Stop Tail Height

[stillaliveandwell]

Am I correct that the angle of the string coming off the back of the bridge is referred to as the string break angle. The strings are not supposed to touch the back edge of the bridge after passing through the saddles? Is that also correct. I see some people like to lower their stop tail all the way down to the guitar body. How could you possibly do that without strings touching the back edge of the bridge? Could someone clear these issues up for me? Thanks

[DonP]

Yes and Yes.

How could they do it? Some LP's have less of a neck angle, which means the bridge needs to be lower for the correct action. A lower bridge means less of a break angle when the TP is lowered down.

So, if you are searching for a new LP, one of the things to look for is a low bridge. Of course it's not the most important thing, but it's nice to have.

[Lance_S]

Originally Posted by stillaliveandwell

Am I correct that the angle of the string coming off the back of the bridge is referred to as the string break angle. The strings are not supposed to touch the back edge of the bridge after passing through the saddles? Is that also correct. I see some people like to lower their stop tail all the way down to the guitar body. How could you possibly do that without strings touching the back edge of the bridge? Could someone clear these issues up for me? Thanks

Couple of things. First, it's important to have your saddles in good shape. If the grooves in the saddles are deep, the string will hit the back of the bridge with earlier no matter what angle you have so keep fresh saddles on your rig. Second, you want your break angle as high as possible without touching the bridge, slide a piece of paper between the string and the back of the bridge.

Second, intonation will effect where your string touches the back of the bridge so if your saddles are moved closer to the neck to correct a flat intonation you will have to adjust your bridge height to accommodate.

Finally, Sustain will be alittle better if you crank your tailpiece studs all the way down to the body but....it may cause the strings to touch the back of the bridge, in that case, you can try top wrapping your strings. It allows you to drop the studs all the way down to the body of the guitar and still miss the back of the bridge. If you aren't familiar with top wrapping, just run a search, there are a million threads on this subject.

[Satch0922]

Originally Posted by Lance_S

Finally, Sustain will be alittle better if you crank your tailpiece studs all the way down to the body but....it may cause the strings to touch the back of the bridge, in that case, you can try top wrapping your strings. It allows you to drop the studs all the way down to the body of the guitar and still miss the back of the bridge. If you aren't familiar with top wrapping, just run a search, there are a million threads on this subject.

If you don't want to top wrap, buy these.....THEY WORK!

Faber Tone-Lock Pro Sustainer Series

If you like top wrapping then go all the way with an aluminum "Tone Tail"

Tone Tail Replacement Guitar Tail Pieces

[noslen1968]

There is a definite tone and sustain change when a string is touching the bridge on its way to the stop-tail, raise the 'tail until the strings aren't touching (do this with only the low and high 'e' strings attached loosely) - this will determine the height necesarry for the stop-tail, given that the rest of the setup is good.

Or just crank it down to the body and tail-wrap.

[ehamady6]

My TonePros locking tailpiece and locking bridge allow me to raise the tailpiece slightly and get the same sustain as if it were screwed down to the body. I inserted a black washer so the tailpiece is screwed down tight but still raised about the thickness of a nickel. The strings won't come close to touching the edge of the bridge and you can't see the washer on my ebony Custom.

[skydog]

Find the sweet spot

[WoodyTone]

I ended up wrapping, and like it. Satch, thanks for the links. I take it you have had a good experience with the TP?