Tuneomatic Tailpiece Or String Through Body?

[pariah223]

What is a better way to go with the Tune-o-matic setup. There is tailpiece and then tehre is through body stringing. From what i have heard, through body stringing gives better sustain. Can anyone verfy this as dramatic enough to go with string through body over tailpiece? or is it mostly just cosmetic now adays like most design features.

[GregP]

Mainly cosmetic. You might be able to scientifically measure differences, but just go with the one you like the looks of (and the execution of... which is more to your liking in terms of mounting) better.

Les Pauls aren't known as sustain-killers (au contraire, they sustain quite well) and on the other hand, string-through guitars aren't having their names shouted through the cosmos as the saviours of sustain. So, the difference is pretty minimal, if noticeable at all.

Besides that, I dunno why everyone goes on about sustain so much. How often do you just sit there and hold a note forever without the benefit of feedback (which is a different story altogether and doesn't require a "sustaining" guitar)? Not often. I've never held a note for 30 seconds and then thought, "Man, if only I could have squeezed an extra 2 seconds of sustain out of that."

Greg

[Jalien21]

heh. i've thought the same thing. sustain seems to be talked about way too much to me, but whatever. on my current project, i chose to use one of the schaller tailpieces. cosmetically, it's not ugly, but the reason i chose it was because it was one of the only tailpieces that didn't require the strings to make a 90 degree bend somewhere. every time i've ever had a string break, it's been at that point on the bridge where the strings have to bend 90 degrees. which, when you think about it, makes sense. especially with a trem or when you're bending strings a lot. there, you're shifting the string back and forth over an edge. it weakens it. so, for me, it was about the least-stressful solution for the strings.

[Setch]

I think people go on about sustain because it's something which is actually quantifiable, unlike the rather more abstract 'tone'!

[mikhailgtrski]

How often do you just sit there and hold a note forever without the benefit of feedback (which is a different story altogether and doesn't require a "sustaining" guitar)? Not often. I've never held a note for 30 seconds and then thought, "Man, if only I could have squeezed an extra 2 seconds of sustain out of that."

Sure, but on a guitar with good sustain the note will lose less volume over a given period of time.

For example, you play a note and hold it for 4 seconds. Let's assume the initial volume of the note is 80dB. On a guitar with good sustain, the note might lose, say, 2dB after 4 seconds, whereas one with less sustain might lose 6dB in the same 4 seconds.

Mike

[pariah223]

Ok, well i think im going to go with a tailpiece.. but now the quesiton arises... theres 2 im looking at. one is around 35 dollars, the other is around 15.. could anyone tell me the difference between these 2 in terms of value? I know its not alot of money, but it is when your on a budget. here they are

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailp...es.html#details

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailp..._Tailpiece.html

[thegarehanman]

One's zinc, one's aluminum. Both are plated with the same matrials. A stop tailpiece isn't something that'll wear out, so if cost is an issue, just go with the cheaper one. I doubt you'd see much of a difference cosmetically between the two if you had them both in hand.

peace,

russ

[Mickguard]

One's zinc, one's aluminum.

The aluminum tailpiece is lighter...it's also truer to the original Gibson tailpiece, if that's an important issue for you.

Of course, mounting an featherweight tailpiece on a Les Paul (the heaviest guitars on earth) is something of an oxymoron...but there really is a significant difference between the two metals.

[custom22]

As for the sustain thing, i never thought much of it til i got my PRS Custom 22. You dont need a big distorted amp feedin back at you to hold one of those high notes, ringing just as clear as any other note. I dont hold a note for 30 seconds, but for the couple seconds that I do on a well sustaining guitar, it is much better than having feedback as your soul source. Just my take on it. As for string through vs tailpiece, its not like it will make much difference. I have found that sustain mainly comes from highly accurate neck setup and fretting, along with strong neck joints. Just my opinions of course.

[pariah223]

so basically the only real difference is weight then? If that is the case i will probibly go with the cheaper one because i cant imagine a piece that small would really make theh guitar playable/unplayable depending on what weight bridge i use.

[Miu]

Hi, I had the same problem, but now I should to say: if you want to your guitar looks like the known one for example les paul you should use tailpiece. Of course if you build a custom project and want to designe your guitar unique you should follow by your imagination and choose tailpiece or the stringing thru body - just like in my situation. I think that sustain in this case doesn't make any different. Am I right ?