Does an Aluminum Tailpiece Sound Better?

[WRGKMC]

My 1991 Les Pauls' tail piece its pretty beat to crap. Its a gold finish as well and they don't age very well.

 

I finally got around to buying a new one for $21 today. I could have bought the regular Zinc type but I found an aluminum

one for the same price so I figured I'd give it a shot and see what all the hype is about. I know the original Paul's had them and

since this is a 40th anniversary model it may add some decent tones.

 

I'm curious if anyone else has tried them and if they heard a difference, or is it just snake oil.

 

I'm going to need a new bridge soon too. This is my second one and its seen better days.

I'll likely buy another Gibson bridge as a replacement.

 

I did see they are making stud adaptors now in both metric and inch that will let you convert a Nashville with larger bushings to an APR 1

with thumb wheels. In the past you'd have to put in plugs and re-drill the holes for screw in studs. The tone is supposed to be more woody sounding

with an ABR1. The only problem is the saddles are a bit cheesy but they are replaceable.

[gardo]

I'm curious if anyone else has tried them and if they heard a difference, or is it just snake oil.

 

I'm going to need a new bridge soon too. This is my second one and its seen better days.

I'll likely buy another Gibson bridge as a replacement..

 

We love snake oil.

 

How much can the tail piece material really effect the tone ?

 

I was looking at some bridges and came across one that's interesting.. haven't heard anything about them yet.

http://www.guitarfetish.com/SOLID-BRASS-locking-Tuneomatic-bridge-locking-Saddles-ALL-BRASS_p_4217.html

 

[Floyd Rosenbomb]

"Better" is pure subjectivity, as I am sure you know.

My guess is that it will sound ever so slightly different. But "better," who is to say.

I did the brass block switch on some floyds that had oem zinc blocks. I'm not a believer.

 

 

 

 

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[Grantus]

I would think the difference in tone is very, very small.

[DeepEnd]

My short answer would be "No." If anything, it should sound worse. Aluminum isn't a "musical" metal. What I mean is that you can't make bells out of it, for example, the way you can from brass or steel. It doesn't vibrate very well. This tells me that any difference will be negative. Mind you, this is strictly intuitive but it's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[The Rover]

I wouldn't say aluminum sounds better, just different. I replaced the tailpiece on my 2013 Firebird with an aluminum Gotoh unit and I swear I noticed a substantial eq shift. It seemed to emphasize more upper midrange and made everything more "airy" sounding. It also rounded out the highs more. Of course this is pretty much what they're supposed to do according to most of the outfits that sell them, but I swear I discovered the changes before I did a lot of research into how aluminum alters the tone. I wouldn't want all my hardware aluminum since I believe it may lessen the sustain and soften attack too much. Also I could imagine situations where I wouldn't want the tone shift brought on by aluminum. It's not for everyone, or every guitar I should say.

[knotty]

Alumin-i-um , its aluminium!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[billybilly]

Alumin-i-um ' date=' its aluminium!!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote']

 

According to the periodic table it is but there are lots of words like that (center, centre, color, colour, etc...). Depends where you were brought up. I wish we were all on the same page with metric though, imperial is far inferior.

[stormin1155]

As Rover said, conventional wisdom would suggest that aluminum wouldn't be the best choice for a bridge, but it works well in this. It doesn't have the attack of steel or brass. The notes seem to bloom. It has excellent sustain.

[Radar-Love]

My short answer would be "No." If anything' date=' it should sound worse. Aluminum isn't a "musical" metal. What I mean is that you can't make bells out of it, for example, the way you can from brass or steel. It doesn't vibrate very well. This tells me that any difference will be negative. [/quote']

 

 

It's actually the opposite.

 

Aluminum is an excellent material for a tailpiece because it doesn't ring like a bell. The sympathetic tone that aluminum creates is all over the frequency spectrum which in turn minimizes colorization of the true acoustic tone of the electric guitar. Another benefit of aluminum is weight reduction.

 

By the way, the aluminum tailpieces that get the most raves are the wraparound tailpieces.

 

 

 

 

[brandass]

I've been thinking about replacing the wraparound on my lipstick strat (looking for adjustable intonation), maybe try aluminum to accentuate the airy lipsticks?

