Facts only: 1. Top wrapping lessens the break angle between tailpiece and the bridge. 2. The impact is less tension on the strings, which some players enjoy because bends are a bit easier. 3. The same angle can be achieved by raising the tailpiece. 4. Top wrapping may damage the finish on the tailpiece, so proceed with caution. 5. The tailpiece flat on the body DOES NOT appreciably increase resonance. 6. Whether it impacts sustain is a big debate and I don't have any answers. Conclusion: I am interested in the lighting tailpiece. I appreciate builders who love guitar tone so much that they strive to engineer improvements. Paul, thanks for sharing this with us.

What a great idea - thanks for your demo! 👍

I’m a luthier. I get paid to help customers make wise decisions. We must keep in mind that it takes a specific amount of tension to tune a guitar string to a precise note. Those of you who think that top wrapping requires a different tension than traditional through-tailpiece stringing are beyond reach. Basic geometry and physics, my friends.

I must say, I quite like that lightning stop bar. Great playing as usual Paul, and a lovely Les Paul you own too 😊

Thanks for this. I am setting up my vintage Les Paul the best I can and came across this video. Will order the Lightning Bar Vintage and I subscribed to your channel.

As someone who has lost some of my hearing, whilst playing guitar for over 60 years, I hear much less top now in general. Thus I hear the changes in the middle primarily, in these 'test' situations. The "increased sustain" on the top wrap is definitely coming from the middle frequency range where the tail piece is now touching the body. The "Lightning Guitars Stop Bar", is also creating that same addition. Interestingly, I hear a little more top than usual with it too, so I would suggest that it enhances all frequencies well.

The Lightnint bridge had significantly more high frequencies, i.e. overtones. This is something a lot guitars are actually missing, so an upgrade makes sense to me and I'm going to buy the bridged to test them out.

This is a great comparison video! Your playing made it so 👏 I believe the top wrap is the winner here. The whole tone changes for the better compared to the other two. The lightning one also has a better tone over the gibson(not top wrapped) but the top wrapped version sings more like how a '59 les paul does.

Im shocked but the lightning bar sounded a hair thinner with a little more treble than i like

I do hear a difference in all three and I prefer the lightening kinda between the other two

Just a few minutes ago I watched your excellent video about the 'top wrap' or 'String thru' method of string attachment to any 'Stop-Tail-&-Tunomatic-Bridge' style guitar, and I simply MUST tell you about a much simpler and far more effective mod which costs almost nothing and achieves not only the greater playability of a shallower string break angle at the bridge from 'top-wrapping' but also the (supposedly) greater sustain, as folk argue in respect to a stoptail being 'bolted-down'. I promise you I'm not trying to be a smart arse, here, or trying to criticise anyone. It is simply that the answer is so simple and so blatently obvious that every player should kick himself for not having thought of it. You simply take the stop tail studs out, fit a metric M8 nut to each of the studs (as in 'nut & bolt'), and then screw the studs back in, thereby raising the height of the stoptail once re-fitted by 6mm. Yes, it is possible to simply raise the height of the stoptail (anyway) just by raising the height of the studs, but that can leave them 'flapping about' so to speak, which looks unsightly and does not aid resonance. But, with a nut in place as a 'spacer', the studs can be firmly 'bolted down'. In the case of a Gibson LP, you would need to investigate which nut size to use as Gibson favour imperial threads, but for any far-eatern-made metric thread stud, you simply use a metric M8 nut (ie: 8mm thread). The nut is 6 mm in depth, which is right in the 'goldilocks zone', so by fitting an M8 nut to each stud, and with the studs 'bolted down' firmly, you have your (supposedly) improved sustain, while, at the same time, have stoptail height raised by exactly the right amount to ensure that the strings meet the bridge at the same shallow break angle would have if 'top wrapped' while in fact they are strung THROUGH the stop tail. Just by sheer luck, fitting an M8 nut results in exactly the right break angle. Best of both worlds without forking out any extra money for a bespoke stoptail assembly. I've done this on all my Les Pauls and SGs, including a Gibson Les Paul, on which (because of imperial thread) I've used specially made studs that employ the same principle (made by a company sadly now out of business). The method is foolproof. And it costs pennies. On an Epiphone custom Les Paul (white with gold hardware), I've used brass nuts indistinguishable from gold-plated hardware. By the way, the reason I've added 'supposedly' in brackets in reference to 'greater sustain' is that, in theory, the firm attachment of the BRIDGE is what matters in respect to sustain, NOT the STOPTAIL - strings do not vibrate between the bridge and stoptail so how can a stoptail transfer vibration to the body? I'm not trying to be smart, just passing on a tip. It works for me.

