This Changed How My Gibson Les Paul Feels to Play - Top Wrapping is a Thing
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
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/ johnnathancordy get my backing tracks here
www.buymeacoff... - if you like what I do and
only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!
johnnathancordy.bandcamp.com/track/if-you-stay - here's a tune you could listen to if you fancy
Very nice, who was/is the singer??
Or just raise the tailpiece a little to reduce the break angle it’s part of what I do when I set up that type of bridge and tailpiece until it feels and sounds right
Faber actually makes spacers for the tailpiece so you can tighten it down and still have the rise you're looking for. Great idea, and it keeps it from falling off when changing strings.
You could also just put the tail piece up. That's what I did with mine and it works well, and it's not in the way. I used a sheet of paper, and put it under the string and the bridge to see where it would touch and stopped right before the two E strings touched the bridge and left it there.
I Lifted the tail piece on my new 60s standard about one centimetre and it played like a dream. Also very comfortable when I need and no strings are in the way!
You come up with so many great ideas for backing tracks. If you haven't already, you might want to produce some tutorials on that skill and process. Thanks again.
Just came back to listen to the intro jam again. I've been humming it without knowing what it was
I also recommend trying a 59 style top load Telecaster. Similar change. For me, it just makes my Tele experience better. Wilkinson makes bridges that can top-load as well as standard.
Yes I started top wrapping on my Les Paul, it definitely helped the tension, feel, easier to play!
Put a ball end from the old strings onto the new ones…you’ll have 2 ballends and it acts as a spacer to keep from chewing up your bridge…but I’m sure you already know this!!
Yeh I saw Joe Bonamassa's tech suggested that!
@@johnnathancordy Keeps the ball end wrap from unwinding most importantly: fewer string breaks at the ball end and less damage to the tailpiece.
2nd experiment: Use a lightweight tailpiece like the Gotoh or Kluson USA and a set of locking studs, especially if your stock tailpiece ends up cocked and not parallel to the body plane. Advanced Plating Inc studs are thrifty as is the Kluson.
Tailpieces are cheap, if you fancy keeping the original clean then get and experiment with a light weight aluminum one for top wrapping
When describing the playability feel please use the word compliance not tension.
The double ball end trick is to minimize personal damage for those who palm mute. Depending on the brand of strings you use the extra ball shortens the string length so the string bends at the back of the instead of on the locking winding. If the string bends on the locking winding one gets the benefits mentioned above in other comments plus you’ll need to carry few bandages. Because the very end of the locking winding will stick straight up and engage your palm. Perhaps more painful than palm muting a vintage strat bridge.
@@Vintage35MMI’m a bit confused by these comments, as to where the second ball end is to be placed? Surely, with the top wrapping taking place a the tailpiece, palm muting would not be affected, as this takes place at the bridge not at the tailpiece?
@@jimmcdougall9973 Cut it off an old string thread it on the new string
I started doing this a couple years ago on my custom. I was actually contemplating selling the guitar and this completely changed my mind
I like it! I have to mention that I never liked the way the tuneomatic bridge sat so far high up and away from the body on my SG so I completely lowered the tailpiece and wrapped the strings around it. It not just lengthens the roll off angle from the main bridge but I could swear the tuning is a bit more precise and stable and I think I've noticed a tonal improvement as well!
Nice tune on Bandcamp. Love the way the solo announces itself and say to the vocalist “you’ve had your turn”, and completely obliterates him 😉
I have never tried top wrapping, but will definitely give it a go, even though I use nines. It may help my aging hands. I will have to watch Bonamassa’s video regarding the use of an extra ball end. Doesn’t make sense to me.
First: I love your playing its very tasteful and enjoyable to listen to. #2) every time I see someone talking about this top wrapping, well, it just gets to me, as I've tried this, and I'm suggesting you try just raising the tail piece up, everyone claims it's best to have the tail piece clamped down as close as it can go, claiming it adds to sustain or effects it, I don't think it does. I raised my tail piece a bit, and my Les Paul came to life. And it is very easy to play, I don't notice any loss of sustain or tone. I think my guitar just sings. It reduces the tension. Well thanks in advance for tolerating my opinion. Have a great day. Love your channel.
Why not simply raise the tail piece to reduce the amount of break? 🤔 Works great on a 335.
They say that you get a bit more sustain with the tailpiece lower to the body?
@@johnnathancordy exactly, no need to scratch the tail piece with wrapping around strings, just raise the tail piece. The less the breaking angle is on the string ends, the more sustain you get (considerably less attack though). The through the body strings is actually nonsense for increasing the sustain by the way because of the very sharp breaking angle usually :)
I prefer the top wrap because i can bolt the tailpiece directly flush on the top. It might be purely psychological, but it feels much more stable than a tailpiece that hovers two inches over the body of the guitar. I guess that might also add a little more sustain. Anyway, it‘s only a matter of feeling for me, no scientific reasoning behind it.
