Les Paul type stoptail and bridge on a Strat?

Danele

hi guys,

as the title implies, i was wondering if fitting a Les Paul type stoptail and bridge on a Strat type setup would work without much hassle..

i know there will be filling to do as the trem block cavity needs to be filled so theres support for the bridge's bushes, and while youre there you might as well fill the trem spring cavity too.

i just want to know if will cause intonation and other setup related issues.

thanks

Dan

PS - It looks soo cool...

MikeM

It's drama. You'll have to mod the neck / neck pocket as well..

arjunmenon

You'd also probably have to add shims to angle the neck, and create a bit of a fall away in the higher register in order to get the proper angles without buzz or intonation issues...

Jack-Flash-Jr

But it looks great ?

Danele

hmm, is there a reason to shim the neck and so on, i mean if you get the saddles the same height as the strat type trem, wont that be enough, as the strings will follow the same path to the nut?

picking up a beat up cheapy strat copy, gonna restore / renovate / whatever it and then try this mod on it.

Bob-Dubery

Danele wrote: hmm, is there a reason to shim the neck and so on, i mean if you get the saddles the same height as the strat type trem, wont that be enough, as the strings will follow the same path to the nut?

The strings will have to fall down from the bridge to the tail piece so that they get a decent break angle over the saddles. On an unadulterated Strat this is not an issue as the strings go over the saddles and then through the body.

Because you need that fall from the bridge to the tail piece the saddles will be higher relative to the body than on an unsullied strat, and so you will either have to live with a very high action, or tilt the neck.

Danele

aah i see..

so i'd either have to drop the tailpiece as low as possible, or maybe route out a little from the body to sink the tailpiece into (since ill be modding the body anyway..).

anyone know what the minimum angle is that the strings need to break from the saddles to the tailpiece?

Bob-Dubery

Danele wrote: aah i see..

so i'd either have to drop the tailpiece as low as possible, or maybe route out a little from the body to sink the tailpiece into (since ill be modding the body anyway..).

Or tilt the neck.... But then your case and your guitar might not fit together so well.

I'm not sure about a sunken tailpiece. Remember that strings have to go through it, so you need enough room that you can string it.

This is not an easy task. I don't have the technical chops that other guys participating in this thread have, but it looks to me like one of those things where building it that way is far simpler than modifying it to be that way.

MikeM

Yup. Usually LPs etc have a neck angle of around 5 degrees.

dee

Warmoth recesses their TOM bridges when used on a Strat body, to avoid routing the neck pocket. I'm not sure how deep though.

Danele

thanks for all the input so far guys.

i am sure it can be done, ~~especially if the break is at 5 degrees,~~ i'll make a plan. it is, after all, a project guitar so if i mess it up i can just plug the holes and reinstall the trem.

gonna order the stop tail and bridge from terryd - http://terryd.co.za/ - it works out around R260 for it all, so not a lot of money wasted if it doesnt work.

going to get the strat copy tonight, cant wait to get started on it, its been a looong time since i've messed around with hardware and refinishing etc.

sorry, misread the angle, thought it was the from the bridge to tail it needs to be 5 degrees..

Danele

dee wrote: Warmoth recesses their TOM bridges when used on a Strat body, to avoid routing the neck pocket. I'm not sure how deep though.

hmm, surely if you need to create the break angle behind the bridge you would need to recess the tailpiece's mounting point, or am i talking k*k? trying to find what the angle is online is proving to be a pain tho..

MikeM

They set it up as a string through, which gives more leeway.

Break angle is an almost subjective thing, as it mainly controls string tension.

Danele

ooh aight, well shot for all the opinions, guys! it is much appreciated!

Danele

so got the guitar, not in bad shape, looks a lil bit rough, but hey, its a project! really excited to get started on this one. already took it apart.

nice maple neck, gonna look good after the facelift. body is sunburts but i'll change that to sonic blue, or a tad lighter (sky blue i think its called, well really its gonna be pale baby blue, haha).

frets are a bit rough on the edges, but i'll file those nicely as well. i'll be posting pics once i get started on the project.

Sneaky-Pete

Or...you could do the Billy Gibbons WrapAround...
Insert the string into the stoptail from the front, then curve it under the stoptail and forward and up over the bridge...a better break angle, more sustain etc...the boy's a genius..!

AlanRatcliffe

I've fitted a TOM to a Strat before. As discussed, the main issue is getting the neck angle so you can adjust the action down to where you need it, but that's not major - while an angled neck pocket is best you can shim the neck easily enough instead and raise the pickups (sometimes you need shorter springs on the bridge pup to get the pickup high enough).

Recessed bridges are OK, but work best with through body stringing instead of a Stop tailpiece and the recess makes it a bit more difficult to get to the intonation screws.

I've owned a few old Aria through necks that had recessed TOMs and tailpieces (RS series), but the strings loaded into the TP from the top.

Gearhead

Sneaky Pete wrote: curve it under the stoptail and forward and up over the bridge...a better break angle, more sustain etc...

Not to mention more string breakage, which ol'Billy does not worry about but you do ☹