[Radar-Love]

I've been thinking about replacing the wraparound on my lipstick strat (looking for adjustable intonation)' date=' maybe try aluminum to accentuate the airy lipsticks?[/quote']

 

 

If your current wraparound tailpiece is made of brass or zinc alloy, the replacement aluminum tailpiece should exhibit a smoother and less brittle "attack" (i.e. -- from the ADSR sound envelope philosophy: attack / decay / sustain / release).

[wankdeplank]

I tried one a few years ago on one of my LP types and for me at least, it wasn't the sound I was looking for. As I recall, the guitar traded some low-end for some top-end, seemed like a less vintage tone as well. Gotta have my vintage tone - went back to nickel..

 

 

[nelsonr]

Yes, it sounds good.

The electric guitar is really amazing to play a sound. I was searching for ancient instrument for music and got the Shofar. This is a musical instrument and it is made from horn, Jewish people use it for the religious purpose. This superb instrument now available on online store, Have a look

[WRGKMC]

My back porch is full of wind chimes made of aluminum that sound as clear as bells so I don't agree its can't musical tones carried my the strings to some degree.

There's not allot of string vibration that makes it past the TOM bridge but harmonics are creates there, especially on a cranked guitar. Anyone can test that by cranking the

guitar with a drive pedal and either strumming between the tail and bridge, or between the nut and tuners and you'll hear the sound carried down the strings to the pickups.

 

In any case, I'll get the tailpiece in a few days and give it a fair evaluation. If there's any real benefits or is its just snake oil, I'll let you know.

 

I'll even go a step further just to satisfy the critics. I'll use my studio and do some recordings and compare the before and after results using a frequency analyzer

which can be much more accurate then the ears are detecting any real frequency changes.

 

I want to rule out the "Feel" factor from the actual tones produced. Its easy to place your hand on the strings between the bridge and tail and feel what I suspect might be more resonance in the strings. If it doesn't result in a tonal change I want to know for sure. This way when I give advice to others I'll have the first hand experience and scientific proof to back it up.

 

I'm sure others would like to know if there's a difference as well. I know we have allot of Strat players on this site. Many know the benefits of having a different tremolo block and how it changes the string sustain. This isn't quite the same because its a different setup but I'm hoping it will sound good none the less. The particular Paul is weighs in at 11 lbs., so its sound is pretty dense to begin with. I'm hoping the tail might give it some variation in resonance because I want to leave everything else stock. I've been tempted many time to swap out the pickups and put mini humbuckers in place of the P100's but I do have several others with minis.

 

I will need to refret it soon which is not a job I look forward too. Bound fret boards are a bitch to begin with and especially Gibson's with the binding over the fret ends is about as tough as it gets.

I've only done a few Paul's before but the owners weren't worried about leaving the binding over the frets which made it much easier.

[WRGKMC]

Well I got the tail piece in yesterday and installed it last night. I can say the workmanship is excellent. The original tilted a bit because it wasn't a tight fit in the studs.

I did notice the holes in the bridge side were slightly larger and V shaped which allows the string to pull more on the ball end of the string instead of the edge of the tail piece.

The string contacts the tail farther inside the tail.

 

It also looks like its designed so you can use the tail has a detent on the bridge side so you can use the strings as a wrap around having the strings come over the tail. I had been using the old one that way. Its makes the break away farther from the bridge and you can adjust the tail lower and still have the strings clear the side of the bridge and rest on the saddles. The stock tail doesn't have ball end detents on the bridge side and if you use them as a wrap around the balls stick out and mar the stock tails

 

I installed the strings in normal fashion through the tail and on my Paul I have to raise it up a good 10~12mm to clear the side of the bridge.

 

Tone wise I was surprised. It does lighten up the tone. I was skeptical on having any noticeable effects but its definitely there and I can say its exactly what this guitar needed. The simplest description would be it adds a tad of Strat clarity to the notes and makes the tone more talkative in the upper mids. The old tail in comparison would add more lower mids which the guitar has too much to begin with.

 

So, I'm very happy to say, The only other way I could have shifted the tone was to try different pickups which I didn't want to do because I wanted to keep the electronics stock. Adding an Aluminum tail on a 40th anniversary model is something that actually makes it sound like the originals that did have aluminum tails. The string touch is wonderful now so I'll like be playing this one on my next recording.

