Stopbar Tailpiece Question

[TinyBabyBrandon]

So I've always found it curious that some players will string their guitars by threading the strings through the bridge facing side of the stop bar tailpiece and then pull the strings over the stop bar and then onto the bridge. I have always just threaded my strings from the backside of the stop bar and then directly over the bridge. I believe Gibson delivers their guitars from the factory this way, but is there something to the reverse and over the stop bar method of stringing your guitar? Added sustain, brighter tone? Let me know what you guys think and if anyone out there does this let me know why. thanks!

-TBB

[JellyWheat]

So I've always found it curious that some players will string their guitars by threading the strings through the bridge facing side of the stop bar tailpiece and then pull the strings over the stop bar and then onto the bridge. I have always just threaded my strings from the backside of the stop bar and then directly over the bridge. I believe Gibson delivers their guitars from the factory this way, but is there something to the reverse and over the stop bar method of stringing your guitar? Added sustain, brighter tone? Let me know what you guys think and if anyone out there does this let me know why. thanks!

-TBB

 

Some players claim the shallower breakover angle of the strings on the bridge saddles when they are top-wrapped makes bending easier. Also, it makes tuning more stable, theoretically, by making the string less likely to bind up in the saddle slot.

 

On the down side, top-wrapping the stopbar significantly increases the amount of forward torque on the anchor posts. Some argue that this extra structural tension improves the string-to-body transmission of vibration, thus improving sustain. Personally, I don't buy that one. Top wrapping gives you a nice platform for palm muting, too, if you use that technique...

 

To me, it's all subjective, in the same genre as the lacing patterns we used to devise in high school when we scored a new pair of Converse sneakers! How I laced my shoes never improved MY basketball game, though! I still sucked air, big time, ad was always the last one to get picked for anyone's team! Bands were another story! LOL

 

J/W

[TinyBabyBrandon]

Some players claim the shallower breakover angle of the strings on the bridge saddles when they are top-wrapped makes bending easier. Also, it makes tuning more stable, theoretically, by making the string less likely to bind up in the saddle slot.

 

On the down side, top-wrapping the stopbar significantly increases the amount of forward torque on the anchor posts. Some argue that this extra structural tension improves the string-to-body transmission of vibration, thus improving sustain. Personally, I don't buy that one. Top wrapping gives you a nice platform for palm muting, too, if you use that technique...

 

To me, it's all subjective, in the same genre as the lacing patterns we used to devise in high school when we scored a new pair of Converse sneakers! How I laced my shoes never improved MY basketball game, though! I still sucked air, big time, ad was always the last one to get picked for anyone's team! Bands were another story! LOL

 

J/W

Muy interesante! I might try it next time I throw on a new pair of strings. I don't know if I'd really want to risk bending my anchor posts, though. Plus it might start to tarnish my gold stopbar if it became a regular thing, but as the great Millie Jackson once said, I got to try it one time! Thanks for the info!!

[JellyWheat]

Muy interesante! I might try it next time I throw on a new pair of strings. I don't know if I'd really want to risk bending my anchor posts, though. Plus it might start to tarnish my gold stopbar if it became a regular thing, but as the great Millie Jackson once said, I got to try it one time! Thanks for the info!!

 

I don't think bending the bar anchors is as much of a danger as torquing the anchors set into the top so that they loosen up in the wood. That's what would concern me (And I've seen it happen when I owned an instrument repair business way back when.)

 

J/W

[BigKahune]

.

Some like it over, some don't. The design ideas are: the headstock angle increases the downward force on the nut, the stop bar is height adjustable to allow the player their preference of either more downward pressure on the saddles (low), or less pressure on the saddles (high, like a top-wrap). Some players like the stop bar all the way down. Some like it down but avoid the strings touching the back of the bridge (especially on an ABR-1). I play both acoustic and electric and prefer a sharper break angle over the saddle/s which some would say gives you more downward pressure resulting in better vibration transmission and sustain. As the OP pointed out, some say these are the same benefits of top-wrapping.