Epiphone les paul 5 string bass Tailpiece broke, need help

[sogyfest21]

Hi, first post here, I bought a second epiphone les paul 5 string bass, the tailpiece came cracked and bent in and I couldn't get the A string out, these are so rare I couldn't find one for sale. I decided to put it in a clamp and it broke in half. I found a Ibanez 15mm tailpiece that I might be able to use. I would have a luthier drill new holes to put it in, but I am willing to do that. The issue is the Epiphone tailpiece is 19mm string spacing and the Ibanez tailpiece is 15mm. Does anyone know if the 15mm tailpiece would work with the 19mm epiphone bridge? (Pictures below)

 

[LoveThatBass]

Ibanez 5-String Electric Bass Tailpiece 2TP12C0004 - Drums Etc.

Ibanez 5-String Electric Bass Tailpiece 2TP12C0004 5-String Tailpiece for Ibanez Electric Basses 15mm string spacing Antique Chrome Finish *Please Note* Some Parts Are Special Orders. You Will Receive A Projected Shipping Date For Special Orders Before Your Order Is Processed

www.drumsetc.com

As they are hard to find you might want to buy 2 (1 spare)

 

[96tbird]

Since you’re willing to have holes drilled in the body to make this work, I would switch to a Hipshot D style bridge and dump the other trash. Not only is the tailpiece broken, the bridge is bent! The bridge is practically useless in that state.

All your parts, including the Ibanez tail piece are cheap pot metal.

Hipshot is machined from brass billet. Far superior and will last a century. 19mm =0.748 in so the .750 Hipshot is what you need. 5 String D Style Bass Bridge

Edit: on second look I see the bridge isn’t bent but it’s nasty and still made of cheap metal. I’d go all in on a Hipshot conversion.

 

[sogyfest21]

Ibanez 5-String Electric Bass Tailpiece 2TP12C0004 - Drums Etc.

Ibanez 5-String Electric Bass Tailpiece 2TP12C0004 5-String Tailpiece for Ibanez Electric Basses 15mm string spacing Antique Chrome Finish *Please Note* Some Parts Are Special Orders. You Will Receive A Projected Shipping Date For Special Orders Before Your Order Is Processed

www.drumsetc.com

As they are hard to find you might want to buy 2 (1 spare)

Yes, I actually have a teacher who is going to make one with me so I have a cheap solution thank you

 

[sogyfest21]

Since you’re willing to have holes drilled in the body to make this work, I would switch to a Hipshot D style bridge and dump the other trash. Not only is the tailpiece broken, the bridge is bent! The bridge is practically useless in that state.

All your parts, including the Ibanez tail piece are cheap pot metal.

Hipshot is machined from brass billet. Far superior and will last a century. 19mm =0.748 in so the .750 Hipshot is what you need. 5 String D Style Bass Bridge

Edit: on second look I see the bridge isn’t bent but it’s nasty and still made of cheap metal. I’d go all in on a Hipshot conversion.

The bridge does look bent but it actually was designed that way

 

[Scott Sognefest]

The bridge appears to be okay. The tailpiece is what failed. Likely due to the material being weak under the stress of the five strings. It appears to be a Zinc Alloy. They only made this bass for one year (2000), and perhaps that was a realization.

I've seen this before on Talk Bass here...

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/5-string-lp-bass-tune-o-matic-bridge.1642788/

Miguel, I think this is what happened to your bass. I saw your post back on Reverb today. I have pictures of the basses with and without this failure that are dated. I am sorry you missed the flaw.

 

[Scott Sognefest]

Ibanez 5-String Electric Bass Tailpiece 2TP12C0004 - Drums Etc.

Ibanez 5-String Electric Bass Tailpiece 2TP12C0004 5-String Tailpiece for Ibanez Electric Basses 15mm string spacing Antique Chrome Finish *Please Note* Some Parts Are Special Orders. You Will Receive A Projected Shipping Date For Special Orders Before Your Order Is Processed

www.drumsetc.com

As they are hard to find you might want to buy 2 (1 spare)

Gibson / Epihone doesn't have any of these parts. Gibson made them for a few years. Epihpne only produced this bass in 2000, so we are relegated to getting one built. Getting close on the specs right. It has been a lot of work.

 

[Scott Sognefest]

So after many months of trial and error, patience, and prototyping we finally had a bridge and tailpiece CNC Milled out of brass and plated in gold. They came out great!