beaubrummels
Well-known member
You guys need to stay off each other's lawns. Are we going to devolve into "real banjo strings have tone that .008 sets just can't reproduce"?
Top Wrapping Les Paul...opinions and experiences?
- Thread starter Spirit of 76
- Start date
You can play around with the height and almost get the effect of top wrapping. Lower the bridge down too far and the string may hit before the saddle and that isn't good. Top wrap and flatten the string break angle too much and you can big bend the strings right out of the saddles and obviously that isn't good either. I have top wrapped and liked it and I have stayed traditional and adjusted and liked that as well. It comes down to feel. What I probably noticed more than anything else by top wrapping was how my palm rested on the bridge and strings. Much more "table" to rest on when top wrapped. If you stayed traditional you could get that much "string table" to rest on but your hand is further forward from the bridge which again can change tone a bit. This is all minimal in the big picture but worth mentioning and taking note of. I think it is always best to try various things out until the guitar feels like home to you and you are happy with everything. Only then will you feel comfortable to really play the thing with mental freedom and be happy and create to your best ability. Find what works for you and stick with it.
Archer250
New member
It just changes the break angle of the strings. HOW that will affect playability and feel depends almost entirely on your guitar's neck angle.
I've had 5 Les Pauls. 3 of them felt better top-wrapped, 2 didn't. No real differences in sound.
Oh it's quite simple really.
Before they top wrapped, they had their tailpiece high enough that when they DID top wrap and screwed the tailpiece down, there's actually a greater break angle than before.
That's the only possible explanation.
I've had 5 Les Pauls. 3 of them felt better top-wrapped, 2 didn't. No real differences in sound.
Oh it's quite simple really.
Before they top wrapped, they had their tailpiece high enough that when they DID top wrap and screwed the tailpiece down, there's actually a greater break angle than before.
That's the only possible explanation.
Last edited:
ItsaBass
New member
It gives you less break angle with a lower tailpiece.
You can get the same break angle by simply raising the tailpiece. But there are folks out there who theorize (and I stress that it is theory only) that having the tailpiece posts deeper in their bushings somehow alters (improves, they would say) tone and/or sustain.
If I wanted a break angle that shallow over the bridge, I'd just raise the tailpiece until I got it. It looks better, works fine, and that's exactly why the thing is designed the way it is. I have never experienced, nor can I even theorize, frankly, how the tailpiece being all the way in the body changes anything tonally.
You can get the same break angle by simply raising the tailpiece. But there are folks out there who theorize (and I stress that it is theory only) that having the tailpiece posts deeper in their bushings somehow alters (improves, they would say) tone and/or sustain.
If I wanted a break angle that shallow over the bridge, I'd just raise the tailpiece until I got it. It looks better, works fine, and that's exactly why the thing is designed the way it is. I have never experienced, nor can I even theorize, frankly, how the tailpiece being all the way in the body changes anything tonally.
Lewguitar
New member
There's only one right way to do it.
And that's to experiment and find the way that feels best, sounds best and works for YOU.
If you want to to NOT top wrap it and screw the tailpiece all the way down tight to the body, and that sounds better and feels better to you, do it that way.
Even if the strings do touch the back of the bridge and tilt it forward a little over time. Just pull it straight again when you need to or add a second set of knurled height adjustment nuts and screw those tight to the body. That'll stabilize it a little better although over time it'll still tilt.
So what? If you like it do it that way.
If you want to top wrap it and that feels right to you, do it that way.
You don't have to prove anything or justify anything to anyone.
It's your guitar. Set it up anyway you like.
And that's to experiment and find the way that feels best, sounds best and works for YOU.
If you want to to NOT top wrap it and screw the tailpiece all the way down tight to the body, and that sounds better and feels better to you, do it that way.
Even if the strings do touch the back of the bridge and tilt it forward a little over time. Just pull it straight again when you need to or add a second set of knurled height adjustment nuts and screw those tight to the body. That'll stabilize it a little better although over time it'll still tilt.
So what? If you like it do it that way.
If you want to top wrap it and that feels right to you, do it that way.
You don't have to prove anything or justify anything to anyone.
It's your guitar. Set it up anyway you like.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
One thing that is different IME (but I don't know how much of a sonic difference it makes however, or at least I don't know what portion of the sound difference I can attribute to what I'm about to point out...) is that with normal setup, chiefly the ball end is in contact with the tailpiece. With top wrap, the ball end and all the wound end of the string is in complete contact with the tailpiece.
Spirit of 76
New member
Thanks for all the insight. I do like the action on my LP in standard but wouldn't hurt to try the top wrap and see. can always change back if I don't like it
ItsaBass
New member
You can also just raise your tailpiece to get the same effect: lessened break angle over the bridge. And it doesn't limit your adjustment range to a very narrow window, like top wrapping does.
I top wrap some guitars. I just don’t like having the tailpiece an inch or more off the body. I also am a fan of the break angle being as steep as it can be without touching the back of the bridge. I will absolutely destroy a bridge every couple years if it gets me the string tension I want.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
Except maybe plate voltage. Setting that one wherever you want can get dicey.
As well as foregoing ground in amps where plate voltage makes a difference. Especially playing live with mics on the same buss.
Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
ZZZZZZZZZZZZT
