Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

J

JDawg0427

New member
For Christmas, I decided to indulge a bit and get myself a vintage Gibson SG. After a bit of searching, I found a pretty solid deal on an all original (with the exception of the knobs, which are period correct but the wrong color) 1968 Gibson SG Special. I love the guitar but my one qualm is the impossibility to get the G string to intonate with an unwound G string.

So that raises the question: Should I start purchasing string sets with a wound G for this guitar, or should I purchase an aftermarket adjustable bridge and keep the original in the case?

I am curious to hear your opinions
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

Have you got the tailpiece decked
As low as it will go?

Raise it up just a bit
Not level but so that the string isn't making such a tight angle over the bridge
 
Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

Depends on your playing preference, I guess. If wound intonates and you like playing that gauge, then go for it. If it’s too heavy for your fingers, then an aftermarket is an easy, non-destructive fix. I have a pigtail adjustable wraparound on my kit-built LP Junior, and it works a treat.


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Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

Unless you love the look of the original why not drop in an adjustable one? There are a lot of options, including a couple that look very similar to the plain stop bar style.
I played an SG Speciak for years that had a Badass bridge. Perfect intonation, no alteration to the guitar.
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

That's not an uncommon problem. A simple fix is to replace the nut with a compensated nut...it (among other things) changes the scale length of the "G" string. You will find that it not only intonates better, but will play more in tune all along the fretboard.
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

ehdwuld said:
Have you got the tailpiece decked
As low as it will go?

Raise it up just a bit
Not level but so that the string isn't making such a tight angle over the bridge
Click to expand...

The issue isn't the action, it's just because the vintage tailpieces are compensated for wound G strings.
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna try a set of strings with a wound G first, but if I don't like them (which I probably won't because I like bending), I'll search for a used replacement. Thanks for the replies!
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

There are compensated wraparound bridges that look like stock, I believe. I've got an adjustable one on the way for my SG, though.
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

There is the lightning bolt tailpiece that Gibson used which is a possibility, and for very vintage correct with subtle compensation there is the Mojoaxe tailpiece. And of course as suggested there are fully adjustable TOM stlye wrap t/p variants of all types available with huge adjustment possibility.
It all depends on your ear and how far it is out as to where you want to go.
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

There's plenty of lightning bolt plain-G compensated tailpieces around. I think these are superior to all the added mass of the adjustable types IMHO.
 
Re: Problems with vintage Gibson wrap tailpiece

I put one of these on my SG Junior build and couldn't be happier. I had one of the Wilkinson adjustable bridges from Guitarfetish but it was always a bit off no matter what I did and decided to go fully adjustable. The improvement on the tone is great too.

https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_an...Golden_Age_Low_Profile_Wraparound_Bridge.html


There's also a lightning bolt wraparound designed for unwound G strings.

https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_an...den_Age_Lightning_Bolt_Wraparound_Bridge.html
 
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