Not really sure you need to use them. The wound strings don't use them. When a string breaks at the tailpiece, it's usually at the 2nd hook.
It is generally true that a sharp bend in a tensioned wire will be a point of stress concentration, and would be the most likely place for failure to occur. Especially if there are sharp edges in the tailpiece hook that crimp or cut into the string as it bears on/under the hook.
The best advice here is to go by your experience. If your plain strings have problems with the loop ends coming undone or slipping, use the extra hooks. If not, then they're not really necessary. You can use them if you like, or not. But if you're getting string breakage at the hooks, then don't use them. They're simply an optional feature.
Keep that skillet good and greasy all the time!
This topic has been discussed to death and there was a recent topic which exposed Gibson's reasons for designing them that way. Personally, looking at the o/p's photo and considering string breakage, I'd be more worried about the point at which the strings leave the tailpiece for the bridge.
Try laying a strip of leather at the lip of the tail piece,
that and a piece of felt inside the cover ,
eliminated the whole grommet string dampener
need that also is in the whatisit FAQ repeats..
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
-- Don
"Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
"It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."
2002 Gibson F-9
2016 MK LFSTB
1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
[About how I tune my mandolins]
[Our recent arrival]
CONSENSUS: Don't bother to use the secondary hooks, and don't bend your strings needlessly by 90 degrees, which can only weaken them. These Gibson-style tailpieces work perfectly well if you use the eight hooks that are oriented in line with the fretboard.
They were originally designed to deal with strings that had loops that tended to slip. Modern string loops don't slip.
To those who I seem to have upset with my question...sorry. Back to lurking.....
Just a random picture off the net for an example, my Kentucky's have a strip there, but thanks for the suggestion.
Most people start off as lurkers. The only stupid question is one you already know the answer to. (Or should that be "... one to which you already know the answer"?)
At the end of the journey, we'll have to agree that all these topics have been beat to death!
I always use the extra chads. I find that using the chads for the unwound strings keeps them on the tailpiece when I'm working to the north (i.e., on the peghead). I've never had a string breakage problem and I have a heavy hand. I've never-ever had any issues with string life, etc. It seems fine and convenient to use them, to me. . .
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
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