I beg the forgivness of Fender by posting this but I am so used to the guys on this forum and how they think and communicate so I post this question.

I purchased my first non-strat non-fender electric this past saturday. I picked up a Epiphone LP "plain top" It's a nice guitar and I know I will never be able to afford a Gibson LP.

The first thing I noticed is the bridge and tail stop are not steel, but some sort of mystery metal alloy. The wierd thing is that the guys in Les paul world do not seem to have a problem with non-steel bridges.

Does anyone here have a LP and how do I get a steel bridge for my EPI?

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I remember when we were free!

I had an Epi LP for 5 or 6 years before I sold it to scrounge up enough money to get another Martin acoustic.

My little Epi was bone stock (quilt top) and would hold its own against any "real" Gibby LP I played or heard. I have no idea what the bridge and stop bar were made of or what pups were in it. They were hot, the thing would sustain forever. The kid I sold it to, still uses it and gigs with it. The thing has been rode hard and put up wet, but it still sounds great.

I guess what I'm saying is that if it sounds OK to you, I doubt if changing the stop bar and bridge stuff is going to make a difference.

Epi LP's are kind of like the MIM strats in that you're not undergunned with one and most that I've heard will hold their own with the more expensive standard Gibby LPs.

Other than basic set up stuff (tweak truss rod once or twice a year to adjust for humidity and temp chagnes) set the intonation, and adjust the saddle heights, I didn't do a thing to it (well, I did change the pick guard from white to a cream color).

Jeff

Hi OL: that mystery alloy will be zinc based. Brass and aluminum are also sometimes used. Perfectly common for LP bridges, though of course there is all the same fuss about cold rolled steel [yawn] that goes on with Strat bridge blocks. Check out Callaham's website if you want to catch up on the mythology of that.

There is also a popular belief that aluminum tailpieces on Les Pauls are the holy grail of tone and some players specify them as a "secret" ingredient. So naturally the aftermarket parts business offers aluminum stop bars at stupidly high prices and some people pay for them. Pigtailmusic.com is where to look for more about that.

It's the exact opposite of what your intuition would tell you - odd, huh? It's a weird wide world.

Cheers - C

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Ceri,

So you are saying zinc alloy, steel, brass, aluminum is all the same LP, Strat, Etc.?

P.S. I am not trying to start a debate over this, but just want your expanded opinion.

I have already noticed the aluminum tail stops on market. That to me also was a little strange.

OL

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I remember when we were free!

I have a Gibby LP Standard and I don't think that mine has a steel bridge either. There is a well known issue with bridges collapsing (bending) under the string pressure when folks set the stop bar decked to the body increasing break over angle and the pressure, when the particular neck angle does not work well with this setup.

There are the usual after market suspects out there on the web that you can purchase the steel bridge from. If it were me, I would upgrade the bridge on the LP primarily to one that does not fall off when changing strings (all at the same time) and the one that does not have those six stupid retaining clips for the saddles (that is the $#%$@#% dumbest design I'we ever seen - venting over feeling better now) .

Hope that helps

Thanks Fenderman, I love the guitar as is, but I know I am too obsessive about tinkering and bound to do something to it.

Its a whole different animal the LP, to me the strat is a musical weapon, if it were a gun it would be a AK-47, the LP is more of a dainty thing, its a whole new thing for me.

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I remember when we were free!

Great Scott, no: I am not saying that!

However, there's quite enough folks round here that want to talk about how they think metal works that we don't need input from me on it.

Wait around: they'll be along shortly, I'm sure.

The only serious comment I'd make is: if you can hear a difference and think it matters, go with that. If not, don't be intimidated by the tone obsessives. Them's my feelings.

Cheers - C

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If only we could spend more time playing and less time tinkering. Then again we wouldnt be here either.

I have a MIM fat strat and an Epi les paul standard. I did the setups on both. Great action, feel, tone,etc. Same tone as a "real" American Strat or Gibson les paul?--no, different, especially the strat with the ceramic magnets--but still very nice. I would do a good setup and not worry about the metal.

Well I think I feel the urge to embark on a 10,000 page essay on metallurgy
and it's impact on tone!!!

For what it's worth, I have a Epi Dot, it probably has the exact same ABR-bridge and Stop Tailpiece that your guitar has. I think Ceri is probably right that it's some kind of zinc based alloy. For me it does the job and sounds excellent.

Ceri is right that the bridges on the mythical old LP's ]both the single wrap around tailpiece, and later the Adjustable Bridge (ABR,) and stop tailpiece combo,] were made of aluminum then plated with nickel. So corksniffing tone gurus seek those out.

A guy could end up soaking a lot of money into an axe on meaningless 'upgrades' if he's not careful. I'm not telling you whether you should or should not spend the cash, but I don't think I would outlay that kind of cash without knowing what if any changes you might end up with.

In my experience with Epi's the first and likely best mod would be to replace the pots (knobs,) switches, and wiring harness with higher quality parts. My Dot really came to life, even the stock pickups ended up sounding pretty good, though I continuously have to fight off a little voice in my head that keeps saying " I bet this axe would really sing with a sweet set of Filtertrons?!?!??!?!?!"

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I have a 2001 Gibson LP Standard. I have replaced the original bridge and tail piece. The bridge is now a TonePros locking bridge. The tail piece is a GOTOH Aluminum tail piece. I have also installed TonePros locking studs.
I am quite happy with the tone and sustain, but even more happy with tuning stability and the fact that my bridge and tail piece do not fall off when I do a string change.

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Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Yes I am well aware of the debate on the topic of components and tone woods and their various advantages and disadvantages. Let me say I am not in particular a tone guru. The only pickups I have changed in a guitar are in my squier bullets were I replaced ceramic mag pups for alnico mag pups.

I do have some experience with my squier bullets and other squiers and how much better they sound with steel trem bars as opposed to the zinc alloy ones and steel bridge saddles as opposed to mystery metal ones. I don't spend a great deal of cash on upgrades as GFS usually has what I want a very resonable prices.

I am just thinking my EPI LP might enjoy the same kind of upgrade, if it even exists. But it looks to me like LP guys really don't care much if their $3,500 LP Deluxe has a mystery metal bridge. And that to me seems a little "strange" after hanging out in "Strat world" for a couple of years were steel is king.

Again my intent here was not to start a debate, and if one arises I will not participate. BTDT, my question was one of a statement of observation about how different the focus of LP world is as opposed to Strat world.

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I remember when we were free!

I found all this fascinating and highly educational. I’m new at this.

Thanks to all.

strat789

Yes, there are raging debates about tone woods on electric guitars, some guys say you can hear the difference between the diffrerent woods alder, mahogany, ash etc and some guys say it does not matter at all if you make the guitar out of pine or, plastic, metal or frozen fish as long as the strings move in front of the pickups nothing else matters.

And so also it goes for components like steel vs. pot metal bridges etc.

You can learn a lot here on this forum and generally everyone is considerate.

Avoid people here who get a little nasty. Just do not respond to their postings. There are too many other guys here who are glad to help you along as a brotherhood of strat lovers.

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I remember when we were free!

Then you are one of the very people I was predicting would show up!

Now what we could really do with here is a little photo essay on switching out the pots on a 335. That would be worth tuning in for...

Have at it, 12B!

Cheers - C

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