stratman323 said:
Well, changing the height of the tailpiece can't increase the tension of a string, because if it did, that would increase the pitch.
Absolutely right. All bets are off, though, once you start with some string bending.
Tuning is a function of tension between the nut and the bridge saddle.
The "feel" is a function of the tension between the terminating ends of the string, ie, tuner post and tailpiece. The overall "length" of the string can be physically the same on 2 guitars. But, the break angle over the nut and the TOM have an impact on the tension that you feel. You may notice that when topwraped, you have to bend the string a little more to get the same pitch change, compared to standard stringing, but the effort to move it is less.
A lute, for example, with its' almost 90 degree break angle would feel stiffer to bend on than an identical instrument with say a 17 or 18 degree headstock. Does that analogy help?
You can work out the tension changes when bending, using some trigonometry, but once you get your head around the concept, it becomes pretty obvious.
On the MIC Tokais I leave them hard down on the body, like they come from the factory. The MIJ's usually come with around 17 ~ 18 degree break angle. I have made a little template to check the angle over the bridge. I reckon that is the way Mr L.W.Polfus would like to see them too.
Clear as mud??
edit.
A clearer explanation and a couple of examples to help clarify here...
http://www.noyceguitars.com/Technotes/Articles/T3.html