MichaelDH Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Noticed today the way the strings sit on the bridge of my Studio. The heavier strings actually rest on the rear edge of the bridge, instead of going straight from the tail piece to the saddles. Is this normal or should an adjustment be made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Not a serious trouble, but adjusting the tailpiece will call for strings tuned down to slacking, or you will damage screw heads, screw shafts and tailpiece. It's your turn to decide if it's urgent or may wait until next string change. If there is any damage on the bridge's rear end plating through it, then it's already done, and you're in no hurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Two schools of thought here. Some say the stoptail should be screwed down as far as possible to the body to aid in sustain. Others say it should be raised off the body so that the strings do not hit the back of the bridge. It really doesn't matter and is just personal choice. If you think about any string-through-body (or through trem block)guitars like Strats and Teles, the strings all have that extra bend (and contact) as they come through the bridge plate, with no ill effects. Play around with your stoptail height and see what works/sounds/feels best for you. As capmaster says, these adjustments are generally easier to do with the strings slacked off a bit, but in fact I would do the experiments with existing strings, not new strings, for the repeated loosening and tightening of the strings may pop one or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDH Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. Think I'll leave it as is for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauloon Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Could always try this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Could always try this.. I was waitin' fer that... I finally went and did it to my Vintage (brand) V100GT. Mine was not hitting the bridge and the stop-bar tailpiece was adjusted up one rotation. I bottomed out the tailpiece so I could top-wrap. I did notice an overall slinkier feel to the strings and they seem more flexible and fluid; like there's more middle of the string area... Over all I like the feel, but I'm wondering what, if any, effect the compromise of the wound strings, like can be seen if you look closely in this pic, will have on either longevity or tuning solidity... So far I've detected no issue from the winding popping/snapping the way it does on the back edge of the stop-piece in this pic... My suspicion is it simply doesn't matter because the point of contact is 90 degrees worth of contact around the arc of the stop-piece from where they leave it on the top or apex of the arc all the way around to the back... I haven't really audibly discerned any difference in tone or sustain that I can testify to honestly, but given that I just un-modified the Wilkinson W90's from a Peter Green style out-of-phase mod, back to the stock in-phase configuration, (since I went ahead and purchased a Vintage V100PGM) I wouldn't have a good grasp of a tonal difference because the very first thing I did was go and play it with the selector switch int he middle position in-phase to reacquaint myself with that stock tone which is stunning I must say. I also learned that the Wilkinson W90's on the V100GT are of a stacked or dummy-coil noise canceling variety like the Blues-90 found in the Gibson Blueshawk, and not an average single coil P90 type pickup... Somthing I didn't remember about them when I originally modified the bridge position pickup because I didn't even know about stacked or dummy-coil noise canceling P90's at the time I went and performed the modification originally... But I digress... I top-wrapped to go ahead and try it for myself and must say I approve of the overall slinkier feel I get for bends and playing in general from it set up in that configuration, and so far it sounds great and stays in tune perfectly. I do most of my playing in the neck position as the Blues-Hound that I am, but must admit to my inability to hear any better sustain or tone. It doesn't mean that it's not there, just that I didn't think to really do a before and after comparison when I did it and I'm just not sure... Personally, if you're not willing to do a top-wrap (personal preference really) then I'd just wait until the next string change, and make sure you have slackened all the strings as suggested, and adjust the stop-bar screw-posts up one rotation and that should take the contact off the back edge of the bridge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 You have a bad situation there. It looks like your stop bar is cranked down too far. The strings should not touch the bridge as they angle down toward the stop bar. You should raise the low E end of the stop bar enough so there's no strings touching the back of the bridge. They set them up at the factory with the low E end a little higher than the high E end so that the strings are parallel when you look at them from the angle where you took the picture. The other thing is that the intonation on your guitar looks like it's messed up. The low E saddle is closer to the neck than the A saddle. That's not right. You'll want to get the intonation right at the same time, because the location of the saddles will effect whether or not the strings hit the back of the bridge. I just had to set up a brand new LP Standard - fresh from Sweetwater - because one of the strings was rattling against the back of the bridge. The intonation was wayyy off (Maybe Gibson could send me their new guitars to get set up properly) and when I adjusted it properly, the saddles ended up right in the middle of the intonation range and none of the strings were hitting the back of the bridge. You'll get it right soon enough and