Alternative stop tailpiece?

[Jeremiah]

Ok, so this question has nothing to do with Warmoth guitars or parts, but I hope you don't mind me asking it here. There is such a great wealth of knowledge about guitar parts here that I think I have a better chance of getting an answer than anywhere else I know about.

Can anyone think of a stop tailpiece that could be used with a TOM bridge, but mounts to the body using a narrower stud or screw spacing than the traditional Gibson one of 3 3/4"?

 

[alterbridgefan]

What kind of guitar is this for?

 

[Jeremiah]

It's a Schecter Tempest semi-hollow.

It currently has a jazz-style trapeze tailpiece which is attached to the end of the body next to the strap button. This is the only thing I don't like about the guitar, and I'd rather replace it with a stop tailpiece.

However, I'm worried that the centre block might not be wide enough to form a solid platform to hold the studs, and I might end up drilling into the tone chambers if I try to drill for a standard Gibson tailpiece, since the studs for the tailpiece are spaced further apart than the studs for the bridge.

 

[alterbridgefan]

you could replace the bridge with a junior style compensated stopbar, or any other bridge that doesn't need a tailpiece.

 

[Jeremiah]

AFAIK, a Junior style bridge and most other wraparound bridges are not a drop-in replacement for a TOM, as the stud spacing is wider, similar to the spacing of the stop tailpiece.

If you know of one that would fit then I'd be interested.

Something that's just occurred to me is that I could use one of those "half Tele" bridge plates, without the saddles, and maybe mount it back to front and put the strings through the holes at the back of the bridge that would normally be used for non-through-body stringing.

It might look a bit stupid, and I would not be able to adjust the string break angle, but should probably work...

 

[pabloman]

The stop tail piece on the 12 string SG would work. That's nice and narrow.

 

[DangerousR6]

If you really think about it, if the center block that runs thru the guitar is wide enough for the TOM studs. Why would it not be wide enough for a Stop bar? I seriously doubt that they would make the portion of the center block narrower behind the TOM bridge. :dontknow:

 

[pabloman]

I would probably just go through the body with top and bottom ferrules like some of the other Tempests have. :headbang1:

 

[Jeremiah]

If you really think about it, if the center block that runs thru the guitar is wide enough for the TOM studs. Why would it not be wide enough for a Stop bar? I seriously doubt that they would make the portion of the center block narrower behind the TOM bridge. :dontknow:

The studs for the standard stop bar are wider than for the bridge (82mm vs 74mm or the equivalent in inches.)

If the centre block is only just wide enough for the bridge then it might not be wide enough for the tailpiece - I'm guessing this may be why they used a trapeze tailpiece.

 

[alterbridgefan]

http://www.guitarfetish.com/SOLID-BRASS-CURVED-Nickel-Locking-Stop-Tailpeice_p_4223.html
this maybe?

 

[Jeremiah]

That GFS stopbar seems to have the standard spacing.

The double-neck SG tailpiece does seem to look like what I'm after - but it does not look to be very easy to get one other than on a double-neck SG.

What I was thinking was that something like this without the saddles might work, though the holes at the back might be too low and cause the break angle over the bridge to be too sharp so the strings would hit the back of the bridge (which would also happen if the strings went through the body, as the bridge is quite high off the body.)

 

[pabloman]

The SG tailpiece is on eBay :dontknow:

 

[Jeremiah]

Ah, found one - searching for SG tailpiece just brought up the standard Gibson style stopbar, but found it eventually under twin neck tailpiece. Guess I suck at ebay searching

Edit - Forgot to say: Thanks to pabloman and everyone who has helped in this thread.  :headbang1: :headbang: