Flatwounds wont fit through 55 White Falcon Cadillac Tailpiece

[bluespower69]

Hi All,

I just bought a 55 White Falcon reissue and it's wonderful.
I bought some Pyramid Gold flatwound 11's, but they won't
string through the Cadillac tailpiece holes — the strings are too thick
with the wrapping near the ball ends.

Any tips for this? Do I have to drill the holes to make them
larger for this to work?

Thanks.

 

[Back in Black]

Hi All,

I just bought a 55 White Falcon reissue and it's wonderful.
I bought some Pyramid Gold flatwound 11's, but they won't
string through the Cadillac tailpiece holes — the strings are too thick
with the wrapping near the ball ends.

Any tips for this? Do I have to drill the holes to make them
larger for this to work?

Thanks.

Hey BP,

Welcome...

I'm not telling you what to do, but the last thing I'd consider doing would be to drill out (and potentially ruin), a ''specialty part'', for the sake of a set of strings.

D'Addario makes great flats ''XL Chromes'', try them.

Best,

BIB.

 

[JohnnyLaw]

I drilled (carefully) a Hipshot rig to fit 10s to a Tele. Aluminum though, so easy going.

 

[bluespower69]

Thanks BIB. I like Chromes too, so might have to switch for this guitar.

 

[Ricochet]

If you’re not insisting on using the Pyramids the easiest is to try other strings. I do feel that unless it’s a vintage instrument anything goes to make it play and behave like you want.

 

[Viper]

I have the same issue on a Guild archtop. Just remove a bit of the silk wrapping and they should be OK.

 

[Maguchi]

Hi All,

I just bought a 55 White Falcon reissue and it's wonderful.
I bought some Pyramid Gold flatwound 11's, but they won't
string through the Cadillac tailpiece holes — the strings are too thick
with the wrapping near the ball ends.

Any tips for this? Do I have to drill the holes to make them
larger for this to work?

Thanks.

How about a modern replacement tailpiece (drilled out if needed) and store the original tailpiece in the guitar case.

 

[bluespower69]

Good idea, I'll try to see if I can remove the wrapping.

I have the same issue on a Guild archtop. Just remove a bit of the silk wrapping and they should be OK

 

[Merc]

How about a modern replacement tailpiece (drilled out if needed) and store the original tailpiece in the guitar case.

Those modern G Cadillac tailpiece rarely come up for sale and have sold for $400 the last I checked. I checked a two years back and there wasn’t even a part number at the time. Unless I was 110% sure the strings as well as the guitar were keepers, I wouldn’t. It’s just too hard a part to me to get. Otherwise I’d say MOD away.

 

[Maguchi]

Those modern G Cadillac tailpiece rarely come up for sale and have sold for $400 the last I checked. I checked a two years back and there wasn’t even a part number at the time. Unless I was 110% sure the strings as well as the guitar were keepers, I wouldn’t. It’s just too hard a part to me to get. Otherwise I’d say MOD away.

Is there a non-Gretsch generic El Cheapo replacement tailpiece that will fit? You can even redrill the mounting holes in the replacement tailpiece so you won't have to drill holes in your vintage guitar.

The link below is for a Elecromatic, but maybe you can redrill the mounting holes on the new tailpiece to match the existing holes in the guitar.

Genuine Gretsch Electromatic Hollow Body G Logo Guitar CHROME Tailpiece | Reverb

Gretsch Part #: 006-2745-000, 0062745000 Convert your hot rod to a hard tail with ease with a replacement hardtail tailpiece. Dimensions: 1.90" x 2.90" x 5.95"

reverb.com

 

[Merc]

Is there a non-Gretsch generic El Cheapo replacement tailpiece that will fit? You can even redrill the mounting holes in the replacement tailpiece so you won't have to drill holes in your vintage guitar.

The link below is for a Elecromatic, but maybe you can redrill the mounting holes on the new tailpiece to match the existing holes in the guitar.

Genuine Gretsch Electromatic Hollow Body G Logo Guitar CHROME Tailpiece | Reverb

Gretsch Part #: 006-2745-000, 0062745000 Convert your hot rod to a hard tail with ease with a replacement hardtail tailpiece. Dimensions: 1.90" x 2.90" x 5.95"

reverb.com

I’m sure they could find something. Although it likely won’t look as good as the Cadillac tailpiece. Luckily I currently don’t need it.

 

[Fairlane Blue]

Hi All,

I just bought a 55 White Falcon reissue and it's wonderful.
I bought some Pyramid Gold flatwound 11's, but they won't
string through the Cadillac tailpiece holes — the strings are too thick
with the wrapping near the ball ends.

Any tips for this? Do I have to drill the holes to make them
larger for this to work?

Thanks.

