Just got done changing some strings on a friend's Weber Sweet Pea. Not a fan of that tailpiece design. Cleverness above utility?
Just got done changing some strings on a friend's Weber Sweet Pea. Not a fan of that tailpiece design. Cleverness above utility?
Actually, the tailpiece was designed to keep the instrument cost down and to enhance player comfort. Because the Sweet Pea has such a small body, I felt that having a tailpiece stick up over the top of the instrument would be in the way and irritating to the players arm so I designed a tailpiece that would give a smooth rim/edge. The components of the new tailpiece were also inexpensive and easy to cut.
In concept, the Sweet Pea was an experiment in how much could be done on a CNC to keep labor costs down. Most of the instrument, including the slots for the tailpiece, were done with one set-up on one fixture (the fixture adjusted for the body, neck and peghead angles). The top and fretboard were separate, but cut to align and snap fit. As with most designs, there are always trade-offs ...
Vern Brekke
Bridger Products
Anyone looking for information on the products Vern Brekke designed and built should look at this page. It's educational.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I had a Sweet Pea and had a lot of fun with it. My opinion of the tailpiece was that it was a smart, effective design. Kudos to Vern for a travel mandolin designed to do exactly what a travel mandolin should do. I thought it was a great success as long as you kept in mind what it was and what it was designed to do. That tailpiece worked great on a travel mandolin.
Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album
You are free to build one yourself in a manner that pleases you.Just got done changing some strings on a friend's Weber Sweet Pea. Not a fan of that tailpiece design
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I had a sweet pea for a while. I thought is was a pretty nice lil instrument. I actually LIKED the tailpiece design. clean and smooth, didn't snag on my clothes. To each your own. Verne has done a lot of cool innovative stuff to an instrument largely unchanged in 100 years.
Jamie
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946
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