Make you own tailpiece?

[JtheJazzMan]

Since I have some spare hardwood, I am thinking of making my own tailpiece.

I would like to make a fanned one where the E string afterlength is longer than the upper strings.

Is there any good reading material on what lengths I should be aiming for?

I am also going to try and make the afterlength distance slightly adjustable, but I would like to have a good idea of an ideal graduated distance first.

[Eric Rene Roy]

We have made some out of old fingerboards with adjustable afterlengths.

http://www.stringrepair.com/Double_B...lano_Klotz.htm

Scroll towards the bottom of that page. Not bad work to do and the results are worthwhile.

We don't sell them...btw...just something we make when we need to.

[gp_bass]

That's pretty interesting work, Eric.

I wish that page had text on it. Why did you decide to put a new tailpiece on that bass? I'm also curious why you decided to make it adjustable vs. fixed?

[james condino]

Just go ahead and make the tailpiece. Whatever is on your mind that day, follow it. Make a couple and test out your own ideas and other folks if you value thier opinions. It is a pretty manageable task that can be done fast and doesn't require a lot of tools or skills, and the cost is very low. Even if the first one doesn't come out just as you had envisioned, you can make another one (or more) until you hit the right combination that satisfies you and the bass it is going on. One of the biggest things to remember is that five different tailpieces will sound different on five different basses...

I just got back from a gig about a half hour ago. One of the folks at the session noticed that the tailpiece on my bass was different than the one I had on my bass last month. Try as I may, he just wasn't making the connection that I literally have a box full of them and switch them out like some folks change their clothes.

Here is a link to one of my more recent and there is another at the beginning of the thread:

james' bass build

If all goes well, you may even make a few pennies selling some after you get the hang of it....

Good luck and post some photos for us.

j.

[JtheJazzMan]

So judging the afterlength distance is a hit and miss affair?

Plus is there any consensus on tone in regards to having a single tailpiece wire vs 2 going over the saddle?

[james condino]

Originally Posted by JtheJazzMan

So judging the afterlength distance is a hit and miss affair?

Not at all. From my perspective, every single aspect of design for the whole bass is very precise and calculated. The catch is that you need to sort through the wealth of information, opinions and hocus pocus voodoo out there and decide which method is right for you. Even with that, expect some variation and a learning curve before you hit what you are looking for. Sometimes the end results can be rather counter intuitive. It helps to have an open mind about building things (and life in general!). Many times I've followed what seemed to be the right course of action only to have the end results less than optimal, but because I was willing to experiment in the opposite direction to test the parameters of my idea, I found the results I was after but they were not the ones I anticipated or expected.

Remember, it is just a tailpiece. In the time you've spent here and thinking about it, I could have built three or four, turn off your computer and build it....

j.

[Square Bear]

Originally Posted by Eric Rene Roy

We have made some out of old fingerboards with adjustable afterlengths.

http://www.stringrepair.com/Double_B...lano_Klotz.htm

Scroll towards the bottom of that page. Not bad work to do and the results are worthwhile.

We don't sell them...btw...just something we make when we need to.

how does that tailpiece adjust? are they just floating pieces of ebony? it looks way more elegant than other adjustable tailpieces i've seen. my issue is that typically so much mass is added to make the adjustment apparatus it would seem to negate any positive benefits you get from tuning the afterlengths.

[Eric Rene Roy]

Originally Posted by Square Bear

how does that tailpiece adjust? are they just floating pieces of ebony? it looks way more elegant than other adjustable tailpieces i've seen. my issue is that typically so much mass is added to make the adjustment apparatus it would seem to negate any positive benefits you get from tuning the afterlengths.

each string had a floating saddle. I think once we tuned them we put a drop of glue on them...nothing that couldn't be easily removed. I made a similar tailpiece for the ISB bass I made last year...but it sounded good off the bench so I never bothered to make saddles and never bothered to try once I got it back. I go hot and cold on the compensated after lengths. right now I think as long as you get the overall after length "correct" for the bass you're working on it's good enough. Ask me again in a week and I may swing the other way though...

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Eric Rene Roy

Ask me again in a week and I may swing the other way though...

Hmm... never figured you to be one to swing the other way. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Bass]

HA!