My Ibanez AF207's tailpiece just broke.

[Rob MacKillop]

Yeah, Rob lost me on that one, even with a translation: In British slang, "Tele" is Television (could be a telephone too but cell phones didn't exist when Rob was born), and "boot" is the car's trunk. Most I can suppose is that Rob was born on the road....

A trunk is what you place in the boot of a car. You Americans know nuttin! And don’t get me started on pick for plectrum You pick the strings with a plectrum, verb and noun. And the plural is plectra…I’ll see myself out…

[Mick-7]

Wow! With an imagination that fertile, your must be a master of improvisation

That's debatable - but in respect to promoting nightmares as a child, yes.... the monsters that haunted me were very well dressed. None were named "Plectra" though, must be an Irish ogre?

[Woody Sound]

A trunk is what you place in the boot of a car. You Americans know nuttin! And don’t get me started on pick for plectrum You pick the strings with a plectrum, verb and noun. And the plural is plectra…I’ll see myself out…

Why do we park on the driveway, and drive on the parkway?

[SierraTango]

So Never, how did the Holst tailpiece work out? It looked pretty stout in the photo.

[garybaldy]

Btw This is the tailpiece that Steve built for me.
Attachment 126024

I'd prefer not to see the ball ends but my tastes are weird - I have a Gecko Burst LP!

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

And it's here!!!

I just mounted it. Steve has you send a tracing of the TP mounting holes already in the guitar, with the top edge marked. He did an amazing job of matching it. I had to open one hole a tiny bit with a carbide burr on a rotary tool, because the holes in the guitar are not perfectly lined up. But it only took me about 20 minutes to mount and set it up. I think the guitar sounds a little thunkier with this one than it did with the shorter heavy metal trapeze plus a much longer span of string between bridge and TP. There's not much to say other than that it's beautiful, fits perfectly, and sounds great.

Steve Holst was an absolute pleasure to meet and deal with - you couldn't ask for a more congenial and helpful artist.

(PS - this is the ugly Benedetto B7 pickup I mentioned, for those who follow that thread.)

[Mick-7]

Quite groovy - goes with paisley too, so super groovy.

But what's that on your f-holes?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Quite groovy - goes with paisley too, so super groovy.

But what's that on your f-holes?

I cut clear self-adhesive pickguard material to cover them. It’s better than foam plugs - feedback is 99% gone up to seriously loud volumes. It’s invisible from 10 feet away, too.

It’s designed to come off, so it doesn’t mar tougher finishes at all. I wouldn’t put it on thin or fragile finishes, but it works great on poly.

[Mick-7]

I cut clear self-adhesive pickguard material to cover them. It’s better than foam plugs - feedback is 99% gone up to seriously loud volumes. It’s invisible from 10 feet away, too.

It’s designed to come off, so it doesn’t mar tougher finishes at all. I wouldn’t put it on thin or fragile finishes, but it works great on poly.

How did you make it adhere to the guitar? - oh, you said self adhesive, do you know what the adhesive is?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

How did you make it adhere to the guitar? - oh, you said self adhesive, do you know what the adhesive is?

I haven’t a clue. These sheets come with 3M backing over the adhesive side, but I don’t remember seeing a number.

I discovered the stuff when I got a flattop without a pickguard years ago. Amazon has dozens of alternatives in many thicknesses. I think the sheet I used for the f hole covers on this one is 1/8” thick. It’s from Dopro & it cost $10.

[Mick-7]

I'd prefer not to see the ball ends but my tastes are weird - I have a Gecko Burst LP!

I'd have to agree with you on that, it would look better if they were covered by a strip of wood.

[GuyBoden]

The tailpiece looks like exceptional workmanship, I would guess he could easily create a matching ebony pickguard too?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

The tailpiece looks like exceptional workmanship, I would guess he could easily create a matching ebony pickguard too?

The workmanship is excellent and it’s a clever 2 piece design that lends itself to fairly easy handcrafting. So it looks and feels almost like a production item but is clearly handmade.

I’m sure he could make a gorgeous guard. But TBH, this guitar has been a workhorse for me for 28 years. It has the same soul that our dog had - faithful, lovable, loyal, and adaptable. It brought peace and pleasure to me from the day I got it, just as our dog did. The only changes I’ve ever made were practical improvements that bolstered one or more of those traits.

Part of its charm is that it’s a mutt - it’s such a wonderful guitar, but it’s “just an Ibanez” and it looks the part. It has a thick high gloss poly finish and standard production parts with a few oddball embellishments like a wooden pickup ring and an ugly, overdone tailpiece, both of which have broken and neither of which is available for replacement. I repaired and reinforced the ring (which was at least as hard as making a new tailpiece), and you know what I had to do to get another tailpiece.

A matching PG would be nice. Of course, then it’d need a matching pickup ring and control knobs. And once I reach that point, that ugly Benedetto PU would have to be replaced by a gold KA 14 pole HW. But it wouldn’t be my AF207 any more.

This was my first 7 string archtop. I only sold my last 6 string archtops (165, X500, Gretsch Electromatic) once I felt confident that I’d be a 7 player for life. This guitar gave me that confidence after about 2 years. I will keep it as it is forever, repairing and replacing as necessary to keep it on the road. Maybe I should name it

[Jabberwocky]

Nice Holst tailpiece. I should consider it for my MiJ Epiphone Broadway Élitist to replace the Frequensator.

[Woody Sound]

my tastes are weird - I have a Gecko Burst LP!

[garybaldy]

I thought you'd like to see it!!