Price tailpieces

I was wondering what some of the mandolinist and luthiers that have used the Price tailpieces had to say. What do they think of the one piece design aswell as new two piece design.

[Greg H.]

I had a one piece Price on an Apitius a while ago. It sounded great (even added something to the Apitius) but there was definitely a learning curve involved in getting the strings on the little hidden hooks underneath the TP. There was a stretch there when I was putting the wrong string on the wrong hook. In terms of the two piece tailpieces I'm sure Scotti Adams would love to tell you about them (if he's still got his for sale).

[Scotti Adams]

..nope sold it..but believe me it wasnt because it wasnt a great piece of work....although learning to get the cover on took some practice...I highly recommend the 2 piece....I didnt find that it added or took anything away from my mando....could be a different story on yours....I had to replenish my mando slush fund after buying that Paganoni Loar retro case...and the Tp was the only thing I had of any mando value that anybody else would have wanted and that I was willing to sell.....good luck

Have you used the 1 piece Price?

[wdrysd]

I have used the Price one pieces and like them because they have a wider distance between the outside strings. The strings do not have to be held apart by the bridge. I believe this would result in less stress on the bridge and string.

I don't know it this would make a difference that could be heard.

This tailpiece will probably put additional downward pressure on the bridge because it extends further over the face and does not have the flex of a stamped one.
I had drilled them to fit the screw pattern of a Gibson AJR (cloud cover tailpiece), which varies from the normal stamped Gibson tailpiece.

They make it easier to change strings.

Wilson Drysdale

[Scotti Adams]

Have you used the 1 piece Price?

..nope..never have..although I have heard that they can be a beast to string up...

[Steven Stone]

I have Price one-piece tailpieces on two of my mandos. While there is a learning curve for putting on strings (first tip -remove the foam piece in front) I don't change or break strings while I play very often, so the added degree of difficulty isn't any big thing.

While it is nearly impossible to isolate a tailpiece's contribution to the overall sound of an instrument, I do feel that the down-pressure and the string spacing of the Price help the srings drive the top harder than a traditional two-piece stamped tailpiece. The downside of the extra downpressure is that the action tends to be slightly stiffer. I've gone from J-75s to a mixed set using J-75 G and D with a J-74 A and E (or a Gibson Bill Monroe set, which has the same string dimensions) in an effort to soften the feel a bit. It works so that I have the woof of the heavier set coupled with a bit more springiness on the upper strings.

Ok so what do you some of you folks think about the quality of the Price tailpiece? Do you think it being heavier is a good thing or bad?

[Scotti Adams]

..the two piece isnt that much heavier than a standard Gibson type...like I said it didnt have any effect what so ever on my mando...

I guess it all depends the mando, Ive heard from some that they heard a difference, or maybe they just wanted to so bad that they thought they did.

[Greg H.]

I heard a distinct difference using the one piece Price TP on my Apitius, but that could be partly due to the fact that the pressed tailpiece that was on there was almost flush with the top (there should be about 1/4" gap there on the bridge side). That said I do think the heavier brass tailpiece improved the sound on its own. One thing to bear in mind is the end pin hole had to be filled and re-drilled as the end pin holes didn't line up exactly.

[Scotti Adams]

..the mounting holes line up perfect when I installed the 2 piece on my BRW..

The luthier thats building my mandolin loved the price one piece tailpiece so much that he decided to put it on his next one too. He says the quality is far more than he expected.

[jim simpson]

Hoyts1,
Your luthier will have to pick up one 2nd hand as the current Price is the 2-piece that Scotti sold. I haven't used the 2nd gen 1-piece but have used the 1st gen 1 piece which I really like. I am still liking my Price 2 piece but wimp that I am, I am still running the strings under the leading edge. This is against the routing method as per Dr. Price. (sorry Dr. Price) I just couldn't work the cover on and off with the strings pushing against the cover. I find that the cover stays on nice and tight and does not rattle at all the way I'm using it. Hey, it looks great too!

[addcourt]

I was able to find a used SL-8 tailpiece on the Cafe Classifieds and installed on my Apitius. #Improvement in volume and clarity was certainly noticeable while the tone was not affected(thankfully). #If anyone has a gold plate SL-8 for sale I'd appreciate an email. #String changes are a bit of a challenge, but worth it for the value added.

Hey Mike,

Have you called Mr price to see if he has another sl-8 tailpiece left?

[addcourt]

I've emailed him and am awaiting a reply--hopefully, he has some left. Thanks.

My luthier figured out a simple way to make the price sl-8 one piece tailpiece string up easier than a regular tailpiece. So now I consider it the best.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this Price thinline tailepiece. Its easier to restring than any other tailpiece Ive used.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this Price thinline one piece tailepiece. Its easier to restring than any other tailpiece Ive used before. I had prior to using heard it is stubborn to restring. I cant imagine! The quality is remarkable.

[steve V. johnson]

Is there a website where I can look at and find out more about the Price tailpieces?

Thanks!

steveV

[Scotti Adams]

http://www.telepath.com/~ghprice/

[steve V. johnson]

Thanks very much!

stv

[John S]

I had a Price straightline tailpiece installed on my Old Wave F5. Unfortunately, at the same time I also had a Brekke bridge installed. I say unfortunately because there was a noticeable improvement in woody tone and volume (according to several ears besides mine), but now I can't tell which is responsible for it, the bridge or the tailpiece. Perhaps its both.

Oh same here, not sure cause my Brunkalla came with the Price thinline installed. So is it the taile piece or the mando that makes this really amazing? lol perhaps neither!