What's the purpose of this method?

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NotCardio

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Hopefully Brentrocks doesn't mind me borrowing his image.

What's the purpose of the reverse wraparound on the tailpiece? I've seen this done lots of times, but I don't know why.

It seems to me, this would decrease the angle to the bridge which would result in weaker string contact and less sustain.
 
What's the purpose of this method?

People top wrap for a variety of reasons. Some do it because their favorite guitar players do it. Others to reduce bridge lean, string break angle, and or strings hitting the bridge. Some do hear differences (attack, woody, openness, etc). Most prefer the feel (when bending) of top wrapped strings.

I've felt the difference in bending with a top wrapped guitar. I have no preference towards it. My R8 came with top wrapped strings, but I'm not currently liking it. I still have to weed out other variables. It doesn't have my favorite strings nor an aluminum abr1. I definitely feel like it lacks some attack in the low strings. Could be that I'm use to aluminum abr1s and stoptails.


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Re: What's the purpose of this method?

I do it so I can screw the tailpiece all the way down to the body without the strings hitting the back of the bridge.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

YeRedHouseOverYonder said:
People top wrap for a variety of reasons. Some do it because their favorite guitar players do it. Others to reduce bridge lean, string break angle, and or strings hitting the bridge. Some do hear differences (attack, woody, openness, etc). Most prefer the feel (when bending) of top wrapped strings.

I've felt the difference in bending with a top wrapped guitar. I have no preference towards it. My R8 came with top wrapped strings, but I'm not currently liking it. I still have to weed out other variables. It doesn't have my favorite strings nor an aluminum abr1. I definitely feel like it lacks some attack in the low strings. Could be that I'm use to aluminum abr1s and stoptails.


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Click to expand...

Not many guitars have Al abr's. Its certainly not vintage correct nor stock on any LP ever produced.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

I've never compared one or the other. So if you use lighter strings, there is no difference?
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

Maybe the difference is reduced, but the physics of it is unchanged......lesser break angle makes the strings seem more pliant for bending.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

I tried the "stopbar on the face" thing with my LP STD. Even with recorded comparisons, I could not detect any change in tone or sustain. While it did ease the break angle over the back of the bridge, and made for less tension when bending, it had no other detectable effect. Raising the stopbar took well-enough care of the break angle and bending tension, and again, produced no audible differences in recordings.

One noticeable effect that lowering the stopbar did have was increasing the acoustic tone, which of course also meant the whole body of the guitar resonated more, but none of that came through the pickups. It did help to stimulate the digestive system, however, and more often than not, 10-20 minutes of that led to a satisfying bowel movement.

I broke more strings at the tuning post than the bridge, at a ratio of 20 to 1, and that was over the decade which I owned that guitar. I broke 20 strings at the tuner (usually the A, sometimes the D) and only broke 1 at the bridge.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

I think it looks weird. I just use it the way it's meant to be.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

Surely the tension stays the same, otherwise you wouldn't have correct pitch for the same gauge string?

I don't top wrap. I tried it once, didn't see the point, and didn't think of it again until I got another LP; My 95 Std has the bar all the way down, and no break angle issues. On the other hand, I can't do the same on the 2016 Tribute I got last year, and when I queried it with my luthier buddy, he was completely of the opinion that top wrapping, and/or pulling the bar all the way down was completely unnecessary.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

The feel of the strings when bending changes with top wrapping.

I find the feel to get slinkier/mushier/more rubbery. I also get that feel with wraparound bridges, which have a similar top wrap string setup.
 
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Re: What's the purpose of this method?

The tension is the same I believe, but the feel def. changes; bends feel "soft" and don't affect pitch as much. I tend to feel less break angle results in more open tone, a drastic effect in particular when you file down the saddle on an acoustic, maybe not as noticeable on an electric.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

Maybe some famous dude did it first, and then that became the secret to their sound and over time, that meaning was lost. I can't imagine the difference with, say,10s would be that big.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

Better stability, as there is less friction involved with any said action.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

So you're saying that the "return to zero" (for lack of a better descriptive word) is improved because the strings settle in easier after bends due to the less friction? That's what I got from what you said and it certainly makes sense to me, so with that method I can certainly see the benefits.
 
Re: What's the purpose of this method?

metalchurch79 said:
I was just going to ask about whether top wrapping would have any effect on tuning since it actually promotes slipping in the saddles.
Click to expand...

I had this problem when I tried top wrapping on an SG. Even with tailpiece slammed all the way down, my 1st string (10 gauge, E standard) would fall out of the saddle during bends due to the decreased tension or pressure on the saddle.

This was unacceptable, and I didn't like the slinkier feel, so I returned to stringing the tailpiece normally.
 
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