it'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 You have a bad situation there. It looks like your stop bar is cranked down too far. The strings should not touch the bridge as they angle down toward the stop bar. You should raise the low E end of the stop bar enough so there's no strings touching the back of the bridge. They set them up at the factory with the low E end a little higher than the high E end so that the strings are parallel when you look at them from the angle where you took the picture. The other thing is that the intonation on your guitar looks like it's messed up. The low E saddle is closer to the neck than the A saddle. That's not right. You'll want to get the intonation right at the same time, because the location of the saddles will effect whether or not the strings hit the back of the bridge. I just had to set up a brand new LP Standard - fresh from Sweetwater - because one of the strings was rattling against the back of the bridge. The intonation was wayyy off (Maybe Gibson could send me their new guitars to get set up properly) and when I adjusted it properly, the saddles ended up right in the middle of the intonation range and none of the strings were hitting the back of the bridge. You'll get it right soon enough and it'll be fine. I didn't even think of that... A simple intonation adjustment could even place the strings in a position where they no longer touch the back edge of the bridge... That could be all it takes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDH Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 I decided to go ahead and make the adjustment to the tail piece. Had no problems, and the strings are just clearing the back of the bridge. It seems to stay in tune a little better now, plays and sounds fine to me. Now I'm wondering how high the tail piece should actually be as I'm not sure how long the threads are that go into the body. I did lower the saddle just a hair for the clearance issue. Any thoughts? And again, thanks for the input and info you are providing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drog Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 That height looks good now. You can play around with the bridge height for best comfort of string height for you, then adjust intonation. I like my necks straight and action low about 3/64 - 4/64. Its a personal preference more on how you play and kind of strings you use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LH_ Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 One argument against letting the strings touch the rear of the bridge is that in severe cases, the pressure can push/tilt the bridge forward and possibly bend the bridge studs over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 One argument against letting the strings touch the rear of the bridge is that in severe cases, the pressure can push/tilt the bridge forward and possibly bend the bridge studs over time. I've seen this happen to LP copies, so can testify here! It occurs a lot on newer tune-o-matic style bridges; which are wider than something like an ABR-1. Another aspect, which like the sustain against height argument is relative to each player: having the tailpiece right down on the body increases the string tension, due to the break angle. Increased tension can make it harder for string bends. I adjusted the tailpiece of a friends' LP Custom after he complained that it wasn't easy to bend even with the lighter gauge strings he used, when comparing it to his LP Standard. After adjusting the tailpiece to a higher position the strings felt much looser and easier to bend. If you're a player who wants that sustain it might be a case of changing the action on the bridge to compensate for a larger bridge piece. Ramblings over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I've seen this happen to LP copies, so can testify here! It occurs a lot on newer tune-o-matic style bridges; which are wider than something like an ABR-1. Another aspect, which like the sustain against height argument is relative to each player: having the tailpiece right down on the body increases the string tension, due to the break angle. Increased tension can make it harder for string bends. I adjusted the tailpiece of a friends' LP Custom after he complained that it wasn't easy to bend even with the lighter gauge strings he used, when comparing it to his LP Standard. After adjusting the tailpiece to a higher position the strings felt much looser and easier to bend. If you're a player who wants that sustain it might be a case of changing the action on the bridge to compensate for a larger bridge piece. Ramblings over... I've also looked at roller bridges like the Schaller @ Stew-Mac and wondered how much difference they can make other than a slightly more stable saddle position for the string... I really like the look of that Wilkinson roller bridge (the last one on right) for the same clearance issues mentioned in this thread... To get that; looser or "slinkier" feel, I've also top-wrapped one of my LP copies and noticed a much easier/slinkier feel to bends and playing in general... Haven't noticed any audible difference in sustain, resonance, or tone at all, but I've definitely felt a slinkier feel to the strings having top-wrapped... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 The bridge in the centre looks like, if anything, it would cause more issues, due to its' increased width over a Tune O'Matic. It might be good use on a larger archtop (ES-335 style) if it has a trapeze tailpiece or a Bigsby B3, B6, B11, B30 and B60 model. The break angle on these is much shallower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundMaster Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Original post deleted by author. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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