[Anthony Pires Precision Guitar Repair Shop]

I’ll probably just barely scratch the surface here… but in my experience, the difference I hear between the two; (bridge and stop bar vs wrap around only) is actually pretty minimal. A wrap around will feel more *slinky*, and obviously lean up the cosmetic look of the build overall. What will definitely effect the sound, is the material the parts are made out of, and their weight. If something is feather light, it will tend to ring out, and have a better tone quality. The more modern parts, some of which are super heavy, can have a dead sound.

In any case I think a lot of that sound is getting transferred the same if the thimbles fit nicely, glued in etc… Long story longer, on a tune-o-matic bridge, I think all-thread right into the body sounds way better than the bulky “Nashville” style studs.

Last thing I’ll say, at least on a tele… there is a huge difference in sound between through the body, and a top loader bridge. Hope this helps.

[Anthony Pires Precision Guitar Repair Shop]

I usually try to work around changing parts by way of set up. A straight neck, and dialed in nut slots, a lot of times will allow the bridge to come up, giving you better break angle. For string gauges I like 11s here… That style bigsby is going to make everything feel pretty slinky. 11s is a good compromise. If your customers preference is 10s, they need to be realistic about their attack. Simply stated, they need to adjust their playing so the strings don’t pop out of the saddles. Hope this helps.

[Anthony Pires Precision Guitar Repair Shop]

Using my tele as a reference, it’s been strung through the body for as long as I’ve owned it. Tried a top loader recently, sound instantly became thinner, more treble… Through the body was way warmer, more midrange. I think you’re literally hearing the quality of the wood. Each option has its. place.