Mandolin Tailpieces

[sebastiaan56]

Howdy to all the cool and groovy Mando Freaks. Now there are some who would claim that the life of a mando builder is full of small concerns compared to the 000 boys, but no..... never..... Todays question,

Mando tailpieces, great vendors, solid vs pressed, home made? What do you buy and why?

Thanks in advance,

Sebastiaan

[Arnt]

I like the Bill James tailpieces. They are cast metal, and the cover is hinged so you won’t lose it, and it won’t rattle or buzz. The o-rings under the strings serve to both secure the cover and dampen the part of the string between the bridge and the tailpiece, so you don’t need the additional rubber thingies some people put between the strings in this area. From a distance they look pretty much like the traditional stamped Gibson tailpieces, I don’t know if this is a consideration for you. I don’t have enough experience to say if the type of tailpiece makes any difference in sound, others have strong opinions about it; my hunch is that it does not make a whole lot of difference, if any at all. There are many types of both stamped and cast tailpieces out there, my advice is to go with on that looks nice with the rest of the design scheme of your mandolin.

Oh, and Bill James will engrave them for you 'for a few $'s more'

[graham mcdonald]

I am a fan of the Monteleone tailpieces from Randy Allen. A very elegant design I think. These heavier cast tailpieces probably do add some sustain to the instrument, but it is not a critical factor. There just look nicer than the pressed metal ones



But there is no reason to have much more than some pins at the end of the instrument. Here is another elegant system by Tasmanian builder Daniel Brauchli (google the name for his website, as he designs some very pretty instruments)



cheers

graham

[sebastiaan56]

Thanks guys,

The Bill James tailpieces look really nice. I have no allegience to Gibson anything so style is not a direct consideration, except as you said Arnt as it fits in with the rest of the Mando.

The pin in tailpiece design on Daniel Brauchli's mandolin is really elegant, simple and minimalistic. Thanks for that link Graham. Daniel's instruments show how much there is left in the acoustic design and aesthetic of these instruments. Inspirational stuff! I even have a piece of Red Mallee burl laying around......

Sebastiaan