Replacing standard wooden bridge with Tailpiece

[Theleman]

Hi All

I am looking at this cedar top parlour guitar for sale. It seems ok condition, but the bridge is lifting. Instead of taking it off, and regluing, would it be possible to take off the lifting bridge, and get a Tailpiece and screw it on the bottom of the body? And use it that way?

Would it work OK? Or it is not done thing?

It seems a lot easier solution than reglueing bridge work, which will be costly if done by luthier, or uncertain if done by me who is inexperienced in this work.

[Theleman]

For that, I am looking at this tailpiece from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kmise-A3259...ilpiece+bridge

[Theleman]

OMG maybe you still need the bridge and saddle.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Ac...w=1487&bih=903

[fazool]

That will not work well. If the guitar isn't designed for that. The downward forces will not be the way they were designed and it will sound different.

Just reglue the bridge - thats easier and the right way to fix it.

[HHP]

If you look at instruments using a tailpiece, the top, neck, and bridge geometry is vastly different than a flat top. I would also imagine the bracing is not configured to handle downforce.

[Theleman]

I was not aware of that at all. No, it is just a standard flat top parlour guitar. The lifted bridge will need to be cleaned up and re-glued. Take it it s not for the fainthearted, nor for inexperienced. Thanks for your confirmation.

[zombywoof]

I have seen this done more than once as a temporary solution to a lifting bridge with the three little holes used to hold the tailpiece still visible on the guitar. Often the original pin bridge is left in place and just a tailpiece added.

Flattop guitars, of course, were built with floating bridges for decades. These, however, were often ladder braced guitars with a bridge plate that ran darn near the entire width of the instrument. If you are talking about replacing the original bridge with a standard lowboy floating bridge on an X braced guitar I would imagine you would have to position the feet of the floating bridge right over the X. This would more than likely result in intonation issues.

Gibson B45-12s which were originally braced no different than their six string counterparts were built with both fixed and floating bridges. These bridges though were extremely long and wide which I always assumed was to distribute the downward pressure.

If it were me, I would just go have the pin bridge reset.

[Tony Done]

Plenty of flattop guitars have been made with tailpieces.



I would be tempted to try it and see. - Make or modify a tailpiece that is secured on the strap button and run the strings over the existing bridge.

[Theleman]

Originally Posted by Tony Done

Plenty of flattop guitars have been made with tailpieces.



I would be tempted to try it and see. - Make or modify a tailpiece that is secured on the strap button and run the strings over the existing bridge.

Yup, if it works fine, then it will be huge advantage especially for soft flat tops like Cedar top guitars. The strings will press the bridge and saddle down instead of pulling them?

It seems, as from other posters in the thread, perhaps intonation issues and bracing issues and other design issues -I am not sure about it at all.

[Tony Done]

I wouldn't expect any different intonation issues, and as you say, it will push the bridge down instead of pulling it up. I've wondered if action height problems could be reduced, or at least stabilised by having some of the strings running to a tailpiece, and some to the bridge, especially on a 12-string.

[JP Richardson]

Years ago my wife let a local shop do that very thing to her Kiso Suzuki 12 string guitar, the guitar that she grew up with. It plays ok but they left the bridge in place and filled the bridge pin holes with dowels and the poor guitar is ugly as sin. It’s not worth anything but is sentimental to her. I was going to be a nice guy and get it fixed properly but she has since adopted my e20om.

[Theleman]

Originally Posted by JP Richardson

Years ago my wife let a local shop do that very thing to her Kiso Suzuki 12 string guitar, the guitar that she grew up with. It plays ok but they left the bridge in place and filled the bridge pin holes with dowels and the poor guitar is ugly as sin. It’s not worth anything but is sentimental to her. I was going to be a nice guy and get it fixed properly but she has since adopted my e20om.

Did it not have intonation problems?

There seem some mathematics involved with the string length, saddle position and bridge placement for accurate intonation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfC4bDOJhWQ

[Theleman]

Maybe floating bridge must be used with the tailpiece? Because it can be moved about for more accurate intonation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6pE6E7iuvI

[Tony Done]

If the original saddle is in the right place, then adding a tailpiece shouldn't affect that.

[Theleman]

Originally Posted by Tony Done

If the original saddle is in the right place, then adding a tailpiece shouldn't affect that.

A great idea !!! Should work, as long as the original saddle is exactly placed where it was, doesn't matter how long or short the length from the saddle to tailpiece.

I might actually try this out. Only problem is where to get a tailpiece which hangs on the buckle hanger. Ones I have seen for sale so far are screw in type.