What a fantastic video have a wonderful day

I started top wrapping when after a ten year break from playing guitar in order to focus on my career as a drunmer, I returned to my first instrument and as luck would have it was able to buy my dream guitar and amp painlessly due to a winfall and I got my first Les Paul, a Custom Ship R8 Bourbonburst and decided to top wrap because my guitarists did it in my previous band, and I really liked the extra slinky feel.😊

Been doing this for 5 years now. I find the guitar a little more forgiving when bending but apart from that no other noticeable changes.

definitely an improvement over the stock and wrap bar....... I'm buying one for each of my les pauls!!!!

To my ears, these results correspond with what Chris Buck found also. Top wrap sounds a little mellower, maybe more harmonics, and sustains a bit longer. String through sounds like it's cutting slightly better, and sounds slightly clearer/ cleaner. The Lightning bridge landed somewhere in between to my ears, feel not taken into account. Top wrap could be useful if you have a bright LP, and string through if you want a cleaner sound with more cut. I have a Sire which is on the bright side, so I top wrap mine with 11s.

My bass player just dropped a 1974 Gold Top Deluxe on me today… crazy nice Les Paul. Anyway, he asked me to play it and have some fun since he’s not giving it much attention these days. So immediately I started tweaking it to my likes and noticed the string break angle is a bit more than I feel it should be. So thought about top wrapping, searched YT and found this video at the top. I believe if he’s ok with it, I’m gonna try it. I can’t tell much difference either way but at least there is nothing negative about trying it. BTW, nice tones and great playing… thanks for doing this.

On a Gibson, I top wrap if the neck is set with a slightly negative angle. A regular setup would result in the bridge and stop bar being a bit too high on guitars with a neck set like that. If the guitar has a slightly positive neck set angle, then I do not top wrap, because doing so would result in not having enough break angle over the saddles. Whether I wrap or not is decided by the guitar's construction, not by feel or tone.

I have an R4 from the 90s looks alot like this gold top except no ABR. Top wrap is the way for me

Awesome demo! The one thing I would have liked is you telling us which method or tail piece you would leave on your guitar after the test. 👍🏼

There is no difference in string tension. That's basic string physics - Mersenne's Law. Tension depends only on the scale length, tuned frequency, and string mass per unit length. There may however be a difference in string stiffness, as that depends on the full length of the string, as well as nut and saddle friction. String-saddle friction is affected by the string break angle, so is influenced by top wrapping. That's if you don't change the stopbar height between regular and top wrapping. As it looks like you did change the stop bar height, you may have removed part or all of a key effect of top wrapping - the change in break angle. Sustain is highly dependent on how much energy you impart to the strings. So you can't test it properly by just "trying" to strum the same way, before and after the time gap to change the stopbar. You'd need a more reliable method. If there was greater sustain with one stopbar, it would be because the strings were vibrating more. That is, losing LESS string vibration energy to vibrate the bridge/stopbar. The strings are the only things that can "resonate" more (longer) if there is really greater sustain. If anything ELSE resonates more, the strings would be vibrating less - so less sustain.

Please also make a video on your Les Paul Gibson with P90s about how to setup P90s height, it is important to me and I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

I’m surprised there was that much of an audible difference for me, in tone and sustain! I liked the lightning bar the best / it seems like a great solution. Gonna check it out

I have three Les Paul Specials with one-piece wrap-tail bridges that are 'top wrapped' by default and they work fine. Btw I get good intonation on these from Ernie Ball 9-46 Hybrid Slinkys. I top wrapped one of my Les Pauls (with Stop-Tail/Tune-o-Matic bridge) and I like it. You can lower the stopbar all the way if you like. Less total breakover angle at the bridge. Seems easier and more sensitive for bends. Leaving the other strung standard, for now.

Depending on the neck set angle, some guitars can't be top wrapped. The break angle over the bridge will be too slight. LP customn silverbursts are known for this because of the flatter neck set angle.Very few guitars regardless of price, are set up optimally from the factory. I've learned to assess each guitar for what it's strengths and weaknesses are. Then make the changes necessary to dial it in even more. Every guitar is different.

I top wrapped mine around 15 years ago because I postulated that the break angle was causing my almost constant string breakage. Since the change, my strings last as they should. I wish I had figured it out 25 years ago. To each their own though.

Hi Paul. I have to say that I’m definitely hearing things different than most. I thought the top wrap had all the cut with richer harmonics, and I found the lightning lacking in harmonics, dead compared to stock and wrapped. After listening to you assessment and the other comments, I did a second listen through. I stand by my ears….lol Cheers!!!

