Lewguitar
Old Know It All
Since two of my Bernie Marsdens have matching 57/08 pickups and sound more or less the same, I did some tailpiece swapping .
One now has the one piece aluminum "Paul" bridge with the brass inserts under each string and the other has the Mann Made aluminum bridge with adjustable brass saddles.
The Mann Made is thicker, heavier and made from milled aluminum. The PRS is probably milled too...I don't know. But it's lighter.
I think the lightweight aluminum "Paul" tailpiece tends to give a guitar a more open voice.
I think the MannMade aluminum tailpiece tends to give a guitar a more solid sound, with more bass. More weight. A fuller tone.
However, I'm REALLY liking the 57/08's with the Paul bridge!
It seems to open them up in a slightly "flutey" way that I like. Especially when soloing on the neck pickup. Adds just a little breath. Kind of declutters the lower mids and bass or something. Like a decongestant.
My other Bernie with 57/08's and the heavier Mann Made bridge sounds more dense. More solid. More weight to the tone. Not quite so "flutey" or "breathy".
I use and enjoy both sounds and I might as well make these Bernie's sound a little different from each other. Neither is better or worse. Just a slightly different voice that each bridge imparts on my guitars.
Compared to the stock wraparound tailpiece, either one makes a real improvement to the tone .
The brass saddles seem to help eliminate some of that "plinky" sound on the treble strings Lazlo refers to.
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