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nickel 175 tailpiece


orpheoet

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Hi everyone. Last week i posted pics of the odd tailpiece on my 52 175. I'm wondering if anyone knows where I can get a nickel one in the correct style. I saw one on ebay for 500$, that seems a bit pricey. I'm actually thinink if thats what they really go for maybe I should look for another 50's 175 in worse condition, switch out the tailpieces and use the "parts guitar" to play out instead of taking my 52. Thoughts?

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Yes, vintage examples of the proper tailpiece are pretty pricey. The tailpiece I believe you're looking for was also used on the L-7. As JimR56 said in your other thread, the hinge area is subject to "fatigue" and comes apart. That is probably what happened to yours. I have a '47 L-7 and have wanted a spare tailpiece for just this reason. I am also unwilling to pay the e-bay asking price for a vintage spare.

 

Here's my '47 L-7, I assume this is the tailpiece you're looking for:

 

3201137716_3490785f10.jpg

 

The other thing about buying "vintage" is who's to say that the one you buy hasn't been stressed just short of the point of fatigue and breakage, and shortly after you put it on, it comes apart. High stress metal parts are kind of like vintage celluloid pickguards, you don't really want a "vintage" replacement. What you want is a "reissue".

 

I'm sure you've seen this Hong Kong seller on e-bay.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bronze-Jazz-Bass-Trapeze-Tailpiece-Gibson-Archtop-/160638818526?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2566d1d8de

 

I guess If I wanted one bad enough I might be willing to sacrifice $40 and give it a try. The seller DOES have a good rating.....

 

Anyway, the other thing to remember in your search is that this style tailpiece was used on thinline models also. Therefore the mounting flange will be different. I remember seeing this tailpiece available from one of the mail order parts houses, and I also seem to remember complaints about the mounting holes not being correct. It MIGHT be possible to put that trapeze on your existing mounting flange.

 

Good luck, keep us posted on what you figure out.

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Yes, the tailpiece pictured is the same one that is on my L-7. I'm not sure (in fact I doubt) that you can get one from Gibson. They are REAL funny about furnishing parts, even to "authorized" repair centers. They claim the only parts they sell are the prepackaged items as listed on their "store" webpage http://store.gibson.com/Products/Hardware/Tailpieces.aspx . A local service center got the same reply when I had asked them to see if THEY could get an odd part I needed. Unless you want to pay the piper, I think you're probably stuck with an aftermarket part.

 

There's no specific name for this tailpiece other than the L-7/ES-175 style. It would be technically described as a "flat bar, pointed crossbar, triple raised parallelogram tailpiece, for a full body archtop".

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I meant the one on my guitar now. You cant really see it in the picture and a close up I have is too big to upload. It looks just like the usual 175 tailpice but instead of the diamonds on the crosspiece it says Gibson in that 70's style. I have a line on a proper tailpiece so I want to sell this one but I dont know what it is from! I'm guesing a somewhat fancier model. I love your L7 by the way.

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Your tailpiece photo is still there in your previous thread, for anybody who wants to look at it:

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/72981-unusual-tailpiece-on-my-175/page__view__findpost__p__992727

 

In case you still want to do searches for a vintage tailpiece (there's some risk of getting a fragile one of course, but I wouldn't say it's a big risk), don't forget that the same ES-175 tailpiece design was used on the postwar ES-300, as well as the postwar L4C, in addition to the L7.

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Thats a good point about buying a 50 year old piece. I suppose the smartest thing would be to get a new one from Gibson. Do you happen to recognize the one one it?

 

That would be the smart thing.. cept they wont sell you one.

L5Larry is right. Tried to get a replacement TP for my ES165.

They were very nice about it... but.. "Sorry.. no.. try StewMac or Allparts"

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  • 1 year later...

That would be the smart thing.. cept they wont sell you one.

L5Larry is right. Tried to get a replacement TP for my ES165.

They were very nice about it... but.. "Sorry.. no.. try StewMac or Allparts"

 

I wish they would relent. What difference does it make to them? Even their new re-issues have the zig zag tailpiece I don't like. Found a cheap chinese one on eBay - have to see how that works out.

 

Happy New Year!

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