 

I may try getting some of those adaptor studs for the bridge and trying a vintage ABR bridge next. My old gold top had an ABR and if that's the rest of the formula in getting a vintage tone I'll be as happy as can be. The good part on these mods are they are completely reversible and they do not affect the instrument value in any way.

[DaveAronow]

I laid an aluminum tail piece right next to a steel one on a table. I put my ear right up to both of them and I got to be honest. I couldnt hear a damned thing. I don't think they sound better. I don't think even sound at all.

[knotty]

I laid an aluminum tail piece right next to a steel one on a table. I put my ear right up to both of them and I got to be honest. I couldnt hear a damned thing. I don't think they sound better. I don't think even sound at all.

I can hear the difference between different grades of aluminium. Also the difference with the same piece at different altitudes. The difference has to be significant though. Like 6 feet.

[brandass]

Looking forward to your tests, should prove interesting regardless of outcome.

[soundguruman]

The aluminum one does sound better.

No, it's not snake oil, it's reality.

The material of the saddles, tailpiece, nut, and wood of the guitar body, all affects the tone of the guitar radically.

The pickups are secondary in tone, compared to these materials above.

 

People who tell you otherwise are the inexperienced ones.

 

Delrin Nylon saddles and nuts have probably produced a much better tone compared to metal saddles and nuts...for example.

Tusk, bone, ivory, graphite are all preferable to any metal materials used for saddles and nuts. This is what produces a desirable tone.

 

The best tailpiece? It's the trapeze tailpiece, not the stop tailpiece.

And it was Howard Roberts who taught me that.

I did put a trapeze on my Les Paul, and I'm glad I did. The old design sounded better than the new one. Way better.

 

FYI: If you are replacing parts, get the genuine factory parts. The aftermarket parts are for the most part inferior.

[gardo]

....... you can adjust the tail lower and still have the strings clear the side of the bridge and rest on the saddles. .

 

Thanks for the reminder. I just had one of those duh moments. I was getting a buzz in the A string from bridge. I started to blame the cheap bridge I'm using. Until I read your post and realized what was most likely happening.

 

[knotty]

The aluminum one does sound better.

No, it's not snake oil, it's reality.

The material of the saddles, tailpiece, nut, and wood of the guitar body, all affects the tone of the guitar radically.

The pickups are secondary in tone, compared to these materials above.

 

People who tell you otherwise are the inexperienced ones.

 

Delrin Nylon saddles and nuts have probably produced a much better tone compared to metal saddles and nuts...for example.

Tusk, bone, ivory, graphite are all preferable to any metal materials used for saddles and nuts. This is what produces a desirable tone.

 

The best tailpiece? It's the trapeze tailpiece, not the stop tailpiece.

And it was Howard Roberts who taught me that.

I did put a trapeze on my Les Paul, and I'm glad I did. The old design sounded better than the new one. Way better.

 

FYI: If you are replacing parts, get the genuine factory parts. The aftermarket parts are for the most part inferior.

Of course they are, now just get back into bed and drink this.

[WRGKMC]

As a note. Thought of this over the weekend. Many might not know violin strings are wrapped in aluminum. Its a light material that works well with a bow and emulates the tone of a gut string well. There's also plenty of speaker cones made of aluminum as well.

[Exdeath]

Supposedly Callaham claims a steel tailpiece is much, much better than aluminium. I haven't had a chance to pick up a Gibby-style guitar lately to mod but his hardware looks plain topnotch.

 

I find it a real pain in the ass that most guitar hardware these days is zinc. Surely they didn't make them like these back in the day?

[WRGKMC]

^^^ The originals were aluminum and they switched to zinc in the 50's because both zinc and the die casting methods of producing the parts is as cheap as it gets. (And yes Gibson hardware is made in china today) I haven't heard of steel being used other then on the bridge posts which is supposed to be in improvement.

 

Heres a good article on it. http://pickroar.com/810/brighten-a-l...num-tailpiece/

This is about bridge improvements. http://pickroar.com/706/brighten-a-les-paul-part-one-steel-bridge-posts/