New Hardware Day (also, why do Gibson fit such terrible hardware?)

strtdv

I finally fitted a Tonepros AVR-II bridge and Faber aluminium tailpiece (thanks to @streethawk for the fantastic service) to my SG.

Fitting was very straightforward, and it makes a big difference to how much I enjoy playing the SG, For a start, several annoying rattles have disappeared, and the bridge doesn't fall off when you change strings.

It's also made quite a difference to the attack of the guitar, there's more treble and less mud, and the note attack is much stronger (I don't know whether this is due to different materials and the tailpiece being much lighter than the old one, or just because the bridge is now effectively bolted to the body of the guitar rather than floating on it).

I'm a happy camper, but it does make me wonder why Gibson ship even their high end guitars with crappy hardware on them..

Elwood

To answer your last questions: it's traditional.

Glad to hear you've managed to make it kick arse! And look.on the bright side, it keeps a lot of specialists and builders in business.

strtdv

It's not really traditional, the traditional tailpiece would be aluminium, not zamak.

I can understand on their cheaper models to cut costs, but really for all the extra $25 on the manufacturing cost, for a £1300+ guitar I'd expect better.

It is a very simple and noticeable upgrade though, I'd thoroughly recommend it.