Home | Scales | Tuner | Forum


Tailpiece height

Instruments and Gear
GibsonLP60  
28 Jul 2010 00:40 | Quote
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
United States
Karma
Hello everyone, I seem to be at a steady rate of six or so questions per day on this forum...And heres another one for all of you

So on my les paul I recently had it serviced and repaired its headstock (real minor split), it took longer for the glue to dry than it took to setting it up. But unfortunately brought it back home and I noticed I was getting some fret buzz. I can't bring it back so Ive been trying to figure it out myself ....I got rid of the fret buzz but the action is bit high for me. Soo my question is how does the tail piece affect the overall tone/playability/action?? Does it at all?? I got it back from the shop with it down as low as possible but when raising the bridge I also brought up the tailpiece to see if I could hear something different in the tone. Either my ears arent that mature and I dont know what exactly to listen for...Or it did nothing...But Im sure it did something...

Thanks for reading this
GibsonLP60  
28 Jul 2010 00:46 | Quote
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
United States
Karma
After further inspection the only real difference I can tell is the tension on the strings are now very light, before bends were not as easy as they are now with the tailpiece higher off the body. With less tension do I lose sustain???
Guitarslinger124  
28 Jul 2010 03:10 | Quote
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
United States
Lessons: 12
Licks: 42
Karma: 38
Moderator
It depends what kind of tail piece you got bro. Make sure you aren't confusing tail piece with bridge. My intention is not to be insulting, but I can't tell you how many times I forgot to plug my amp in and freaked out when it didn't turn on. A lot of times, with equipment it is the little things that make the big difference.

Without knowing what kind of tail piece you got equipped, here is what I have to say. Keep in mind, action, intonation, bridge and truss rod. All four are directly affected by each other. Just something to keep in mind when talking about action and string tension.

Sustain. With loose strings you should actually have better sustain. Loose strings allow for more vibration with means more sound.

Here are a couple other things to keep in mind. The distance between your stings and your pickups will affect your tone as will the tension of your strings.

The tighter your strings the sharper your tone will be.

Pull your strings too far from your pickups and you will create a mushy tone with no real definition. Lower your strings to close to your pickups and you will generate annoying feedback. However, find that sweet spot in the middle and you will be one step closer to "the perfect tone".

Hope that helped.


«Rock on»
GibsonLP60  
29 Jul 2010 17:57 | Quote
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
United States
Karma
No I got the different parts right, My bridge is set on the higher side...but Im still getting some fret buzz. Its really only the D-string around 4th to 7th frets. I got my tailpiece in what Im feeling right now as a good place as far as tension goes. As far as I know from adjustments its in an ok height.. the strings arent slinky at all. But as far as my action its a tad higher than Id like but bringing down the bridge only fixes the action not the buzz and my truss rod seems like its giving enough relief to the neck...

Any suggestions???
DDave  
24 Aug 2010 12:38 | Quote
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
United States
Karma
I know its late but.....

1. Your truss rod should be adjusted by a pro its not very hard but there are some good articles on google. Just don't tighten it too much and you wont permanently damage anything.
2. sounds like you need your frets dressed, because you mention having to raise the action of some strings to compensate for other strings buzzing. This is common with uneven frets on played instruments.
3. I know it sounds like a lot, but take it to the shop and pay like 100$ (fret dress, intonation, action, strings) and you will never look at it like a waste of money. Your Les Paul should not be having any of the symptoms you are describing because it is a very capable instrument. These problems are not inherent to the design and can be fixed easily.


Copyright © 2004-2017 All-Guitar-Chords.com. All rights reserved.