Top Wrapping: Yay or Nay?

JerkMoans

Hey you crazy cats! 

Meet Edward Gibbon: my objectively unremarkable 2003 LP Standard.  Purchased in 2004 from Peter Cook's Guitar World in Hanwell (RIP) from the proceeds of the first seriously big pay cheque I got in my life, it was my first 'proper' guitar and the first I'd ever purchased brand new (indeed there's only been one more subsequently).  Although it's no fancy R7 reissue and in recent years it's been neglected in favour of its ritzier jazzmaster cousins in particular, it's a big part of my guitar history and is one I'd never, ever sell (although I may have drunkenly tried to prostitute it to coax the odd trade along...)

Anyroadup.  It's been 13 years without a serious clean and although you can't see it in the picture, it's pretty manky with over a decade's accumulated grime.  Mainly bits of me, I expect.  Anyway been inspired to tart it up a bit, clean the crap off and give it a good lemon oiling and a polish. 

Two questions for the forum hive mind:

(1) do I polish the v tarnished chrome work, or leave it with the pretty funky patina of age?

(2) here's the big one: to top-wrap, or not to top-wrap?  Never done it myself but have recently acquired a Firebird where it's been doen and for a thing with a neck like a Giant Sequoia the thing is surprisingly playable.  Does it make a really big difference?  And, if so, any tips/pointers?  I suspect lowering the tailpiece is advisable, but all constructive criticism gratefully received.

Oh yeah.  Picture.

Chris_J

That's a nice looking LP!

I say leave it tarnished.

Bridgehouse

Hang on... sod the top wrap... Left handed Jazzmasters??? WTF?

JerkMoans

Chris_J said:

That's a nice looking LP!

I say leave it tarnished.

Thank you!  And yeah: to acquire that degree of tarnishing takes years of carefully studied neglect

JerkMoans

Bridgehouse said:

Hang on... sod the top wrap... Left handed Jazzmasters??? WTF?

Rarer than hen's teeth, but make for a 'balanced' aesthetic, no?

Bridgehouse

JerkMoans said:

Bridgehouse said:

Hang on... sod the top wrap... Left handed Jazzmasters??? WTF?

Rarer than hen's teeth, but make for a 'balanced' aesthetic, no?

Stop posting gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort

JerkMoans

Bridgehouse said:

Stop posting gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort

You know you WANT it, you bad, bad boy

In truth the lefties I got for my southpaw daughter.  We were on a waiting list for about 12 months for the sunburst from a guy in belgium who runs a lefty guitar shop and who had tapped into a VERY limited run Fender Japan did about 18 months ago - fun trip to go collect - and about 48 hours before we were due to hop on the Eurostar to Brussels the Burgundy Mist one came up for a song on a Fb forum.  You wait three years for a lefty JM, then two come along at once

JerkMoans

Anyway.  Where were we?  Top wrapping?!?

xchrisv

Top wrapping: feels slinkier and easier to play, loses a little resonance and punch. Recently did the Pepsi challenge on a 335 and there absolutely is a difference that can be felt and heard. Try it, you might like it. Easy to reverse if you don't.

JerkMoans

chrisv said:

Top wrapping: feels slinkier and easier to play, loses a little resonance and punch. Recently did the Pepsi challenge on a 335 and there absolutely is a difference that can be felt and heard. Try it, you might like it. Easy to reverse if you don't.

I'll take 'slinkier and easier to play' any day with my hamfisted amateurishness

Any red hot tips on set up?  Am I right to think that lowering the tailpiece is the thing?

Ossyrocks

Top wrap yes. I do it on my lesters and prefer the feel. Tried it on my 335and didn’t like it, not enough break angle over the bridge.

If you do Top wrap, take the tailpiece right down to the body.

Rob

JerkMoans

Thanks, djentlemen.  Have a 'wisdom' apiece.  Saturday is clearly Top Wrapping Day chez Moans.  At least until the xmas shopping begins  

Jonathangus

chrisv said:

Top wrapping: feels slinkier and easier to play, loses a little resonance and punch. Recently did the Pepsi challenge on a 335 and there absolutely is a difference that can be felt and heard. Try it, you might like it. Easy to reverse if you don't.

Really?  I thought the point was to increase sustain by screwing the tailpiece right down, but then you need to top-wrap to avoid too sharp a break angle across the bridge.

