BOOM!

[Moadib]

I am a fairly new convert to upright bass and I bought an Engelhardt EG-9 a while back. I haven't had much time to play it lately and haven't had the strings at full tension. Tonight I was sitting there and it starts to make noises all on it's own so I go over to check it out and BANG! the tailpiece goes flying. It appears as though the wire holding it on just pulled through the ebony. I have three questions 1) How often does something like this happen?
2) Can I assume this is a flaw in workmanship and 3) anyone know a good bass Luthier in the Lafayette/Indianapolis area? Any help here would be much appreciated.

[gbaker]

Originally Posted by Moadib

I am a fairly new convert to upright bass and I bought an Engelhardt EG-9 a while back. I haven't had much time to play it lately and haven't had the strings at full tension. Tonight I was sitting there and it starts to make noises all on it's own so I go over to check it out and BANG! the tailpiece goes flying. It appears as though the wire holding it on just pulled through the ebony. I have three questions 1) How often does something like this happen?
2) Can I assume this is a flaw in workmanship and 3) anyone know a good bass Luthier in the Lafayette/Indianapolis area? Any help here would be much appreciated.

Pretty freaky, must have been bad wood, they normally last decades.

If your strings ends (balls) fit through the holes this is an easy DYI fix. You dont have to unwind and rewind the strings. I just got an ebony Kay replacement TP for like $32 from International Violin. They know Engle and can advise. Check your sound post is still up.

If you have a luthier do it consider replacing the stiff tail wire with a cable. BTW the new top models from Engle now come with cable.

[PB+J]

Did the wood break or did the cable let go? It sounds to me like the cable was not properly crimped. It's not a big deal to fix if the tailpiece is still solid. You can get a cable and a crimp fitting at a hardware store. Or if you are good at tying, you can use thin climbing rope--really, anything strong enough

[Moadib]

The cable is still intact, it's the wood that let go. There are two holes in the tailpiece that the cable passes through and it appears that the cable pulled wood out from between the two holes. It look like maybe a flaw in the wood. The tailpiece is completely busted, no longer usable.

[gbaker]

Originally Posted by Moadib

The cable is still intact, it's the wood that let go. There are two holes in the tailpiece that the cable passes through and it appears that the cable pulled wood out from between the two holes. It look like maybe a flaw in the wood. The tailpiece is completely busted, no longer usable.

Is this typical Engle wire? Do you have a solid (like a pre-bent coat hanger wire) with a couple nuts on it or a stranded cable?

It is easy to replace the TP on the solid wire type. Not so easy with the cable.

[Moadib]

it's the standard cable that came on the bass. I'm just going to have to replace the whole setup.