Les Paul Tailpiece height

[vernplum]

On my Les Paul, the two thick screws that go down into the body on which the tailpiece bar sits are screwed out so that the base of them is about 6-7 mm clear of the top, hence about 6-7 mm of screw thread was visible.

What is the 'correct' height of the tailpiece? Can these screws be turned so that they are flush with the top without affecting action? I can't see how this will affect action (as the saddle height is not changing).

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[almondx]

The ideal height is where the break angle of the strings is equal to the one from the nut.

 

[vernplum]

Why?

 

[almondx]

It's according to Gibson. Something about neck, nut and bridge string break angle symmetry. Go steeper than that, and you risk your bridge collasping. Go less steep, and you'll have flappy strings.

Alernatively if you want your tail piece lower, top wrap your strings.

 

[subversion]

you can overcome that by stringing it this way (as mentioned above):

i do this for the above LP, my Edwards + ESP 8)

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

^^ I do the same with my SG, and it has been proven that such a method of stringing up your axe allows one to bend the strings much easier between the nut and the 5th fret.

 

[Reth]

Hmm is the tuning stablility affected by doing this??

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

I don't believe so, however I'm a serious string bender and my SG only goes slightly out of tune every 3-4 songs. Perhaps others who use this method of stringing can testify the pros and cons themselves?

 

[almondx]

Theorotically, top-wrapping allows a lower tension and the tail piece to be tightened closer to the body to achieve better coupling.

BUT, based on the responses of many, I am left to conclude that it works better for certain guitars and worse for others. Anyway, it only takes one pack of strings for you to see if you like it or not.

 

[gsonique]

top wrap makes strings feel weird imo ... guitar kinda looses the bite too !

 

[ChanMin]

top wrap evens out the string tension... i would say it make it easier to play.

normally i use .10s.... but with top wrap im comfortable using 11.s
the lespaul sounds HUGE with 11s!!

 

[edder]

its only a pack of strings if you wanna try it to know if you'll like it.

I used to like it like that but then I kinda like the tone of stiffer strings strung the conventional way.

YMMV.

 

[sellingemall]

Agreed, top-wrap stringing will give you a slinkier feel (easier to bend)... more acoustic/resonating tone too.

However, I too feel it loses some bite/chunk when stringing this way. I especially like to play palm muted notes and do lots of bending... can't get the best of both worlds I suppose?

The most important thing to note, when doing either stringing method... is that your string should not touch the tune-o-matic bridge. The only part that your string makes contact with are the Saddles, only.

Happy bending!

 

[subversion]

when you do a wrap-over, chances of the strings touching the tune-o-matic component is reduced.

 

[embryo]

Ah! This is an interesting topic which I feel usually leaves many debating without a clear resolve over what is the best height for the tailpiece for the Les Paul.

Me, I have a certain preferences but generally like my tailpiece raised higher than most stock Les Pauls.. How high? Well it depends on the string gauge which is usually 11s if I'm intending to play more chords and arpeggios and 10s when I'm going to do more riffing and classic blues rock styles.

I was observing very carefully the Gibson Guitars last used at WOMAD 2007. The SG's tailpice was factory set lower than the Slash. I also noticed that the HD6XPro Les Paul had the tailpice set slightly higher. As an experiment I took the calipers and took measurements of each guitar's tailpiece height and swapped these settings on each of the guitars. Yes there is a difference in the feel, and resonance. What's best? Again I feel that this is unique for each individual.

I did note that with a flushed to the body tailpiece resulting in steeper angle of the strings over the saddles that more of the string vibration was at the bridge whereas raising the tailpiece to create a less steep angle at the saddles of the bridge seem to create a more even overall resonance from neck to body. The tailpiece height does seem to affect the feel and resonance. Subtly tho. I'm not so convinced that the steeper angle will improve sustain though.

Another very interesting finding about the difference between the BBKing Lucille and Larry Carlton although both are based on the 335 was the distance between the bridge and tailpiece. I find myself prefering the Larry Carlton which is much further.

Interesting huh?

 

[gsonique]

word !!

 

[lifele55]

Knowledge like this makes me browse forums all over...