Tailpiece Mass on a LP JR Style Axe....

Z

zozoe

New member
Greetings..... If my memory serves me well, my long gone 57 single pup Jr, & my 59 2 pup TV Yellow Special, had those stop tailpieces that had very little mass to them.....
My current Jared James Nichols Epi has a beastly heavy type wraparound tailpiece, which begs the question, do the lower mass stops offer more potential sustain than the intonatable chuncks of stops? If so, I think I'd be willing to forego the ability to intonation & be happier with a more resonant lightweight stop....
Thoughts & results?? Many thnx!!
 
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IMO wrap bridges and stop tailpieces are too fundamentally different to make a really meaningful comparison.
I believe that wraps in general tend to make a more solid mechanical connection between strings and body.
Two points of contact as opposed to four, and three pieces of metal instead of eight.

My experience has been that lightweight tailpieces sound a little more open and lively than the usual heavier ones.
I've replaced a number of pot metal tailpieces with aluminum ones and have been happy with the change every time.
That said, the differences were not major - not something I'd notice playing somebody else's guitar for a few minutes.
But quite perceptible on guitars of my own that I already know well.

Or are you asking about light vs heavy wrap bridges, not about wrap bridges vs stop tailpieces?
I have good quality intonatable wrap bridges on several of my PRSi and the sustain is excellent.
Can't comment on a possible tone differences because I feel no desire to change them.
But they certainly aren't dark or dull sounding.
 
From my structural engineering classes, (all other things being equal) a heavier object will absorb less vibration than a lighter one. This can vary depending on hardness of material though.

So if both are about as hard as each other, the heavier object would likely result in slightly more sustain. But the frequencies absorbed by the lighter one might be more pleasing to your ear.
 
Physics and materials science be damned, I've always been much happier palm muting on a wraparound
 
trevorus said:
One thing I would recommend would be looking at a properly intonated bridge, above all else. I’ve found these guys make really cool stuff!

https://musiccitybridge.com/products/the-savvy-bridge
Click to expand...
"The Savvy Bridge was designed with input from dozens of Nashville studio guitar players to get the intonation line, string spacing, and sound just right. The Savvy uses a custom-designed alloy for improved tone and sustain. "
Click to expand...

Crazy how they needed an entire committee of session musicians to settle on the same measurement everyone else has been using for time immemorial? I've bought some good stuff from them before, but that is some BS marketing
 
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