Dumb Mandolin tailpiece question

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

...Though I think most of us, regardless of our mando's tailpiece, close our eyes and turn our heads when tuning up those E strings for the first time - experience...

LOL I changed strings on 4 different mandolins the other day, and for sure, my eyes were closed and my head was turned away for all 8 E strings

I have traditional tail-pieces on all my mandos (they are all gibson built), so I'm used to that type, and I always use the rear hooks. If it ain't broke!

[ethanay]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

LOL I changed strings on 4 different mandolins the other day, and for sure, my eyes were closed and my head was turned away for all 8 E strings

I have traditional tail-pieces on all my mandos (they are all gibson built), so I'm used to that type, and I always use the rear hooks. If it ain't broke!

Oh, it's not just me! I am happy to report I still have both eyes, although before I learned my lesson, there were a couple of times I think I could have ended up sporting an eye patch for the rest of my life if the string had snapped in a little different way... I'm not sure how rebranding myself as the Pirate Musician would fare. Seems musically limiting, somehow.



Yes, my next (this should go without stating, but long overdue) string change I intend to take a very close look at the tailpiece to see if there's anything overt causing the issue. It may also be that pesky infamous Operator Error with me not setting the strings in the slots carefully enough. IIRC the previous one broke at the end of the loop winding knot, and the last one broke at the loop itself. Both were D'Addario strings. I'm going to try StringJoy next as well.

[Br1ck]

Four in a day? What caused such self loathing?

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Four in a day? What caused such self loathing?

Self loathing is right!!!! I did it for the mandolin comparison...



I have since learned all these mandolins require a different distance to the microphone to get the best out of them. I will do a follow up comparison soon to demonstrate what I mean soon. Also I changed the tailpiece on the A-5G and it changed the tone of the mandolin (fortunately in a good way, as the tailpiece it came with had a piece of leather glued to the underside of the cover which was dulling the sound).

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by ethanay

IIRC the previous one broke at the end of the loop winding knot, and the last one broke at the loop itself. Both were D'Addario strings. I'm going to try StringJoy next as well.

When I changed all 4 sets I used Mapes Phosphor Bronze 11- 40 which have a light coating, and there was no string breakage They came highly recommended on Mandolin Cafe. And bonus, they are only $6.00 a set! I think they sound pretty good.