Eliminate stop tailpiece from Epiphone LP

[Kostas Kritsilas]

Link to Ferro guitars was provided in my first post on this.

I was only trying to help the original poster. It may have been worth his while, if he were dead set on doing this, to have a conversation with the person machining the Ferro parts. Maybe it will cost more than a Les Paul Jr. or Special. Maybe it won't. Maybe the guy running Ferro has no interest in doing it. Nobody knows until the question is asked. You can't ask Gotoh, TonePros, or Faber because all of their bridges are cast, with a possible machining to finish up. The Ferro bridges are machined from a block of aluminum under CNC control. Far easier to create new designs than having a mould made, especially for one piece.

And again, with all your many years of professional guitar playing, please be so kind as to letting us know how removing a tailpiece will "damage" a guitar? At worst, it will fail, and he will put the standard bridge and tailpiece back. Where is the damage? The only thing damaged is the original poster's pocket book, and it is his pocketbook to damage. He isn't going to be putting new inserts into the body, and this mythical wrap around bridge, even if it is made and is cost effective, will use the standard posts that currently exist on the guitar.

Also note, this is not my project. I was just making a suggestion to the original poster as something to be looked into.

The "pitch" as is being called, is not a "pitch", it is a video made by a guitar builder/repair person (who I personally have a big problem with), not the person making the bridges.

 

[Raiyn]

The Ferro bridges are machined from a block of aluminum under CNC control. Far easier to create new designs

You still have.to design it, you still have to program the CNC machine, you still have to have several failed versions because the odds of nailing the design perfectly the first time are slim to none. This all costs money. You're not making a simple stoptail here. There are a LOT more steps involved and a CNC machine isn't some magic ez make part oven.

Also note, this is not my project. I was just making a suggestion to the original poster as something to be looked into.

You mean the guy who dropped the idea by the 5th post in this thread and disappeared into the ether nine days before your post? That guy?

 

[Kostas Kritsilas]

Yes, the guy who left 9 days before my first post. Who may come back, or may not. If he doesn't, I have a pretty good idea as to why he won't be coming back.

As for the CNC machine programming, why don't we leave that to the person who actually programs the machines? You know, the guy who came up with both the Les Paul and Wrap Around bridges that he is currently offering, before jumping to conclusions as to what he can and cannot do.

 

[Raiyn]

Yes, the guy who left 9 days before my first post. Who may come back, or may not. If he doesn't, I have a pretty good idea as to why he won't be coming back.

People insisting that he pay to reinvent the wheel? People who insist on beating a decomposing horse for a horrible idea?

As for the CNC machine programming, why don't we leave that to the person who actually programs the machines?

That isn't you, so why do you think they wouldn't want to be paid to design and program for this one off piece?

You know, the guy who came up with both the Les Paul and Wrap Around bridges that he is currently offering, before jumping to conclusions as to what he can and cannot do.

Never said it couldn't be done, just that it would cost more than the instrument is worth / more than it's wise to invest in a used Epi and would have no benefit befitting the cost. You seem to have these misconceptions that someone else's work doesn't cost money, and that just because something technically can be done means that it automatically should be.

You want to have this part made? You get a quote for it, you provide the instrument, and you pay for it. Until then

 

[Kostas Kritsilas]

i'll be honest: I really don't care if it is made, I only tried to point the OP to an answer to his question. I don't care if he does it or not, and I am neither encouraging him to do it, nor discouraging him from doing it. I am merely answering a question that was posted. I don't pretend to know what the CNC work would cost, and I don't intend to find out. That is between the original poster and the person doing the CNC work.

To be frank, I don't care if the OP has the world's lightest, most perfect,certified and verified, 1959 Les Paul and decides to chuck it into a wood chipper. Yes, it would be very sad, a huge loss in the guitar world. But it is his guitar, and he is free to do with it as he pleases. It would be a great loss for him, financially. But it is HIS guitar, not mine or anybody else's. And even if I had 150 years of guitar playing experience, and 120 years of guitar repair experience, it is still his guitar, and all of my guitar playing and repair experience doesn't change that, nor does it give me the right to say what he should do with his guitar. It is not for me to tell people what to do with their property, nor for that matter, how to spend money they have.

The OP asked a question, I suggested a solution. I neither promoted the solution, or encouraged him to do it. If he should choose to call Ferro guitars, great; if he chooses not to call Ferro guitars, just as great. I pointed out the logic of recommending he contact Ferro guitars; that is, they individually machine bridges with a CNC machine. This makes them far more flexible in how they could, if they chose to, create what he is looking for, vs. a manufacturer that uses castings or presses. I made no assumptions on cost, because I don't know what the cost is, not having worked on CNC programming. Maybe it is simple, maybe it is not. Maybe it will be $100 in added cost, maybe it will be $100,000 in added cost. That is for the OP and Ferro guitars to work out. I never said that the redesign would be free, I did say he should contact Ferro guitars and find out if he is so inclined.

 

[Biddlin]

 

[Raiyn]

...