Finger Tailpiece?

[Doug B]

What is the difference between a finger tailpiece and ordinary trapeze tailpiece on a jazz box?

Thanks

Doug

[Woody Sound]

Structurally? Sonically?

[Hammertone]

Fingers tailpiece:
-Mechanically complex.
-Leaks energy like crazy due to its many hinges and mechanically connected bits.
-Heavy chunk of bell brass (if it's an ABM - I don't know the metallurgy of the less expensive import copy from WD and others, but doubt that they are made with brass - anyone know?).
-Looks very modern (to me).
-Useful if one wants to change the balance of a guitar.

"Ordinary" trapeze tailpiece: lots of variables, hmmmm... ponder, ponder.

[jads57]

The idea f the finger tail piece is to have the ability to adjust the tension on each string. I never really used it on my Gibson HR Fusion way back.

[Gitterbug]

This raises the question of the role of the tailpiece in general. They come in so many shapes and materials. My pet peeve is the Frequensator, the halves of which you see installed both ways. Yet, I wouldn't consider removing it from my Emperor Regent. The individually adjustable Oettinger tailpiece makes some sense on banjos, where the distance to bridge is short.

[Doug B]

Fingers tailpiece:

-Leaks energy like crazy due to its many hinges and mechanically connected bits.

Good point to be aware of. I'm just curious about the two tail pieces, not thinking of buying a finger tail piece.

Doug

[Doug B]

The idea f the finger tail piece is to have the ability to adjust the tension on each string. I never really used it on my Gibson HR Fusion way back.

Ya, they do seem a bit much to fiddle with all the time.

[GNAPPI]

What I like on my HRF you can adjust a string tune without letting your fingers off the fingerboard, I adjust the fingers to mid height and don't care about "tension".

[jads57]

And this is why we have so many choices. A better Mousetrap as they say. I’m sticking with my female cat!

[stevo58]

Those are stepchildren of Oettinger banjo tailpieces. The reason for the Oettinger is because the high A string on a tenor banjo is under crazy high tension compared to the C, G, and D strings. The downward pressure on the bridge makes the A much louder than the others. The tailpiece lets you adjust the angle over the bridge. If you remember your high school trigonometry, you’ll recall that a shallower break angle will reduce the y-vector (downward pressure) on the bridge. This will reduce the volume.

This makes a big difference on a banjo with a floating bridge on a highly flexible membrane. I doubt it would be noticeable on a guitar, especially one with a laminated top. And I also don’t think those tiny adjustment screws are practical for micro adjustments, especially in these days of high-ratio tuners.

But they do look cool, so there’s that.

And ABM stuff is top-notch. I have two guitars with their simple trapeze tailpiece (the 1504) and it made a noticable improvement in the bass response compared to the Asian pot metal junk that was on there before. I drilled out the strap button hole for a jack on one and was surprised to discover how hard bell brass is. The ABM tuners on my tenor are also excellent, but the Oettinger on that one is vintage. ABM used to make a banjo tailpiece, but they stopped production on banjo parts a few years ago. Bill Rickard sat down and completely re-engineered the Oettinger and addressed all the weaknesses, and his tailpiece is an impressive piece of work. But it doesn’t look “vintage.” He doesn’t offer it anymore, so it must not have sold well. I have one which I’ll find a use for some day.

[jumpnblues]

Much ado about nothing, in my experience. The finger tailpiece has had no detrimental effect at all on my Heritage Standard Eagle, at least as far as my ears can tell. I love the looks of them. I've owned my HSE for about 2 years and I couldn't be happier. It's turned out to be an extremely well made and wonderful sounding guitar. I've never felt the need to adjust the string tension. The intonation is dead on. As far as finger tailpieces go, for me, it's simply a preference issue. I would feel very comfortable ordering a new Heritage or any other high end archtop with a finger tailpiece. However, there's just something about an L5CES tailpiece...or a Barney Kessel tailpiece...or a Tal Farlow tailpiece...or... Especially with the guitar attached.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Don't forget the added weight of the finger tailpiece. There's a lot more metal in them than there is in a trapeze. Whether or not more mass is better remains to be proven, though. I prefer a lighter guitar and don't think more tailpiece mass makes a consistent difference in tone. TBH, I haven't experimented with this on the same guitar, though. I'll try recording a few passages with and without a lump of metal attached to the tailpiece, just to see if it changes the sound.