Hoping someone will chime in here. I'd appreciate any knowledge from the membership. Several of my builds have copper sheet tailpieces made from a fifty year old section of corroded pipe. Others I have made from steel hinges and a few from hardwoods. Am I losing tone or volume with these copper tailpieces? Losing the same using hardwoods?
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Thank you Tom T for the well thought out reply. That definately cleared a couple more things up for me.
Thank you to all of you on this subject!
Ray
In theory, the tail piece material shouldn't affect tone or volume since the vibrating string is trapped between the nut and bridge. Thus, the tail piece doesn't really have any string energy to transfer to the box to affect tone or volume.
Bridge material and nut material both affect how well the string vibrates. Softer materials in these areas would absorb (dampen) string vibration losing string energy and possibly volume. On the other hand a softer material in these areas might create a warmer string sound than a hard metal in the bridge or nut.
As with everything in guitar design, these material choices are a trade off.
That being said, I think you are safe with whatever tail piece material you choose.
Sorry about not getting back to this before now, Keith. not sure what you mean by "should be kept low", could you please this? Does having too much string tension on the box and neck negatively impact tone? I haven't taken as much time as I would like to have on learning acoustic design. Been too tied up in learning about electronics - pickups and amps.
Thank you!
Can't tell how high your tail piece is, in the picture. But the break angle going over both the nut and bridge, should be kept low, as that also can effect the sound.
I had thought I'd eventually cut one hole in a few and perhaps several smaller holes in others. Thanks for the tip to start small, (and I suppose fewer in the case of multipler holes.) and work my way up.
Thanks for that info!
Ray
Hey Southern Ray, thanks for the comments, much appreciated.
Keep in mind that the strings excite the top which in turn excites the air in the box [soundwaves] so let those suckers out. You will get sound off of the outside of the sound board/top, but with the added full sound from inside its gotta be better.
Smaller hole area favours bass tones. I have often started small and got larger as I listened to the response from the guitar.
Thanks again Taff
Hi, I would suggest you lose more tone and volume from not having a soundhole/s in the body.
Taff
Hello,
Your suggestion carries a lot of weight with me, Mr. Evans. I've been a fan of your work for a couple of years before I joined. Thank you for your tip and the thousands of tips you have given everyone over the years!
Please excuse me while I go cut some holes.
Thanks again!
Ray