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accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:01 am
by chucksimms
OK, I've also posted this in the technical section but as it is a '66 365 I'll pose the question here and see what responses I get. How crucial is it to have 100% straight alignment from the accent over the bridge? I've noticed it pulls a little and I suspect it decreases sustain on my '66 365. The remedies I am considering: a new accent, drilling a new hole and moving the entire assembly over a small amount, just leaving it.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:08 am
by doctorwho
While we wait for the experts to chime in, here's my POV: it might boil down to how much you use the Accent.
If you use it a lot, maybe the alignment is critical. If you don't use it at all (it being used just as another tailpiece), maybe it isn't so critical.
Just my two cents' worth.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:03 am
by antipodean
There are lots of issues that could arise with the Accent. Even with the strap bolt tightened right up, the tailpiece bracket can be wiggled a little, so there is room for adjustment there. On top of this, the string anchor (the piece with the arm) and spring (the curved bit) can move around relative to the tailpiece bracket and bridge and each other. You've got a lot of degrees of freedom here to play with. It may be that you can fiddle with the various pieces of the Accent and be able to achieve the alignment you're after whilst maintaining the effectiveness of the vibrato and the asthetics of the assembly. I'd hope that drilling a new hole for the strap bolt is a last resort.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 10:40 am
by jps
As mentioned in another post: Is it original to your '66 365? If so, I'd leave it alone.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:24 pm
by chucksimms
Yes, it is an original '66 365 O.S. I have slid the bracket over and it's closer, but the more I look at it I wonder if the plate's string guides aren't cut at the right distance (I know, unlikely!). I have a '66 335 and '68 375 O.S. and they're dead on. I'm taking it to a luthier today to see what we can do.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:30 pm
by jps
Maybe someone's messed around with it in the past, so now it needs working on to correct.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:34 pm
by elreydlp
Hopefully, you'll hear from Paologregorio, aka "Mr. Accent".
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:04 pm
by jps
elreydlp wrote:Hopefully, you'll hear from Paologregorio, aka "Mr. Accent".
Yeah, sometimes it is
so difficult to understand him.
Re: accent/bridge alignment?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:07 pm
by doctorwho