I recently purchased new Zyex strings only to find out my Marvin wire tailpiece didn't work - the E string was too short to work w/the angled orientation of the tailpiece. I replaced the OEM ebony TP to tame a nasty wolf tone which it did and improved the overall playability of my Thomson RM200. I had to put the ebony TP back on which brought back the WT. I contacted Marvin to purchase a new one and didn't receive a response. After a few weeks I couldn't stand the WT so I decided to DIY a tailpiece. Here are the results, the WT is much improved, very happy about that. Materials: 1/16" wire, 5/8 OD" brass pipe, aluminum crimps, heat shrink tubing all purchased from my local hardware store. I slotted the brass so strings or TP can be changed quickly. So far so good. Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest to market this or intention of infringing on any patent by Marvin for a wire tailpiece.
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Double Bass DIY Wire Tailpiece
- Thread starter powerbass
- Start date
The Zyex E comes in a 4/4 and 3/4 length. The tension is not any different, one is just longer than the other. It's to prevent the the wound part from wrapping around the peg. That might be a better solution for you.
My Marvin works fine with Zyez Light 3/4 strings. My bass has typical 3/4 dimensions. Perhaps your tailpiece was not measured
correctly for your bass? What is the distance between the Marvin E loop and the bridge and from the bridge to the tuning key?
correctly for your bass? What is the distance between the Marvin E loop and the bridge and from the bridge to the tuning key?
I believe I purchased a standard Marvin tailpiece, it was a couple of years ago so I don't remember. I didn't have a problem w/Obligatos.
I spoke to a D'addario rep over the weekend about the Zyex strings. My understanding is the 3/4 E is a new development. Previous sets came with what would now be called the 4/4 length E. Eric, you might have the longer version of the E. They seemed to think that the 3/4 E would work on most basses, but basses with long after lengths or a compensated tailpiece might need the 4/4 version.
I didn't get to install all the strings but I'ld guess the E string was the only one that was too short.
there isn't a standard, per se. They are custom made to fit certain measurements of the bass. Look at the website.
Well regardless of string length etc. making my own tailpiece was successful. Making the tailpiece helps me dig deeper into how sound is produced/influenced on the bass., it's a learning process.
