The Gibson TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece...

[cvansickle]

I have this unit on two guitars, a Les Paul Custom and an SG Classic. It gets the job done. No complaints, and I don't find it to be a pain at all.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

How do you deal with the ball ends spinning in the retainer? Just let them go wherever?

[DonP]

I have this unit on two guitars, a Les Paul Custom and an SG Classic. It gets the job done. No complaints, and I don't find it to be a pain at all.

So you are saying MAJNH is retarded?

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

So you are saying MAJNH is retarded?

Your face is retarded!

[cvansickle]

How do you deal with the ball ends spinning in the retainer? Just let them go wherever?

They don't spin. I mount the ball end into the clip with the hole facing front, so the clip holds the sides of the ball where the string goes around. And FWIW, I've never had a screw come all the way out. If the string needs that much losening, I'll adjust the tuning peg at the headstock first.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

That's how I did it to (hole facing front) because if you put them sideways the ball end is narrow enough to go partway into that groove and kind of jam in there sideways. I did have problems keeping mine from spinning halfway around while I was putting it through the tuner if I didn't keep it under tension, and found it awkward to maintain tension on both ends of the string. The fact that the fine tuners CAN unscrew is more my complain than that they would - it stops adjusting well before it unscrews completely. But for $100 they could get a guy to whack the end of the fine tuner with a hammer and chisel like they do Floyd fine tuners. :dunno:

So, it wasn't that it was an awful piece of shit, it was that, for $100, it was an awful piece of shit. Again, if I had paid $50 for it I might have been inclined to keep it, but for $100, fuck that, it went straight back.

[Drake S.]

I have the schaller one,like found on the Kevin Bonds RR

[cvansickle]

Well, I don't know when they went up to $100. I bought my first one for my LP Custom in the 80s, and between 1997 and 2006 I bought three more for other guitars. I never paid more than $60 USD for any of them. Eventually the three other guitars were sold, but before letting them go I removed the TP-6 units and reinstalled the original tailpieces. My latest purchase, an SG Classic, sounds and performs much better with the TP-6. I like having the fine tuners, just like I like them on the Floyd on my So-Cal. My two Strats are the only guitars I own without them.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I bought the 18:1 Grover locking tuners and a locking bridge/tailpiece so I don't have to worry about the damn thing falling off when I forget that it falls off when you take all the strings off.

I'm happy.

[MountainDog]

I'm actually sad to hear that the TP-6 sucks, as I was kinda thinking of getting one for my stopbarred NASL. Of course I'd also want a Floyd nut

Don't laugh. I have a Robin Tedley from 1992 with a gibson style brige and TP-6 and it has a floyd nut on a reverse headstock. Works great, stays in tune.