@@johnnathancordythat's been disproven many times.
@@johnnathancordy Faber makes spacers for the tailpiece and it's then tight if that idea is about it resonating more, but I doubt it's really measurable.
Another vote for just raising the adjustable tailpiece, but you do you. Original music sounds like a great idea. Love your playing, sir.
I started top wrapping my Gibsons quite a while back (played for 50+ years) I was initially skeptical and went back and forth. After experimenting for a while, I realized that it did indeed make a positive difference in feel.
Love that Burny!!
Seven good days a year on Spotify. Listen to it often
Yep - me too! Been on to it for a bit and thoroughly enjoy 'earin me boy!
I’m recently started experimenting with top wrapping. I bought a second hand V100 which came top wrapped and wondered why it felt easier to play than my other v100. I’d been through all the other setup options. Then it dawned on me one was top wrapped. Et voila! That was it.
I use skinny top, heavy bottoms, 10-52, top wrapping made a difference for bends, feels great compared to my strat which is highly strung at standard tuning
I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’d be more than happy to help fund a Kickstarter or something similar to get you in the studio. 👍🏻
I think it depends on the neck pitch. Les Paul’s vary on the neck to body angle. The more severe the angle the more top wrapping makes sense. John Suhr talked about this maybe 5 or so years ago when he released the limited edition suhr les Paul that cost about 10 grand. I’ve 2 that I too wrap and 1 I don’t.
I do top wrapping on my SG and my Gretsch too, it's amazing
I love my 2016 Standard top wrapped but weirdly don't love my 2000 Studio top wrapped, no idea if it's a pychological thing or actually a thing but it works for me!
You already have plenty of material to release. All of your intro tunes are amazing.
Top wrapping for me. Although I do find the 335 very easy to play and bend strings after a Fender. I prefer the feel. It seems more direct to me and more responsive.
If you want to experience a truly mind blowing change in feel, get a digital angle gauge and use it to raise the tailpiece so that the outer strings break over the saddles at a 17-degree angle, to match the headstock.
If you do this correctly, the tailpiece will sit at an angle (the bass side will be higher than the treble side), but the strings will all break evenly over the bridge. This will even out the string tension and make the entire playing experience more uniform.
Edit: Reducing the break angle would reduce the tension of the string behind the tunomatic bridge, obviously the main string tension would remain the same.
(if that little bit of string is at a higher tension its going to be in a situation analogous to suspension preload requiring more force to overcome the tension already there to add to its extension, so have less spring in it?)
Perhaps it's more to do with the extra length of string over wrapping gives adding to the springiness?
The bend point near a whole Tone in the over wrapped set up will have less mechanical advantage making the bend harder at that point? giving it a more Stratty feel? But give more control as there is more movement required to get to that point...
Also it could have the potential to save strings if it were designed to be the wrong way round in the first place like a PRS wrap around bridge.
Such a great song. I just purchased it......i probably did not pay what it's worth however. But it's a great song. Thankyou.
I'm a big fan of Heritage guitars but I bought an Epiphone L.P. 59. I put in a Gotoh Ti103B-T-Cr bridge (and changed the tuners) but left the tailpiece so that I didn't care about top wrap damage. It's close to perfect now and it reminds me that I don't need to pay £1000's to get a great playing guitar.
Nice tone
There's a complicated dance taking place with the strings involving break angle, string length, gauge, tension, etc. that interact with each other when "one" thing is changed. It's a joy to play a guitar when the strings "feel" right.
Agree. For me it was a change to 9s, which I would not consider on any of my other guitars. Tried the top wrap but found there were issues for me about the feel playing 10s; while it felt more slinky, I seemed to choke the strings a bit when trying to “hold down” fretting and bending, which had an affect on the dynamics and tone. With 9s normally wrapped the lighter gauge under my fingers seemed a more natural encouragement to develop a more dynamic range of touch.
@@fossilmaticI've played 10-46s on my Strat down-tuned 1/2 step for ages. I changed the 1st string from a 10 to a 9 a couple years ago to get more balanced tension across all the strings for bends, and that's made a huge difference to the way the guitar plays and feels.
Get a Faber locking tail piece, raise it up to the top wrap equivalent height... best of both 🤙
A top wrapped LP with 11’s is the dogs bollocks 🤘🏻👍🏻
I top-wrap my R9 with NYXL 10a. It feels better and I like tightening the tailpiece bolts all the way into the body. The sustain, just listen to it.
Wow, the burny looks so much more red on your camera!
Just turned vivid mode off on my phone and now it looks more normal! 😅
@@tonystartup3817 Thanks for the LOan, nice guitar. A friend here in florida has a black Custom Burny, he does have switched pickups, he liikes it, lots cheaper than a gibson and he has had several of those.