Anyway, this thread is aligned with my interests: I recently acquired a Special which was already top-wrapped.  When I came to change the strings for the first time, I noticed they had the old ball-ends around the strings to stop the wrap part of the string sticking too far out from the rear of the tailpiece - so I'm thinking of going the other way.

JerkMoans

Jonathangus said:

Really?  I thought the point was to increase sustain by screwing the tailpiece right down, but then you need to top-wrap to avoid too sharp a break angle across the bridge.

Anyway, this thread is aligned with my interests: I recently acquired a Special which was already top-wrapped.  When I came to change the strings for the first time, I noticed they had the old ball-ends around the strings to stop the wrap part of the string sticking too far out from the rear of the tailpiece - so I'm thinking of going the other way.

Trying to visualise this.  Got a picture?!

webrthomson

I'm interested too - does the top wrap damage the finish on the tailpiece?

JerkMoans

webrthomson said:

I'm interested too - does the top wrap damage the finish on the tailpiece?

I'd imagine it would have the potential to scratch it up a bit

Lebarque

JerkMoans said: no

Bridgehouse said:

Stop posting gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort

You know you WANT it, you bad, bad boy

In truth the lefties I got for my southpaw daughter.  We were on a waiting list for about 12 months for the sunburst from a guy in belgium who runs a lefty guitar shop and who had tapped into a VERY limited run Fender Japan did about 18 months ago - fun trip to go collect - and about 48 hours before we were due to hop on the Eurostar to Brussels the Burgundy Mist one came up for a song on a Fb forum.  You wait three years for a lefty JM, then two come along at once

Please post more gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort. I need to be talked into it. :0)

JerkMoans

Lebarque said:

Please post more gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort. I need to be talked into it. :0)

Be careful what you wish for...

Jonathangus

JerkMoans said:

Jonathangus said:

Really?  I thought the point was to increase sustain by screwing the tailpiece right down, but then you need to top-wrap to avoid too sharp a break angle across the bridge.

Anyway, this thread is aligned with my interests: I recently acquired a Special which was already top-wrapped.  When I came to change the strings for the first time, I noticed they had the old ball-ends around the strings to stop the wrap part of the string sticking too far out from the rear of the tailpiece - so I'm thinking of going the other way.

Trying to visualise this.  Got a picture?!

Here you go - conveniently (not really) snapped the top E the other day so you can see the whole trick!  If the extra ball-end isn't there, you can see how the kink would be in the wrapped part of the string (which will be more of a problem with the heavier strings).   Of course, it might be down to the brand of string you're using how much the wrap extends.

JerkMoans

Jonathangus said:

Here you go - conveniently (not really) snapped the top E the other day so you can see the whole trick!  If the extra ball-end isn't there, you can see how the kink would be in the wrapped part of the string (which will be more of a problem with the heavier strings).   Of course, it might be down to the brand of string you're using how much the wrap extends.

Interesting solution/fix type advanced engineering.  I wonder whether soldering the twisted bits would work, too.  Risks of painful scrapes on the strumming hand?

Bridgehouse

Lebarque said:

JerkMoans said: no

Bridgehouse said:

Stop posting gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort

You know you WANT it, you bad, bad boy

In truth the lefties I got for my southpaw daughter.  We were on a waiting list for about 12 months for the sunburst from a guy in belgium who runs a lefty guitar shop and who had tapped into a VERY limited run Fender Japan did about 18 months ago - fun trip to go collect - and about 48 hours before we were due to hop on the Eurostar to Brussels the Burgundy Mist one came up for a song on a Fb forum.  You wait three years for a lefty JM, then two come along at once

Please post more gratuitous pictures of Spitfire tort. I need to be talked into it. :0)

The general consensus is that if you want 60s tort style then it has to be be Spitfire. 

Most modern tort is a pale imitation of the original and rather special tort Fender made before they realised the method they were using would eventually self destruct.

I considered swapping my tort plate on my 64 Precision for quite a while as it's shrinking and I don't want it to crack. Spitfire really was the only option. In the end I decided it's not going anywhere so put my brave big boy pants on and drilled new holes to ease the tension. Ho hum.

My tort:



Nice bit of Spitfire:



Modern tort: