Need stop tailpiece for Thunder II

I am looking for a stop tailpiece for a Thunder II. The person I got the guitar from said it had been in a case for about 15 years, and when the case was opened, the tailpiece was broken at the fifth string. All replacements I have found in the States are 3 1/4 inches center post spacing. As far as I can tell I need one that is 2 7/8 inches. Any suggestions on who may have some or where a replacement can be found? Thank you.

You've tried Stewmac and Allparts as well as Guitarparts in NZ? I can't imagine that it would differ too much from a Gibson one, eh?! I'm sure one of the bods with a Thunder will stop by to help shortly!!

Hi Citation, Welcome to the club.

Well Ive got a Thunder 2 and 2a and your measurements are right, Gibbo stop bars do seem to be longer so ... Ho Hum, no joy there.

So, returning to the broken stop, lets look at spares. They were only fitted to my knowledge to Thunder 2 / 2a, Prestige and Rainbow and I doubt there are many of these being broken up. Well, I wouldnt hold my breath anyway.

Can an engineering shop offer a solution? What is the metal used? Is typically Mazac or better known as Magnesium zinc alloy? or brass? Can the two halves be heated / welded / brazed back together?

Something I ve been thinking about recently is how small parts are re-cast for classic cars? It cant be economical to go into production for 5 or 6 cars. It would seem that there is a growing industry in home casting ! I am not suggesting that you go out and buy all the equipment but if you Google " Home Casting" or go to http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/, there is a members list and there may, just maybe, a guy near you who would, for a few pence, re-cast your stop bar in Brass or Aluminium. Re-chroming would then be up to you of course

Just thinking outside the box. Ok I'll go back to sleep

Whew, surely it can't be that much of an orphan piece?! Contact one of the suppliers I mentioned and ask the question! Is the old one repairable? I don't suppose you could show us the damage?

Sure is ! The post positions are specific. And it looks better than the standard Gibbo offering. Check it out on Davids Site.

Yeah; it'll be good gear on a Matt, I agree but surely there will be a metric tailpiece out there somewhere at 74mm! I've found this, but it doesn't give the post to post measurement.
It's a puzzler, alright; the other thing is to keep checking ebay, I suppose....

Ahhh, I googled 74mm stop tailpiece and...voila!

Hi John,

It looks like the 74mm pertains to the bridges, not the tail pieces..... unless I am reading it wrong

The tailpiece studs seem to be the same distance as the bridge studs. (74 mm) Maybe someone has an old guitar of another manufacturer that has the same spacing.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. This forum has a wealth of information!

Hi Citation Driver - Did you ever find the solution to your problem? I have exactly the same issue with a mid 80s Thunder II. I've had it since new and it is pristine but for the tailpiece which is long gone. My wife has taken up guitar & I'd love to get the Thunder going for her but have had no luck in finding the part. I was wondering whether one of the combo bridge/tailpieces (which you can get at 74mm) might work if you were to make a 'flat' adjustment to the bridge component, so that the 'bridge-work' is still done by the original separate bridge. Someone might be able to let me know if this is a viable solution? (I'm obviously not a musician).

Thanks

Widowson,

My solution was to find someone to machine a replacement tailpiece. A colleague of my son-in-law is an amateur machinist. He was happy to do it for the challenge. I told him it didn't have to be exactly like the original. He made the stud spacing the same so it would slip over the original posts. He made it out of aluminum. He made it thick enough so he could drill the holes for the strings in a manner that mimicked the arc of the original tailpiece. He then machined a slot for each string so the string could be slipped in the bottom. This operation would not really have been necessary. I put a small washer on the string so the button would not slip through the slot. (he made it slightly too large)

It works fine. The appearance is acceptable. It is squared off and rather angular but rounding the corners and edges with a file improved its looks. Since I am a beginner I noticed no adverse effect on tone. It allowed a fine guitar to once again be a source of enjoyment!

Good Luck! After installing the new tailpiece I gave the gent a gift card to a home center as appreciation for his work.

Thanks for the info Citation. I looked into a similar solution to yours about 3 years ago. Unfortunately I don't know anyone in a metal trade, and the guys I contacted wanted a fortune for the trouble. Honestly if I could get one it would be cheaper toi get a whole guitar on ebay just to pirate the tailpiece - stupid!

I was hoping someone might be able to fill me in on whether my proposed solution - using a 74mm 'wraparaound-bridge' (aka 'stop-bridge'), and making a uniform 'flat' adjustment to the saddles on the new bridge, so that the old bridge still does the job - is viable?

Cheers

I can't see any reason why it shouldn't work.