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I know there is a reproduction of the ES175 "zigzag" tailpiece out there, but it's not authentic. The "zigzags" on the tailpiece in the 1950's touched, or almost touched, the center strut (see second pic below). The reproductions out there all have a rather large space and don't touch the central strut (see first pic below).
I'm wondering why nobody has produced a fully authentic reproduction of the original design? It's hard to imagine a patent allowing the whole thing to be reproduced but not letting the zigzags touch the center strut.
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04-02-2016 12:31 PM
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Puzzles me too, but the new Epiphones come with correct tailpieces with the wire touching the bar, so I think (or rather I hope) it's just a matter of time before you'll find them on the bay....
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I don't know. With Epiphone owned by Gibson, it may still remain, for some reason, a Gibson only provided item. Does the Epiphone come in gold hardware? I'd love a gold one for my ES165.
Originally Posted by Little Jay
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sure you could "squeeze" those zigzag bars to get them right...
cheers
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Nope, no can do! I tried that with the zigzag tailpiece of my Japanese copy, but I can't apply enough force to get the wires to touch the bar...... Originally Posted by neatomic
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This one isn't it either or is it?
Products | Montreux
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Nope. Looks like the standard reproduction, zigs don't zig all the way to the center strut. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Yeah, it zigs where it should zag...
I wonder if you are to wind twine around where it zigs and tighten it, alternating between the two zigs, the wire will just bend to touch the centre?
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I doubt there's enough length for that to work. An expert removal and re-shaping of the zigzag pieces might work. Or cannibalize the tailpiece from an Epi 175 Premium. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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i didn't mean by hand!! with a double clamp system...slowly increasing tension Originally Posted by Little Jay
cheers
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I may be wrong here (as I so frequently am), but it seems to me to be a case of cost cutting. Just eyeballing the two TPs, it appears to me that the newer design uses appreciably less rod or tubing or whatever the serpentine sections are. Over a run of hundreds or even thousands of units, that could add up to a substantial length savings.
I would be more concerned with the resonant characteristics of the TPs, and their respective +/- phase influence on the vibrating speaking length of string (which could of course be effectively damped by carefully-fitted decorative wood inserts of walnut, cherry, or maple). Just spitballin' here.
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I just prefer the more vintage look. Seems prettier to me, and for good or ill, it's the more authentic style, whatever that's worth! Originally Posted by citizenk74
I may be wrong here (as I so frequently am), but it seems to me to be a case of cost cutting. Just eyeballing the two TPs, it appears to me that the newer design uses appreciably less rod or tubing or whatever the serpentine sections are. Over a run of hundreds or even thousands of units, that could add up to a substantial length savings.
I would be more concerned with the resonant characteristics of the TPs, and their respective +/- phase influence on the vibrating speaking length of string (which could of course be effectively damped by carefully-fitted decorative wood inserts of walnut, cherry, or maple). Just spitballin' here.
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This a Tokai FA245. Guess the Japanese can't get it right either:
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Really, most factory made reproductions use a lot of generic parts, and that's the standard-issue reproduction zig-zag tailpiece. But the collector books and such all flag the spacing of the zigzags to the center strut as indicative of the original, and interestingly Gibson's 1959 VOS ES175 and the Epiphone ES175 Premiums have the "right" one.
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When my 165 bridge exploded it went with this.. it has been on there for about 5 years .. so far so good.
Gold Electric Bass 6 String Guitar Bronze Tailpiece Bridge | eBay
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Interesting that Epiphone gets it right because the Japanese are usually very fastidious about the smallest detail:
Here's a thought: find a used Epiphone, swap the tailpiece for one that Sambooka linked to and then sell it. Seems as if that is the only way to get hold of one. The gold-plated hardware looks awful on the ES165; I'd swap out all the gold hardware for nickel-plated ones.
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Actually that idea is not half-bad! Something to mull over... Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Interesting that Epiphone gets it right because the Japanese are usually very fastidious about the smallest detail:
Here's a thought: find a used Epiphone, swap the tailpiece for one that Sambooka linked to and then sell it. Seems as if that is the only way to get hold of one. The gold-plated hardware looks awful on the ES165; I'd swap out all the gold hardware for nickel-plated ones.
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I am always been searching and hunting for the tailpiece of Midtown Kalamazoo guitar model of Gibson, to get it in my ES-165. For me, personally, it would look more fancy than the original Herb Ellis 165 tailpiece. I asked Gibson to send one for me, but they could not do that. My plan has been that I would buy one made of nickel and then make it gold plated. Or getting a six-finger tailpiece, it looks also fancy.
Last edited by Epistrophy; 04-06-2016 at 08:19 AM.
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According to the book of the Gibson ES-175 by Adrian Ingram, the original zig-zag tailpiece was made to symbolise electricity, because ES-175 was especially an electric guitar.
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Hey, I found it! This is it! Gibson ES-175 Zig Zag Tailpiece
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That is the old one! Looks really authentic by it's nickel plating. Should I buy one and make a gold plating into it and put it into my ES-165?
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Wow! I know they are hard to find, but 169,00 Euros is a bit steep. Maybe that comma should be a decimal point?
"Let's eat Grandma!" "Let's eat, Grandma!"
Commas save lives. And sometimes money.
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haha.. Originally Posted by citizenk74
Wow! I know they are hard to find, but 169,00 Euros is a bit steep. Maybe that comma should be a decimal point?
"Let's eat Grandma!" "Let's eat, Grandma!"
Commas save lives. And sometimes money.
lets eat grandma!-grimm brothers
lets eat, grandma!-swansons tv dinner commercial
cheers
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Of course it is much money. Way too much. 169 euros for a little piece of metal. They sell old pickguards of the vintage 175s in eBay for 700 dollars. That is even more ridiculous.
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But, if the look of ES 165 does not attract, get a vintage 175, it has everything correct, including the tailpiece, if you are ready to pay some money for it.
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