Positive comment ahead... I don't play Les Paul's I've only ever played one so practically speaking this video would never do anything for me but here is the positive part... So appreciate this kind of video and the effort that goes into it! It is not lost on me that you had to restring and get your settings right and try to have a good fair balanced video... Really thankful for this just because it shows how much you care.

Will these stopbars fit on an import guitar too (Epiphone, Guild, etc?) due to the metric system

I'm not a tone wood disbeliever at all, I think all the small differences add up. But this bridge does make more of a difference toneally than a lot of wood choices might. And you'll break less strings!

When do we attempt to start top wrapping that LIghting Bar?

Tried both ways and use it string through. Joe Bonamassa plays so loud with different amps done should be able to get any tone he wants. The LP I associate with Jeff Beck has a wrap around tailpiece so that's the only way he could string it.

Another option is the Faber Tone-Lock locking studs, which uses a bolt with a spacer below the stoptail to both raise it up. The studs bolt the tailpiece securely against the body, but at a raised height, which reduces the break angle over the bridge. I have them on my 3 historic reissue LPs.

I own 7 Gibsons,(all have separate bridge/tailpiece setup). All top-wrapped. Reason being: I noticed on the older abr bridge, w/ through tailpiece stringing, the steep angle & downward/forward pressure on the saddles was actually bending the guitar top mounted bridge screws forward. Top wrapping the tailpiece greatly decreased that situation.

I got this Lightning stop tail. I have been playing on tune o’matics for 38 years. This tailpiece really is a game changer. Definitely more sustain, definitely lighter tension, but I’m getting a better tone and more harmonics, don’t know if this is less tension related but it’s great. If you have a tune o’matic you must get one, they are game changers. If you stick with tradition for vintage correctness you are mad.

I noticed on the top wrap and lighting examples that the high strings aren't even seated in the saddle slot. Is this normal for LP guitars?

Just wondering if the riffs you played are songs or are originals? I’d like to learn :)

After watching your video, I topwrapped the strings on my Lespaul. What I noticed is that bending is smoother, but during a heavy bend the high E string broke due to the steep breaking angle of the string on the tailpiece.

when top wrapping, use an extra set of string ends on the string b4 putting through the stop bar, making the string break on the top of the bar further down the string past the wrapping of the string on the string ends, hope that made sense, lol

top wrap for sure BUT you will still have that headstock tuning issue with the strings sharp angle off the nut that the PRS headstock cures.

I always top wrap, prefer the feel of it. Dunno about any sustain or tonal benefits though, they sustain pretty well either way. That lightning bar is nice n tidy though, if it gives the same feel as top wrapping fantastic bit of kit. Nicely done sir :)

I saw a picture of Jeff Beck in the 80’s top wrapping and I was done. I’ve forgotten there are options.

Not a huge difference with the overdrive, all sound great and I do Love those P-90s! Also, I am enjoying S-gear and your tone setting contributions!

Those sweet sweet P-90's... Both the top-wrap and the lightning sound great. The lightning is a bit steeply priced, so I think for the time being I will keep top-wrapping.... but it is a sweet piece of kit.

I use a Les Trem and a roller bridge on my '82 tobacco sunburst and though I've kept all the original parts, I can't see myself wanting to go back. I also installed Phat Cat P90s. It's a great player... but it is like having a concrete block tied around your neck.😅

The top wrapped sound has a lot more harmonic content. String resonance borders on being out of control. And I agree with your assessment...the Lightning Stop Bar falls somewhere in between. Has most of the harmonic richness of the top wrapped set up, but more controlled.

Palpable difference between all three. Really interesting.

People often wanna topwrap because of Jimmy Page (I know I did) but tell me why when see Page on TSRTS '73 he has the strings going through the tailpiece and apparently you will never see him top wrapping again.

What about a tele style bridge?

Have just purchased a lightning tailpiece, cannot wait to get it and fitted. By the way heaven knows why Gibson sell so many Les Pauls fitted with humbuckers when you hear those P90’s. There really isn’t any pickup that can sound so good. To me it makes the PAF corksniffing totally pointless.

At 1:30 you can see that the B string isn't sitting in the saddle slot. Doesn't take too long to dig a second slot out if it's sitting in the wrong space. I've done it before, lol, not a good thing!

