LP Bridge Posts - How Tight - GuitarTalk Community

LP Bridge Posts - How Tight

serven

This might be a stupid question, but never having owned an LP before and having found something (I think might be quite alarming) here I have a quick question.

Should the posts that hold the stop-bar be tight-tight or loose?

serven

Okay nevermind,

I read up and apparently it doesn't matter. Going to fiddle for now and see

Ignore the panic ?

singemonkey

Firstly, that's not the bridge ?

Yeah. It doesn't matter... much. But if you have it locked down and put the strings through the usual way (through the back of the tailpiece towards the headstock) the angle to the bridge will be pretty sharp and may increase string breakage.

I have mine locked right down but "top-wrapped" - you put the strings in away from the headstock and then wrap them over the top of the tailpiece towards the bridge. The setup allegedly makes the strings feel a little less stiff, but I can't say I've noticed any difference.

serven

I read about the top wrapped thing but as shallow as I am I don't want to scratch more of the gold on the stop-bar off. I lifted it much higher than what it was, just so that the E's clears the edge of the bridge. I spent a few hours trying to do some research online to see if there's a dominant point-of-view but it seems everyone is shouting something else and getting really worked up about it. I have decided that if a few hundred people can argue about the way they do it or why theirs is right or sounds better - it probably means that it doesn't make so much of a difference and I've decided to take the midway there ?

singemonkey

You're spot-on there. It's a total storm in a teacup. I'm not shy about my guitar looking heavily used (the nickel was already corroded just from my palm anyway) so I've tried it. I keep doing it cos Jimmy Page does ?

beardedmoose

Billy Gibbons is a top wrapper.... if that helps...