I can't imagine how top wrapping might affect playability assuming that strings are hardly fixed between tail-bridge and neck-nut. It seems to me top wrapping just shortens the strings a bit and it adds some tension so your strings become stiffer. But you might just take another gauge strings instead for the same result. Swap your tens with elevens and it will do the trick imho.... I might be wrong here and I'm to lazy to restring my guitar for this purpose :))
YOU TOOK MY ADVICE MAN!!!!!!!!
Just to be clear, it will ruin the plating on the tail after a while as it has no guides to hold the strings from side to side movement. You can get special tails for this (less angular than standard, too, so string breakage is reduced). You can also wrap some thin material/foam around the tail to prevent damage, it also prevails strings ringing between the tail and bridge a little and results in a cleaner recording.
Good stuff - thank you.
My 2 LPs have been top-wrapped for ~15yrs w/o damage (1 Ni, 1 chrome. Maybe the softer Al tailpieces and gold are affected? Zinc alloys seem fine.
@@davidrees1840Might depend on the thickness of the plating too
I’m not against it and I get it. However, I’d ask why not simply raise the tailpiece and/ or use 10s instead of 11s, if you like the feel and tension of 10s? Seems like a roundabout way to reduce string tension. It’s not ‘wrong’ but there are other options.
totally agree... also, if you have more of a "vintage" piece, why knowingly accelerate the deterioration of your tailpiece? it's going to have indentation from the top wrapped strings in case a new owner doesn't like it.
Couldn't you just raise up the height of the tailpiece screws to make a shallower break angle?
why not just raise the stop tail piece? it's threaded and adjustable for that very reason.
I wonder what the difference is between 9's and top wrapped 10's🤔
Once I learned that it messes up the chrome on the tail piece I decided not to do it. Different tensions never bother me. I use the same strings on all of my guitars (10-52) and I expect there to be a slight difference from guitar to guitar. I just need to warm for a few minutes on any of my guitars and I naturally adapt to the tension. The first few minutes can sound wonky though! If I played live and switched out guitars during a set, I'm sure I would feel differently
If you don't have chrome (like on that Burny and I suspect Gibson) then it's not so much of a problem
@@tonystartup3817 Yeah, mine is nickel, but I don't want to mar it. I guess i could get a replacement to use for top wrapping to save the original, in case I ever sell it
You don't seem to be playing your PRS SE DGT lately...
It was with me for ages but I've given it back. Might be loaned out again mind
NOTE TO ALL
You can also pick up John’s album “Seven Good Days a Year” on iTunes, and I am sure other platforms. Highly recommended.
It's on Spotify too
It’s more comfortable for my palm at least.
The tension feel cannot be changed by the break angle! A different tension would mean a different pitch!
It seems that way but I don't think it's that simple, it's not a fixed pitch that we're interested in as tension only really is a thing for guitarists when we're bending to a higher pitch; then other factors come in to play, like lengths of the string past the anchor points
@@tonystartup3817 exactly! A Bigsby bridge for example, with such a long piece of string before the saddle, needs much more axis deviation during bends to reach the right tension for the target pitch, that’s why bendings will feel harder to do. But I can’t find a reason why a reduced break angle would reduce the felt tension during a bending. Tonally, I’ve always heard a brittle timbre with reduced break angles compared to standard, both in comparing video about string wrapping and guitars played with or without the appropriate string tree.
Search goldo tailpiece wrapper
The Burny is a 1987/88 ish era Japanese made. Not super high spec as it has a three piece body and poly finish with a plain top
Yeah.. once I started top wrapping I’ve never considered going back.
yep....Top wrap.....Think Duane Allman...Bonamassa....
This is very surprising - because the strings need a given pull strength to reach a certain pitch only depending on the string composition (mass per length) and the string length (this is simple physics) - independently of top-wrapping or not. So for the player it should not make a difference as top-wrapping does not change the vibrating length of the string, the string mass/length or the required pull strength. Maybe it is another matter of "belief" ....
But it does change how the non-vibrating length beyond the bridge responds. Less break angle may mean it’s able to slip in the saddle easier. Also the length beyond the bridge is now longer with a top wrap.
@@MooCow2X2The length outside the vibrating string length has a very minor influence on the sound, as some of the harmonics will pass the bridge and generate some own sound. This does however not affect the frequency of the main string part. The easier slip of the string on the saddle (in case this has no notch to guide the string) may ease pitch bending a little, but it will seriously affect the durability of the string and the bridge. Also the tuning stability will be negatively affected.
I just raise the tailpiece.
So I watched several videos on top wrapping and - as I expected - there is some science to this, but the effects of this "science" depends on the guitar. How it feels - like everything guitar related - is subjective. Baker's video describes how it works and doesn't work on different guitars. ua-cam.com/video/hlWyhAk1ts4/v-deo.html
I’m a top wrapper.
LOL that was a good joke
this video by dylan talks tone shows how it actually increases tension when u top wrap: ua-cam.com/video/GaJjjVKcXJM/v-deo.html
Corking intro dude.
Don't do it!