Tailpiece

The fitting at the rear of the body that anchors the ball ends of the strings and transfers their tension to the instrument.

A tailpiece exists because the bridge itself is not designed to hold strings, so the string is anchored behind it and passes over the saddle on its way to the nut. Different designs change the feel and the sound: a stopbar gives a short string length behind the bridge and a tight feel, a trapeze allows a longer unsupported run, and a wraparound combines bridge and anchor in one piece. Break angle over the saddle is decided largely by the height of the tailpiece.

Example: The metal piece behind the bridge of an archtop guitar, holding the ends of the strings and floating above the top, is a trapeze tailpiece.

Tailpiece

See also