335 clone tailpiece/bridge dilemma

[Fresh_Start]

I've got a Heritage 535 and something's been bugging me for a while.  To get the high & low E strings clear of the back edge of the bridge, I have to crank the stoptail WAY up - especially on the bass side.  The tailpiece studs are barely in the bushings. 

I tried doing the top-wrap approach which solved that problem but something wasn't right about the action/tone with that setup for me.  The notches cut in the saddles were not done well, so that may make a smaller break angle more of a problem.

Basically the stoptail is just a little bit closer to the bridge than it should be.  So it seems like my options are:

1) Top wrap and do something about the saddles (like replace them and cut the notches myself)
2) Try an ABR-1 bridge which is narrower than a Nashville by 1/10" (pretty sure this is a Nashville).  Don't know if it would fit or if that difference in width is enough.
3) Try a trapeze tailpiece instead
4) Screw the tailpiece down so the strings break over the saddles and the back edge of the bridge (not cool, right?)

I'd sure appreciate your thoughts on the pros and cons of these alternatives, especially the trapeze.  What kind of difference in tone would I get with a trapeze?  Seems like some older 335s came with them...

On a side note, the most bizarre thing is that the tailpiece studs are NOT the same.  IOW they are threaded differently and don't even look the same.  How weird is that?

Chip

[Platefire]

Fresh_Start

I read about the Heriatage when I was looking at my Aria 335 copy(TA-50). The Heriatage is suppose to be one of the better 335 copies. Surprised they would have a bumble like that. If the Trapize would lessen the angle to get it off the bridge, that would be good but you would still have the two holes where the stop bar went at? It's hard to say without having the ax in front of me but------how about filing the back of the bridge down in those two string locations--if it didn't have too far to go to clear and don't get into the sattle intonation adjustment screws. If you could post a side view of the bridge showing the angle slope of the strings against the back of the bridge--would help. Plate

[Platefire]

Well I went and looked at my Aria cause I remembered that the stop bar was somewhat different than a standard gibson. Don't know if your Heritage has a standard gibson but on those the strings come out kind of middle depth--half way down from the top. On the Aria bar the strings come out the top. If you got one of those standard classic bars maybe one of these Aria bars would help your situation if it would fit the existing lugs?? Take a look at a couple of pictures I took and see what you think. Plate

[G._Hoffman]

On a side note, the most bizarre thing is that the tailpiece studs are NOT the same.  IOW they are threaded differently and don't even look the same.  How weird is that?

 


One (or both) of them is non-original. 

I would guess that there is more that is non-original than just that, though, because Heritage doesn't make that kind of mistake.  You might look into getting them replaced with something better (I'd go with a Tone-Pros rig - they are very fine).  Otherwise, take your guitar to a good tech, and they should be able to sort things out, but it's not that big of a deal if the strings touch the back of the bridge.  It might lead to a slight increase in string breakage, but not always. 


Gabriel

[Fresh_Start]

Platefire - that is a very interesting stoptail and looks like it would solve my problem.  Right now, I'm thinking that new saddles and top wrapping the stoptail will solve the problem.  I'm leaning toward a Tone Pros ABR-1 bridge.

Gabriel - I bought this guitar NEW from Wolfe Guitars.  It sure looked new in every respect anyway.  However, I've had several issues you would not expect from Heritage.  BTW the stoptail posts look the same, it's the bushings which look different (diameters).  Obviously, each post is threaded to match its respective bushing.  The saddle slots are kind of random in terms of where they are side-to-side, and they don't seem to be cut properly for each string gauge.  The other odd thing was the nut - it looked like a photo off of Frank Ford's site with the title "This is not how it should look when finished."  I didn't focus on the nut until I figured out that a slight buzzing and tuning problems on on string were due to an excessively wide nut slot with a takeoff point well behind the front face.  Then the solder joint for one of the leads going to the selector switch started going bad and eventually broke off.  (No, I had not been inside the guitar yet - that's what drove me to go inside.) 

Maybe this was a factory second that shouldn't have been sold as new?

Anyway, thanks for the help guys.

Cheers,

Chip

[Platefire]

OK, Hope you get it tuned up and running right. I sure do love my 335 clone! Can't imagine a 335 being a bit better! Plate