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top wrapping my P90 special.. thoughts?


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so I noticed recently that my strings are hitting my bridge..  any tips for top wrapping it?  reason to not  etc???/

top and bottom guitars in pics are my Hamer's.middle my LP.  bottom one is my p90

or should I just raise the bridge a bit?

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3 minutes ago, neastguy said:

yeah.. i was just wondering if those of you who top wrapped noticed anything different ... better or worse.. thats all

A little slinkier feel plus the added sustain from having the tailpiece screwed down all the way (the latter might merely be psychosomatic bullshit).

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The only top wrap I like is a stop bar bridge. Top wrapped tuneomatics impart a spongy feel to the strings that I don’t like. Some like it (worked for Duane Allman). Some even use the word, "like", four times in a paragraph.

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4 minutes ago, MCChris said:

A little slinkier feel plus the added sustain from having the tailpiece screwed down all the way (the latter might merely be psychosomatic bullshit).

hmm...  we usually tune down a half step at gigs....  I wonder if it would make the guitars way to slinky if I top wrapped.. I have 10's on them now

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Just now, neastguy said:

I dust a little when I change the strings...  usually once or twice a year :)

Oh, please!  You could likely plant turnips on all of my guitars!  😅

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2 hours ago, topekatj said:

A little light dusting on examples 2 &3 might help

But according to Nigel Tufnel, you "can't really dust for vomit."

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5 hours ago, Disturber said:

Raise the stop tailpiece until the strings go free. Or top wrap.

I used to do this, back when I had Hamer Specials/Studios, and it works well...though it can look a little weird having the stop tailpiece raised up, depending on how high you adjust it.  To tell the truth though, I couldn't tell much difference in tone (if any), if/when the strings touched the bridge edges or not, since that short length of string between the bridge and stop tailpiece wasn't vibrating that I could see or hear. 

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19 hours ago, crunchee said:

I used to do this, back when I had Hamer Specials/Studios, and it works well...though it can look a little weird having the stop tailpiece raised up, depending on how high you adjust it.  To tell the truth though, I couldn't tell much difference in tone (if any), if/when the strings touched the bridge edges or not, since that short length of string between the bridge and stop tailpiece wasn't vibrating that I could see or hear. 

Im tempted to just leave it be then.. I've never had any issues at all.. thanks

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I "owned" Tom Terrific's Beatles graphic Sunburst and it was top-wrapped.  When I read about top-wrapping giving a guitar a slinkier feel I was 100% sure it was bullshit but I'm convinced.  I loved playing that one and would consider top-wrapping some of my other guitars.

IMG_1931.JPG

IMG_1935.JPG

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Something to consider - it'll leave a mark. If you don't want to scuff a clean tailpiece, use a beater to try it for the first time.

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I top wrap all my TOM’s! To me the strings are slinkier. One thing I do is add a extra ball end on the string so your not bending the wrapped end just the string. I think I hear longer sustain also, but I’ve never tested if there really is longer sustain. Or louder. I’ve been restringing my guitars like this so long I can’t remember when I started... Decades...

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3 hours ago, Dutchman said:

I top wrap all my TOM’s! To me the strings are slinkier. One thing I do is add a extra ball end on the string so your not bending the wrapped end just the string.

That is a really clever hack. You should send pics/description to StewMac. They may publish it!

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6 hours ago, Dutchman said:

I top wrap all my TOM’s! To me the strings are slinkier. One thing I do is add a extra ball end on the string so your not bending the wrapped end just the string. I think I hear longer sustain also, but I’ve never tested if there really is longer sustain. Or louder. I’ve been restringing my guitars like this so long I can’t remember when I started... Decades...

yeah.. Im not sure I understand what you mean .. can you post a pic?  

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He means putting an extra ball end on the string. Slide the little metal ring down the string so that when inserted from the pickup-side of the tailpiece it can't enter as far and that will keep the wrapped part of the string inside the tailpiece and only the string itself will protrude from the non-pickup side. So, that when it's bent up and over the tailpiece it won't be bending and possibly start unwrapping the wound end of the string due to the extreme bend. It's an excellent idea...I'll give it a try!

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47 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

It works great. Some guys put a dab of super glue to hold them in place (in the tailpiece). I haven't....yet.

I've been doing it for as long as I've had my LP Special (over 25 years), but I prefer to have them loose (no glue), because I do occasionally go back to 'regular' stringing just for variety.

But this spacer is as important when top-wrapping as having the tailpiece at the right height so the string only bends over the saddle (not the back of the TOM) when not top wrapping (better tone, sustain, tuning stability and string life). Try it! Slab body with P90s just works for going over the top!

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I believe it was @murkat who had fabricated a wee little plate that prevented the ball end of the strings from going so deep into the bridge that it prevented the wrapped portions from being part of the bend.

It probably isn't more effective than using the ball ends, but it's probably easier keeping track of one thing instead of six during a string change.

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