It's not a vintage issue so I'd re-drill them. I have a drill press so it's easy to do it this way. Mask off the entire bridge if you don't want to scratch it - just leave the holes exposed so that you can drill them out a little bigger if that's what you prefer. Otherwise I'd remove the nylon string wrap around the ends. Someone else suggested it so that might be your best bet.

Is there a non-Gretsch generic El Cheapo replacement tailpiece that will fit? You can even redrill the mounting holes in the replacement tailpiece so you won't have to drill holes in your vintage guitar.

The link below is for a Elecromatic, but maybe you can redrill the mounting holes on the new tailpiece to match the existing holes in the guitar.

Genuine Gretsch Electromatic Hollow Body G Logo Guitar CHROME Tailpiece | Reverb

Gretsch Part #: 006-2745-000, 0062745000 Convert your hot rod to a hard tail with ease with a replacement hardtail tailpiece. Dimensions: 1.90" x 2.90" x 5.95"

reverb.com

Guitar Audio? I buy from them all the time. Great guy and great service! You can't go wrong with them if you need replacement parts.

 

[Mellowcat]

Do I have to drill the holes to make them
larger for this to work?

Would a reamer do the job? The holes are small on my Falcon as well by the way. Thomastik JS110s fit with out any trimming, but the .044 is a tight fit.

 

[tartanphantom]

The Gretsch Cadillac tailpieces are still one of the few things on their guitars which are NOT made by machine. They are still assembled completely by hand according to @Joe Carducci , and a replacement is not exactly cheap.

I would recommend trying other brands of strings before attempting any modification to the tailpiece itself. Also, D'Addario also makes a great ground-wound string under the name of "Half Rounds", which I think are head and shoulders above their Chromes series.
(not a fan of Chromes at all.)

 

[bluespower69]

The easy fix was to remove the wrapping on the Pyramid string by the ball end. I cut it with an x-acto knife
then pulled it off by hand. Took a few minutes and only had to do it on the low E string. All
other strings were OK and fit through the tailpiece holes.

Good to know this tip for Pyramid and Thomastik strings! Thanks all.

 

[audept]

Welcome to the forum, @bluespower69 ! Glad to see you found an easy fix!

 

[Maguchi]

I’m sure they could find something. Although it likely won’t look as good as the Cadillac tailpiece. Luckily I currently don’t need it.

It's not a vintage issue so I'd re-drill them. I have a drill press so it's easy to do it this way. Mask off the entire bridge if you don't want to scratch it - just leave the holes exposed so that you can drill them out a little bigger if that's what you prefer. Otherwise I'd remove the nylon string wrap around the ends. Someone else suggested it so that might be your best bet.

Guitar Audio? I buy from them all the time. Great guy and great service! You can't go wrong with them if you need replacement parts.

Here's a other one. Not a Cadillac, but it's a Gretsch. Might be a good fit and good look for a White Falcon.

Genuine Gretsch G100 Synchromatic Tailpiece Gretsch Nickel Guitar Tailpiece

Sperzel 6-InLine 40th Anniversary STAR KNOBS Trimlok Staggered Tuners - CHROME

guitaraudio.com

 

[Highnumbers]

Those modern G Cadillac tailpiece rarely come up for sale and have sold for $400 the last I checked. I checked a two years back and there wasn’t even a part number at the time. Unless I was 110% sure the strings as well as the guitar were keepers, I wouldn’t. It’s just too hard a part to me to get. Otherwise I’d say MOD away.

Not sure what people are trying to charge on the secondhand market, but even brand new Custom Shop Cadillac tailpieces are less than $400 brand new.

The MIJ Terada tailpieces should be less than that, IMO.

 

[Merc]

Not sure what people are trying to charge on the secondhand market, but even brand new Custom Shop Cadillac tailpieces are less than $400 brand new.

The MIJ Terada tailpieces should be less than that, IMO.

Where’d you find a brand new Custom Shop Cadillac tailpiece? To my knowledge they’re no longer offered to buy as a new part from the parts catalog. Although I’ve never reached out to a dealer directly. Supply and demand always dictate price when you can’t buy a part easily. But aside from production cost, it’s only worth what people are willing to pay for.

 

[Highnumbers]

Where’d you find a brand new Custom Shop Cadillac tailpiece? To my knowledge they’re no longer offered to buy as a new part from the parts catalog. Although I’ve never reached out to a dealer directly. Supply and demand always dictate price when you can’t buy a part easily. But aside from production cost, it’s only worth what people are willing to pay for.

By going directly to the manufacturer in Germany. I’ve posted on this forum with the link before.

I suppose other people aren’t aware of this or willing to go the distance but paying that much for a MIJ reissue tailpiece is foolish once you know the custom shop version is less money (and more accurate)