted higher. The tailpiece height sets break angle at the bridge and therefore affects string tension, depending on string gauge.

 

Can be set as part of your preferred setup.

[capmaster]

Here's a comparison how bridge and tailpiece heights may differ with basically the same setup. This is due to the acceptable neck angle and top height tolerances, and all of these guitars clearly are within the range specified by Gibson.

 

One Gibson Custom Les Paul:

 

... three Gibson USA Les Paul guitars:

 

 

 

 

... and finally an Epiphone Les Paul:

 

Hope this helps.

[JGW]

So it seems to happen quite frequently - any views on whether this affects sustain / resonance ? Anyone done any experimenting before/after adjusting tailpiece ? Understand adjustments limited to bridge touching strings, and as strings are near bridge pups, might only be able to screw tail in for half to 1 mm max. Does this change tunings or only tension ? If only tension/action, mounting 9's instead of 10's might balance this out, while improving resonance ? Or is the whole resonance grail a myth ?

Cheers !

[capmaster]

In the past I experimented with breaking angles across the bridge through different tailpiece heights. I found the resulting changes are rather subtle. At very shallow angles the reaction to attack appeared to be smoothed a little while the sustain stayed about the same. I think that the reduced string downforce of a flat-angled setting causes this.

 

As Ian pointed out above, it is about setup in the first place. Talking about my guitars, I can't find any flaw in reaction to attack, tone, or sustain, regardless if they call for more or less tailpiece and bridge heights to match my setup. This confirms my experiences that the breaking angle has most impact on sonic results.

[JGW]

Here's a comparison how bridge and tailpiece heights may differ with basically the same setup. This is due to the acceptable neck angle and top height tolerances, and all of these guitars clearly are within the range specified by Gibson.

 

One Gibson Custom Les Paul:

 

... three Gibson USA Les Paul guitars:

 

 

 

 

... and finally an Epiphone Les Paul:

 

Hope this helps.

 

thanks for that. Can put this to rest now.