The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Sad to say it's all too true.

I've been heavily involved with the Westone Forum and website for many years and even now we still have new owners looking (begging actually) for assistance with their busted stop tail!
Others are nervously watching the pot metal part as it slowly cracks and bends towards failure.

As Crusty mentioned the post centres are non standard and therein lies the problem, there's nothing we've identified yet that will match the bloody thing off the shelf. Any successful restos have been by custom machining a brass billet to fit. One forum member had a friend fashion one out of carbon fibre! Expensive solutions but worth it for the top end Prestiges especially, gorgeous guitars!

Lately though we have seen at least one example of a broken stop tail which was successfully replaced by a previous owner using a stamped Ibanez part together with a gentle mod of the post holes. The very experienced current forum member owner, however, was not able to track the part down (no part number on it just the brand)

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I'll have a look at your site today Crusty


And thanks for the thoughts on the Westone too (and also Barry)

Maybe I am naive but this sounds like a job for 3D printing. I have a business about an hours drive away that 3D prints metal prototypes and has been know to fashion metal car parts for old Astons etc.... Not worth looking into unless I decide to take the plunge I guess , but as the technology becomes more common I imagine (could be wrong) the costs of doing a small run of a guitar bridge/stoptail couldn't be too prohibitive.

I came across the Westone while researching the PE-R80 and was literally pacing around deciding which of my existing herd I would sell to buy one and then started reading further I own one custom guitar that I had built to be "my guitar" (it's like a handcrafted Ibanez S series - super thin - but much nicer looking) but the Westone Prestige literally looks like a dream design to me .

Grrr......



PS What the hell - I sent the 3D printing biz a message through Facebook and will see what they say

A 3D print version of the stop tail would be the answer to a lot of prayers!

My main question would be about the tensile strength of the material. You're probably pulling around 200 psi and focused in the string slots. The 3D printing process consists of layering and I'd be wary of them separating under stress.

Some Westone members have had success with 3D printing the proprietary Switchmaster knobs (also in demand) but those are more cosmetic parts than mechanical.

But I wish you good luck!

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Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

This mob offer a process called Direct Metal Laser Sintering which is like a combo of 3D printing and melting/setting it. But I fear the cost could be out of proportion. There would be people out there that could do this sort of stuff in a day in brass but it's a matter of finding that someone with the tools and know-how.

The other question that comes to mind is whether if you buy one without problems , if you can get ahead of it with some sort of reinforcement but I'm out of my depth

Time to stick to my newly arrived PE-R80 and see if I can forget the Westone Prestige

Good luck with that, it's hard to get something so beautiful out of your head!

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Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

Nice PE`s guy`s!!!

I have a PE-60 and a BG-60

As for the Prestige 250, I have 3 and no signs of problem with the tailpiece.

One could also say the same on the Vantage 3 point bridge were some crack where others dont. Proper set up instrumente wont suffer any problems in my opinion.

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Thanks Barry and Frenchy...............forgetting it didn't work Might have an update tomorrow re the Prestige 250

Hmmm....looks like I am going to have to find a spare "dome nut" (like a little top hat) for the high E string saddle on my PE-R80 that's missing. Despite what the seller told me the screw alone won't hold the saddle in place properly without it. Doesn't look like any sort of standard part.

I can't find much online that's anything like it - the screw is about 2mm diameter. I will ask around guitar repairers etc...but any tips on finding the exact part?

By chance, is the Westone Prestige tail the same spacing as the PE-R60/80?
Looking at pics of both and they look close.

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

It is going to be near impossible to find a cap nut for that bridge. I know, I tried some years back.

I found a metric nut with the correct size and threads and used Loctite to fix it in place. Aesthetically it wasn't very pleasing but it did make the guitar playable.

For some reason the intonation on the wound strings doesn't look quite right. Normally the saddles get closer to the pickup from low E to D.