Q: I have begun to notice more and more players stringing their Gibsons with the strings passing over the stop tailpiece and then across the Tune-O-Matic bridge. Is there an advantage to this as opposed to the standard method of running the strings through the stop tailpiece, then over the bridge?

A: We're not sure who first came up with this, as it goes all the way back to Duane Allman and Billy Gibbons in the early 1970s. The thinking is that if you screw the stop tailpiece tight to the body, then insert the strings from the front and loop them over the tailpiece (sort of like Gibson's one-piece compensated bridge on its Les Paul Junior), you'll get increased sustain and a fatter tone, as well as a slightly different string tension/feel. There is no hard evidence supporting this practice, but since it won't hurt your guitar, you might want to give it a try and decide for yourself!