SG Sydney Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Hi Gibson players, I would like to hear from anyone who has been playing their guitar with the strings touching the back of the bridge before entering the stop-tail piece. I want to know if any damage to bridge occurred or if tuning problems or is it not a problem at all. Yeah I've heard all the issues with strings shouldn't touch and other say it doesn't matter on Forum before. My SG stop tail bridge has to be raised about an inch of the body so it doesn't touch the rear of the bridge , looks weird.....overwrapped solved this problem but like to keep guitar as original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 no.. at least not on the les pauls that I've had since 1995 and 2002 it hasn't. I don't have the tension bar down on the top, up a bit, but the strings are not clear of the back of the bridge, never have been. Same with my SGs, and my one Epi (A sheraton) many of us here on the asylum, (errr forum..) don't 100% buy into the notion the strings cannot, or should not touch the back of the bridge.. in most setups, it would be set like what you are noticing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 No rules, only guidelines. I personally raise the tailpiece just until all strings clear the bridge. Reason is because when you do bends and such, the string will slightly travel over the saddle so why increase the obstruction??? My 1994 LP has slight collapse and my luthier sorted it out to get some more time out of it. It’s going to happen eventually on 2 point bridge. Don’t necessarily know how to quantify this for pinpoint answer here but it is what it is. Again, this is what I do not saying one way is better than the other. I set my own guitars up and this is what I do, wanna fight about it haha! 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 12 hours ago, SG Sydney said: ....My SG stop tail bridge has to be raised about an inch of the body so it doesn't touch the rear of the bridge , looks weird.....overwrapped solved this problem but like to keep guitar as original. You are not solving a problem. With your stop bar an inch off the guitar you are causing a greater problem, those studs are meant to be all the way or nearly all the way in, not up in the air. Again, 50 friggin godddam years with guitars, not a single guitar I have ever encountered of mine or anyone else's ever evidenced any "problem" because the strings touched the back of the bridge. The string has no idea what happens past the saddles, therefore there is no "problem". The other end of the guitar is EXACTLY the same. The strings pass the nut on their way to the machines. The string has no idea what happens past the nut. If you have a "problem" with strings touching the bridge after the saddle, then every guitar in the world with string trees has a "problem", right? No, they don't. Have you ever seen anyone else's guitar with the stop bar an inch off the guitar? I didn't think so. Jesus H where does this stuff come from? rct 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 I've had bridges like that. Have had no problems whatsoever. Other than worrying about it a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG Sydney Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Pinch said: I've had bridges like that. Have had no problems whatsoever. Other than worrying about it a few years back. Good to hear that Pinch, I was worried about it might stuff up bridge. Had a few replies about this topic and seems no worries with bridge. Thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 13 hours ago, SG Sydney said: Good to hear that Pinch, I was worried about it might stuff up bridge. Had a few replies about this topic and seems no worries with bridge. Thanks . You're welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 A LP will play just fine, stay in tune, etc if the strings touch the bridge so wasn’t going there. It won’t have any impact I’m collapsing a bridge either but over time the 2 point bridge will collapse by virtue of its design when it regularly year after year holds string tension. Like I said my 26 year old LP had a bridge that wasn’t necessarily straight, my luthier fixed it and have a few more years out of it. I really didn’t notice it but he noticed it when he set it up and addressed it. Stew Mac even had a video about this FYI. I mean you could always buy a new one if it got bad and get some decades out of that one if need be. Am I going to start not playing guitars with a LP style bridge, no. It’s just the way they are and I’ve accepted it. In sum, get your guitar playing nicely, get a nice setup somehow and make music. No rules, only guidelines. I personally can’t tell the difference how the tailpiece is placed when I play a LP anyhow. But it’s nice to ask here and answers will vary. Bottom line is you won’t hurt the guitar either way. It’s just hardware that can even be replaced for a relatively low cost if there’s a need to. Best of luck @SG Sydney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 The harmonica bridges gave up after even a short time. I think the whole collapsed bridge thing is actually a thing, but it is more a crappy bridge thing than anything else. Some of that stuff just wasn't or isn't made all that great sometimes. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 1 hour ago, rct said: The harmonica bridges gave up after even a short time. I think the whole collapsed bridge thing is actually a thing, but it is more a crappy bridge thing than anything else. Some of that stuff just wasn't or isn't made all that great sometimes. rct I've seen it a lot on 80s/90s Korean imports. The hardware used in those days just wasn't up to task. Seems the newer builds are a bit better and less likely to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 4 hours ago, kidblast said: I've seen it a lot on 80s/90s Korean imports. The hardware used in those days just wasn't up to task. Seems the newer builds are a bit better and less likely to fail. Fun Fact: Mid 50's Leo made his very first attempt, against his own will but at the advice of George, to job out some of the metal work, like stamping out Strat/Tele bridges. They only did a couple hundred at most, really crappy bridge plates, poor fit, poor sizing. This coincided with the string thru attempt on Telecasters, so some of them as well. These guitars are hens teeth, really hard to find and super duper worth money if you come across one that didn't have the bridge changed out free of charge by Leo himself. Fun Fact Part Deux: In 2013 I spent half my Fender tour carrying around this 32 pound block that Leo used for bridges, his very own stamp block that he tooled. I was over the moon. Tour guy was very happy to have made someone else very happy. rct 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 50 minutes ago, rct said: Fun Fact: Mid 50's Leo made his very first attempt, against his own will but at the advice of George, to job out some of the metal work, like stamping out Strat/Tele bridges. They only did a couple hundred at most, really crappy bridge plates, poor fit, poor sizing. This coincided with the string thru attempt on Telecasters, so some of them as well. These guitars are hens teeth, really hard to find and super duper worth money if you come across one that didn't have the bridge changed out free of charge by Leo himself. Fun Fact Part Deux: In 2013 I spent half my Fender tour carrying around this 32 pound block that Leo used for bridges, his very own stamp block that he tooled. I was over the moon. Tour guy was very happy to have made someone else very happy. rct Cool stuff man! If I was ever in the location to tour either the Fender or Gibson plants, I'd be in line before the doors opened. The wife would be rollin her eyes, but that's another story.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Mrs was patient as a saint, she was happy to see me so happy. If she hadn't pushed, we would have been at Death Valley, Pomona for Disney Land, and we would have turned east without stopping. She insisted we go. Been to CFMartin as well, but sadly, never made it to Gibson. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG Sydney Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Yeah sounds right with what you said, the guy who's doing my setup says it if sounds good and doesn't get out of tune it's all set to go . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.