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Double Bass PECANIC=GOOD

Jeff Bollbach

Jeff Bollbach

Jeff Bollbach Luthier, Inc.
Dec 12, 2001
1,182
21
72
freeport, ny
www.jeffbollbach.com
#1
Been puttin alot of Mikeys TP's on and just wanted to send him some props. [that's how you whippersnappers say it, right?] Among others I put one on Carlos Henriquezs' New Standard and he loves it. Every one I have put on has been met with much satisfaction from the owners. Sometimes it is a little subjective as to how much the bass improves though. Well, the other day I had a real objective experience. Nice young man and up and coming player by the name of William Morris [no, not that William Morris] brought his Sirletto Bros bass in to work on a nasty A wolf. Now this bass has been through the mill with a neck graft, two bass bars and other sundries. Each major job[some done by Shank] has resulted in an improved tone but the wolf has been persistant since he got the bass. The last time I worked on it [a bass bar crack] I suggested to Bill that he might want to try changing the tailpiece in the future. I was a little reluctant as it was made by the maker and was kinda cool looking. However it was 20 inches long! We did a real A/B test on it. Soundpost, bridge everything the same, just put on a Pecanic ziracote tp-heavy, bout like ebony. When Bill started tuning it up he started making happy noises and didn't stop. Usually when your fighting a wolf if you make it just better you are successful. Well this one just left the building, completely and clearly gone. Before Bill couldn't play a fingered a on the e string and play vibrato-now he could, no mistaking it. He also claimed the whole bass was freer, but that's subjective I guess. Sometimes ya get lucky! Mostly not, but ya gotta remember when ya do.
 
#3
I also had a good experience having Jeff put on one of Pecanic's tp's. Although I didn't notice at first because of the extensive repair work that had to be done as well, I feel my bass has opened up a lot and the wolf is a lot more manageable than it was. I suppose this is one of those subjective experiences as Jeff mentioned. I still think the tp is awesome though.
 
#6
i'll say i'm happy with the pecanic talepiece too.
i went from the big shen ebony piece to the pecanic walnut piece so i did lose a little mass there.

i noticed my bass is a bit louder (especially on the bottom strings) and the tension has gone down some over all strings. it seems to have a bigger sound arco as well, i didn't have any wolf's or funny vibrations before and still don't notice any.
 
#7
Jeff Bollbach said:
Been puttin alot of Mikeys TP's on and just wanted to send him some props. [that's how you whippersnappers say it, right?] Among others I put one on Carlos Henriquezs' New Standard and he loves it. Every one I have put on has been met with much satisfaction from the owners. Sometimes it is a little subjective as to how much the bass improves though. Well, the other day I had a real objective experience. Nice young man and up and coming player by the name of William Morris [no, not that William Morris] brought his Sirletto Bros bass in to work on a nasty A wolf. Now this bass has been through the mill with a neck graft, two bass bars and other sundries. Each major job[some done by Shank] has resulted in an improved tone but the wolf has been persistant since he got the bass. The last time I worked on it [a bass bar crack] I suggested to Bill that he might want to try changing the tailpiece in the future. I was a little reluctant as it was made by the maker and was kinda cool looking. However it was 20 inches long! We did a real A/B test on it. Soundpost, bridge everything the same, just put on a Pecanic ziracote tp-heavy, bout like ebony. When Bill started tuning it up he started making happy noises and didn't stop. Usually when your fighting a wolf if you make it just better you are successful. Well this one just left the building, completely and clearly gone. Before Bill couldn't play a fingered a on the e string and play vibrato-now he could, no mistaking it. He also claimed the whole bass was freer, but that's subjective I guess. Sometimes ya get lucky! Mostly not, but ya gotta remember when ya do.
Click to expand...


Hi Jeff,
I know this is an old post but...
With the compensated tailpiece, how did you set the rope length? (for placement of the tailpiece and afterlength)
Thanks
 
#9
thanks for the heads up,

I'm open to hear from anyone who has installed a Pecanic compensated TP. Did you adjust the cord length to set the G string–compensating the other strings back from the bridge OR set the E–compensating the remaining forward OR take the average of the 2nd and 3rd strings?
 
#17
I had bought one of Mike Pecanic's tailpieces 6 or 7 years ago for a Chinese plywood bass I had in college. The Chinese plywood has been sitting in my closet for the past 4 or 5 years, pretty much un-played since I bought my carved Romanian (though it has come out once in a while for an outdoor gig or to get rented by a fellow bassist).

I decided to take the Pecanic tailpiece off of that bass a year ago, and last night I decided to try it on my carved Romanian (which is currently strung with Velvet Animas). I wanted to share some initial thoughts.

1. The bass feels much easier to play with the bow, it doesn't feel like I have to work as hard to get the note started, and string-crossing slurs now feel cleaner.
2. The pizzicato tone lost a little bit of low-end punch, but over all the bass feels more balanced in tone and volume from bottom to top (we'll see if this holds true on this week's gigs).
3. My wife, who is not a bassist(!) but is a good musician, told me (unprompted by my questions) that the bass sounds more open, and that the arco tone had improved but that she didn't like the pizzicato tone as much.

We'll see how things settle in after a few days and a few gigs.

Tim
 
#18
Here are my thoughts on the Pecanic tailpiece after three gigs (three nights in a row):
-The response is still noticeably easier than it was before, especially with the bow. I don't have to work nearly as hard to avoid scratchiness. The pizz response is also much more open feeling.
-The loss of low-end punch I initially reported may have just been due to the strings needing to resettle. There's definitely no loss of low-end, though I did lose a few low-mids, but I think this is a good thing (a buddy of mine came to hear me Thursday night and said I cut through the mix well).
-My only gripe is that the amplified sound changed a lot as well, as is to be expected, and I haven't found settings on the amp I like yet for the new set-up.
 
#19
I just did a search on TB specifically to find a thread on Mr. Pecanic to give him accolades for his amazing work. He made a tailpiece for my big ugly hungarian carved bass and it just played better, sounded bigger and deeper and felt so much freer. Not only that, but it was clear when talking to him that he knew SO much about these wood choices that he had crafted the tailpiece for exactly what I was trying to do with the instrument. I'll be ordering a 2nd for my Upton that just arrived today!
 

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