Hey Paul, I recently watched some of the Tom Bukovac's videos and in of them he's been talking praises about Stud Finder bridges. The intonation is flawless. Look them up

Great info. NOW how about a lesson for that run at the very beginning of the video 🤘

Top wrap is warmer sounding to my ears

You get more sustain because there is more string contact area on the saddles because of the lower breaking angle. More total weight in the system = more sustain. I top wrap my SG Standard but with Slinky Cobalt 9-42s , tried the same in NYXLs 9-46 but they didn't have the creamier sound of the Cobalts. You can get away going down a gauge or two as well because they are a harder metal than regular flatwounds so they will still feel close to the same as 10 - 46s .

First, I really like your playing, it’s filling the middle ground between blues and shredding, giving the best of both worlds. Now for my impression. I felt like the guitar sounded its best with the strings top wrapped, there was a bit more midrange depth and the highs were nice and meaty. I began top wrapping in the late 1970s after seeing a photo of Duane Allman with his goldtop strung that way. I’ve always admired his playing and tone and I found that top wrapping gave me a great big midrange and fatter sounding highs. At that time I was using an 11-46 set on my electrics and they also felt easier to bend with the top wrap. Nowadays I'm using a 9-46 set, replacing the .016 third string with an .014 for easier bends and a more balanced feel. I don't top wrap any more because the lighter strings are easy to bend and I don't want to mar the plating on my stoptail in case I ever decide to sell any of my guitars. Nice video, and I can see from the comments that there are strong feelings and good points on both sides of the issue.

Hi Paul, just saw this video and not sure if anyone else noticed, but the top wrap seemed to have thicker tone than the straight and the lightning, most noticeable on the bridge chord playing but noticeable in all examples. So not just sustain, but fatter tone. I personally like top wrap best now. I got used to the feel of top wrapping playing. It took 10 minutes or less…lol. Cheers! Dave

You have a very thin sound…. What amp or fx did you use as a signal chain? Thanks

I top wrap mine. I llike the slinkier feel. As far as tone goes the difference is pretty small. Splitting hairs imho. What is more interesting is a 432 tuning. I don't tune to it because no one else I play with wants to but harmonics seem to jump out of the guitar. No it's not magic but if your curious try it. Overdriven tones ring more harmonics so on an acoustic guitar you are not likely to hear much difference besides the lower pitch.

I would recommend a Callaham cold-rolled steel bridge, and the same in his stop bar; as well as his steel tubes under the stop bar. However, he doesn't seem to be producing them anymore, so I can't do that. His bridges DO make a difference ... the sound acoustically jumps off the instrument. Oh well ...

The Lightning bar sounds brighter, but also lacks some bass. Maybe your Custom Shop tailpiece is better quality... I'd stick with it. Also, if you want the classic Les Paul sound, it's usually through strung...

I love the idea i personally need one! The only cons i hear here is that the lighting one make sound too thin for me. I guess it is due to the "weight" of the stop bar. If it is aluminum it is very light (less mass ) and this lead to a "thin" sound. I'd buy straight away if it wouldn't be light aluminum but a heavy stop tail like gibson or schaller one! Anyway i love the project and i hope to see a heavier one soon❤

interesting video....for me only benefit of a less tension on saddles is for tunning stability.. less tension on saddles is better because the string slide better on saddles when i bend and return better to teh initial position

I preferred the sound of straight through the Gibson stop bar. Lightning sounded thin, top wrap sounded muddy to me. To each their own though.

Shame they don't do a gold version of the lightning bar I'd give it a try on my custom if they did. I've never wanted to top wrap a gold plated stop tailpiece

More videos with Gibson guitars please

The different settings make 0.0000000000001% of difference, which is not worth caring about even if anyone plays as good as you play. What I really love is the sound of p90s in a Les Paul.

Did you have to adjust the intonation when swapping between them?

To improve it, you'd need to chamber it to knock the weight down to about seven pounds and at minimum, add a body carve. Out of all the things that could be done to improve a Les Paul, those two are by far the most critical, in my opinion.

The first sustain was like 2 seconds longer. I'm trying to think about practical application, and the fadeout in a mix at the end of the song benefits I guess? Interesting that studies have shown more tension creates more sustain, so dudes like Page and Beck were right about the sustain, but not about how it was happening. So for more sustain we should be seeking out ways to manufacture more tension, yeah? Is that correct? Always love your playing and tone. Your Tonex cap of your Matchless is a personal fave of mine. Cheers, homies.

