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I am an idiot- Raise the tailpiece

2K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  noodles 
#1 · (Edited)
I am such a dickhead! I had my tailpiece all the way down on my Les Paul. I raised it up a bunch and HOLY SHIT, my tone was massively improved! Sustain and overall fullness was there. Anyone else a fucking asshole like me with having the tailpiece too low???

Quick & sloppy Carcass noodle

 
#13 ·
Hijacking this thread to see if I can get it back on the rails. :lol:

How does everyone feel about top-wrapping? On my SG, the low E still slightly touches the edge of the bridge even with the tailpiece raised, and I've been thinking about top-wrapping lately.
 
#19 ·
I’ve always found the sweet spot for the stop tail, which is usually high enough that the strings just barely clear the back of the bridge without touching. It really doesn’t make much of a difference in tone, but the guitar typically feels better setup that way. I put a Faber bridge on my ‘92, which has the intonation range of a Nashville with the narrow profile of an ABR, so I could lower the tailpiece further. It did nothing for the sound, but the strings felt stiffer, so I moved it back up. A lot of players will swear by the top wrap, slam the tail to the top for more sustain, but it’s snake oil. And it’s not like LPs hurt for sustain.

If moving the tailpiece around is really changing sustain or tone, then you’re probably due for a saddle replacement. Changing the break angle can sometimes buy you a little more time. Look closely at the saddles next string change, since the strings slowly saw into them over time (and super low tailpieces exacerbate the problem).
 
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