Eastman AR810CE tailpiece failures?

[DaveAB]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone else on the forum had suffered from Eastman archtop tailpiece failures?

This is the second tailpiece that has failed on my guitar.

They break at the hinge point, probably due to metal fatigue/stress, as the metal used appears to be too brittle.

So far I am not having much luck getting this one repaired/replaced under warranty either.

Regards,
Dave B.

[Steve Z]

I have had my Eastman 810ce for almost 5 years with no problems with the tail piece.

[jazzrat]

I had an 805 and and 803...no problems with the tailpieces.

[rio]

2005 805ce - no problems.

What year is yours? Maybe they are getting weaker.

[DaveAB]

Originally Posted by rio

2005 805ce - no problems.

What year is yours? Maybe they are getting weaker.

I bought it in 2008 - but I think it is a 2006 model (UK0016).

[ES125er]

No problem with my 2007 (or was it 2006?) AR905E either.

[whiskey02]

I've not had a problem with my 05 805CE. Is Eastman taking care of this under warranty? If not, I certainly would go with a different manufacturer.

[goshawk]

I seem to recall that there were a few posts about tailpiece problems on the Eastman Yahoo group (before it went dormant). Unfortunately, I also seem to recall a number of posts about difficulties in getting warranty service outside the US.

I seem to recall the Foulds is a member of the forum and an Eastman dealer. Maybe someone from there could comment or offer a suggestion?

[keith]

Yes I have an 805 ce that had exactly the same thing happen. Right at the hinge. I opened the case one day and there it was. The retailer for Eastman sent out a new tail piece and a local luthier did the repair job. Eastman covered all costs.

[82Benedetto]

I seem to recall this being an issue on the earlier Eastman instruments. I believe it was corrected and haven't heard much since.

[DaveAB]

Originally Posted by 82Benedetto

I seem to recall this being an issue on the earlier Eastman instruments. I believe it was corrected and haven't heard much since.

My dealer is aware of the issue and I have searched the Eastman forum and there have been postings on that about it.

My guitar has the tailpiece where the hinge does not go over the end pin jack.

It just appears as though the rounded hinge part of the main tailpiece body was too thin/brittle and snapped with the stress of the string tension (The high E string retainer went too).

It looks like there is another (newer?) tailpiece design with the hinge going over the tail pin but I think, from the Eastman forum, that the tail pin position may have changed.

I supose the options are:

1 Benedetto ebony tailpiece & bits from Stewmac
2 A suitable brass tailpiece
3 Get someone to remake the brass part of the original tailpiece
(Anyone know someone good with sheet brass?)

[82Benedetto]

Can't really go wrong with a Benedetto style tailpiece. It's a relatively simple install.

[andrewj73]

a 6 string ar810 and it's 7 string equivalent.

both are about 4-6 years old.

i didn't do anything about it for a while.

th 6 string is with the luthier at the moment - to see how to best resolve the situation

[jzucker]

Originally Posted by 82Benedetto

Can't really go wrong with a Benedetto style tailpiece. It's a relatively simple install.

i hate that tailpiece. Horrible design to wrap around the endpin IMO. Tuning instability problems when you do drop tunings on it.

[fws6]

I said it here before and I'll say it again - go to a brass instrument (saxophone trumpet etc) repair shop

they can weld, reinforce, and replate brass tailpieces invisibly

Guitar shops and luthiers never know how this should be done, and always replace broken tailpieces. Totally unnecessary

For a brass instrument shop making such repairs is every day buisiness they do it all the time for orchestras and marching bands

I usually pay something like $ 20

I have several older Epiphones, and the Frequensator tailpiece is notorious for this type of break. Most of mine have bene repaired (you cannot notice which ones though...)

[DaveAB]

Folks

I have still not had my AR810 repaired.

I have bought a number of repacement tailpieces to see what they look like - but I still prefer the look of the original.

I have also tried a variety of brass instrument repair shops in the UK to see if they could make a replacement brass carrier (the original part is so brittle there is no point in repairing it), but they have all said "sorry we dont cater for stringed instruments" and my usual guitar tech said they could only replace it.

Cheers,
Dave

[keith]

Did your dealer contact Eastman to see if they have your model tailpin in inventory? I ask this as this problem happened twice to my 805ce, the first time the replacement part came easily but the second time required more of a search overseas in Beijing. It is a recognized problem by the company. My dealer worked with the below contact at Eastman that you may wish to contact on your own. Good luck.

Mark Herring
Product Specialist - Eastman Fretted Instruments
1-800-789-2216 ext. 185 / 9-5 Pacific Time

MHerring@eastmanstrings.com

[DaveAB]

My dealer did not seem interested after I refused the over end pin tailpiece model - which I suspect would have entailed moving the current end pin position - not something I was keen on for obvious reasons.

However, I spoke to Dan at Foulds Music (NB they are not the company that sold me the guitar) - he was really helpful and he advised me to contact Mark Herring at Eastman. I drew up a detailed diagram of the original tailpiece dimensions and emailed it to Mark on the 15/03/2011 - I have still not had a reply and will not be holding my breath waiting for one.

This is pretty poor customer service (if you could call it that) for whayt is an obvious manfucturing defect that has been experienced by quiet a lot of owners!

I have even tried contacting Eastman through their web site and still have not had any reply - so much for the lifetime guarantee!

[jzucker]

I've had great luck with Steve Greenfield at eastman. Email him at: Sgreenfield@eastmanstrings.com

[DaveAB]

Thanks - I will give it a go and let you know the outcome.

Cheers,
Dave

[keith]

Keep after them and don't get discouraged. It took a bit of time the second go around for me also. Squeeky wheel you know...

[DaveAB]

Will do!