Aluminum stop tail tone effect?

[Sven]

I was wondering if anyone had done any research into the difference between the cast zinc stop tailpiece and the aluminum one?

How is the tone different? Sustain? Bass response? Treble?

Thanks.

[Satch0922]

I have purchased several 'Tone Tail" stop bars. They brighten up the tone a little and these are made with notches so you can run the strings over the top and bolt the stop bar all the way flush on the guitar. You can bolt a stock stop bar down too however you do have the risk of breaking the strings without the little notches in the stop bar.

Anyhow...check em out Tone Tail replacement guitar tail pieces

[G Man]

Satch, thanks for the link, just ordered one.

[Sven]

Originally Posted by Sven

I was wondering if anyone had done any research into the difference between the cast zinc stop tailpiece and the aluminum one?

How is the tone different? Sustain? Bass response? Treble?

Anybody?

[lukeness]

I switched to an aluminum one. I noticed absolutely no difference in tone.

[asher67]

I just changed out the stock stoptail on my 1990 LP Classic for a Gotoh aluminum stoptail. Bearing in mind that I'm still dealing with a fresh set of strings, which always sounds better, I do notice a few differences with the aluminum.

First, the tone of the unwound strings is not as harsh with the aluminum as it was with the stock zinc tailpiece. With the zinc, my unwound strings tended to have a very bright, hard tone. With the aluminum, their tone is a bit warmer, and there are no "brain dart" treble sounds.

Second, with the aluminum, my low E and A strings have a bit more punch than they did with the zinc. Unplugged, chords on the guitar have a more balanced feel between all strings, and the result is audibly noticeable when plugged in.

Finally (and kinda related to the above), the string responsiveness is more even from string to string, but the body resonance is the same. It's a matter of taste. I have two PRS guitars with aluminum stoptail bridges, and the string response is much the same as the LP with the aluminum stoptail. Paul Reed Smith has said that Ted McCarty recommended material changes which brought PRS guitars more in line with the construction of '50s Les Pauls (such as the use of an aluminum tailpiece).

Other previous changes to my Classic are '57 Reissue pickups, 500k audio taper pots, paper-in-oil caps, and a bone nut. These mods could have an impact on the differences I noticed in the tailpiece change.