The "break angle" behind the saddles is more acute, giving more downward force when using the traditional stringing method. Top wrapping the strings increases the "string length," and that means they have to be tuned tighter to be brought up to the same pitch. Also, "echoic memory" is only 2-4 seconds, so comparing longer sound samples is likely to be inaccurate due to the !limitations of how our brains work. Whatever makes you feel it sounds better, typically makes you play better. 😎

Top wrap, to me ears and my experience is the clear winner here in every application. Lightning is second and standard Gibson string through loses because of the steep break angle. Top wrap also has a great advantage not only in sustain but in tuning stability, especially on the G, B and E strings. On my Les Paul I have been top wrapping for decades and I also use Ernie Ball Regular 10-46 Slinkys RPS strings (RPS stands for reinforced plain strings) and they also make a HUGE difference in tuning stability especially on the notorious G string because the lock around the ball end is much stronger and much less likely to slip and allow the high strings to go flat when bending. I consider the combination the miracle combination on a properly set up Les Paul or SG. Great video!🎸

to my ears, the lightning sounded the best.

I ordered one just now. Will report back with a report on it...

I've been top wrapping my Gibson tailpieces for decades. It's better for all the reasons you said.

Ironic, that you are near to lightening, I saw that when mine was posted it was at the Purbrook post office which is PO7 postcode and I'm PO8! Should be here tomorrow. Chris said he was tempted to deliver it himself ;)

Topwrap also gives more contact w/ inserted tail studs , more sustain in my books ...

a guy measures the tension of the strings with wrap and it is higher. As a result, the wrap allowed the strings to no longer touch the bridge. for the sound in 12-52 pure nickel I find wrap less metallic and suits my choice of sound.

What dirt pedal were you using at 4:45?

Forget the tailpiece, I want those P90s!

V interesting….they all sound too similar….it makes sense that lengthening the string even at a shallower break angle will increase tension

I think if you shuffled the sound clips we’d have no idea which was which.

I can't hear any diff... Wha'd'you thimk?

i prefer sophia 3.44 bridge ( gibson style bridge for tune o matic bridge )

Let's be responsible here and mention that top wrapping will leave marks on the guitar's tailpiece. I say this BEFORE watching the video. I didn't think about that when I top wrapped my Les Paul Custom (relax, it was a used Epiphone), but I managed to get my money back when I sold it a year later. And now, to watch the video. :)

If it was better than the normal way Gibson would top wrap or change it. 😊

I'm too old here. Can't hear a bit of difference. I scrolled away from the video itself so I can only hear the audio. Nope, no differences here :D

I top wrap because it annoys people, and annoying people increases electric guitar tone-wood resonence and sustain.

2:40-ish A string of a specific length requires a specific tension to achieve a specific pitch. What's wrong with you "experts"?

All i know is when i top wrap i bust less strings,

There's a reason most people don't bother with top wrapping, it's makes almost zero difference and can ruin the appearance of your tailpiece.

Top wrap for me eh

I’ve been top wrapping from day one since I started playing Gibsons. I saw that Billy Gibbons does it so I copied.

Despite the overwhelming opinions to the contrary, overwrapping your strings absolutely _will not_ make your guitar feel slinkier. It's all in your head, and it's all in Joe Bonamassa's head. There is a mathematical relationship between the gauge of the string, the scale length, its tension and its pitch. The same gauge string with the same scale length, tuned to the same pitch, will _always_ be the same tension. This is immutable. This is physics. Even Joe Bonamassa can't beat the laws of physics. I'm willing to accept that overwrapping and lowering the stop bar to the body might have some interesting effects on sustain and tone, but I promise you, it doesn't feel slinkier - even if you think it does.

Honestly best thing I did for my Les Paul's sound was change the tailpiece to a Duesenberg Vibrato

Screw the stop bar down and string it normally.

Nice. To my ears, top wrap sounds worst. Because lightning comes last, hard to hear any difference between that and standard. Side note, try never using your pinky for bends. It's ergonomically very bad. I did that too for 16 years before learning this. Haven't done it since 25 years later! Try using your ring finger instead. You'll be surprised how much better it feels.

Perhaps a good question would be - shouldn't Gibson improve the Les Paul? You know, fix the problems inherent in the traditional design - like the nasty angle on the headstock that makes it headstock famous for breaking off, and the nasty break-angle on the string-pull through the nut which makes the guitar famous for not staying in tune very well. You know. Basic stuff that I would not pay £thousands for the privilege of having to deal with. The fact that Gibson doesn't fix these problems is as much about the push-back they'd get from their customers as anything else. Which is why I will never buy a Gibson Les Paul.

Wrap tail only... easy decision. Tune-o matic? Nope.

I love the fact that tests proved top wrapping actually increased the tension. 🤣 There's so much crap spoken about this stuff.