rubber dampeners by the tailpiece

[jake1975]

just got my new MKelly legacy plus and love it...got a great deal on it too. Don't know what they are called, but i'm wondering what are the little rubber dampener things you see between the bridge and the tailpiece are called. mine doesn't have them but i think i need them because there is a buzzing that i think is from the strings contacting the tailpiece. where can i get them

[scgc.om]

Grommets [Wallace :))] You can buy them at an Electronics store (e.g. The Source).

[Tim2723]

Yeah, you can buy a lifetime supply at a good 'lectronics store, but from one MK fan to another, I recommend the Weber Wood Nymph. Lasts forever, much harder to loose, WAY more class.

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/WWN1.htm

But before you do too much, wind something soft (could even be a piece of folded up paper towel) around in the strings behind the bridge just to see if the noise is really sympathetic vibration of the string 'tails' or some other buzzing that needs a different fix. All you need to do is stop the vibrations behind the bridge to check it out.

[jake1975]

Very funny....thanks for the info

[Mike Bromley]

Lasts forever, much harder to loose, WAY more class.

Well, harumph! So it's a class thing, now is it? Well! I happen to think that grommets are way classier than a wood nymph flitting and cavorting around my mandolin!

Besides, they're CHEAP, like me, and you can wiggle them into different configurations to suit your mood, and they actually trigger facial-recognition software in my camera! No silly Nymph's gonna do THAT.

Ha! Thought you were gonna get away with it didnya! Didnya!

:mandosmiley: :grin:

[TomTyrrell]

I prefer the grommets or leather strip over the Wood Nymph. The Nymph is a bit too heavy for the purpose.

[John Rosett]

Well, harumph! So it's a class thing, now is it? Well! I happen to think that grommets are way classier than a wood nymph flitting and cavorting around my mandolin!

I'm trying to think of something BETTER than nymphs cavorting around my mandolin.
Well, I guess if they were throwing money too...

[mandroid]

Felt glued to the underside of the tailpiece cover ,
and a strip of leather, or felt , laid under the strings ,
just behind the lip in the front of the lower part of the tailpiece .
has done damping duties fine, for decades, on my old Gibbys.

.. just are not seen ... , like 'wood nymph's' or, grommets.. :popcorn:

addendum : my Rt. hand seems to lay {lightly} behind the bridge , so I never noticed the issue.
:mandosmiley:

[TomTyrrell]

Felt on the underside of the tailpiece cover doesn't work if the tailpiece doesn't have a cover as with the newer MKs and so many other mandolins with tailpieces designed after 1930.

[DryBones]

Steve's Silencer, nice,SOFT grommets unlike the harder ones found at electronics stores. You could check your local mom and pop hardware store too and see if they have anything.

[mandopete]

I like the little rubber grommets for 3 reasons:

1) they are much easier to take off and put on when you change strings than the little piece of leather woven between the strings.

2) They're cheap and easy to find (I get 'em at Radio Shack, NFI :) )

3) I use an electronic tuner with a transducer that I attach to the bridge. I think the grommets silence any unwanted overtones from behind the bridge and they make the tuner easier to use.

[cooper4205]

Yeah, you can buy a lifetime supply at a good 'lectronics store, but from one MK fan to another, I recommend the Weber Wood Nymph. Lasts forever, much harder to loose, WAY more class.



I liked the Wood Nymph at first, but after it came apart once there was really no keeping it together. The grommets are a lot cheaper (10 cents each at the local hardware store) and even I can't tear them up!

[Geoff B]

Two pieces of wood (like ebony), long enough to cover the strings, with velcro between and sandwiching the strings. Like so...

[MikeEdgerton]

I always suggest that the player roll up a hundred dollar bill and weave it through the strings below the bridge. If the harmonic overtones go away after doing that then simply buy some Steve's Silencer rubber grommets, a Weber wood nymph, or some of Jerry's buckstrips and send me the hundred dollar bill. Thanks.

[Dave Hanson]

I've tried them on all my mandolins, they don't make any difference at all, if your mandolin is set up right with all parts fitted and working as they should, you don't need to add any gadgets or devices.

Dave H

[MikeEdgerton]

Some mandolins have Harmonic overtones, that's a fact. It could be why Gibson puts a strip of leather under the strings on their new mandolins. The Loars had leather and felt. I'm going to guess they were set up right. If your mandolin doesn't need them then why put them on? If you didn't need them you'd never know if they worked or they didn't, right?

[El Rey del Mando]

Jake,
Send me your AD off board and I will send you some grommets.

John

[GRW3]

I used a piece of yarn to cure the problem when my 515 was new. After I had gotten it properly set up and played in a little the problem went away. Try a simple solution until the instrument is properly setup and you get some time on it.

[Steven Stone]

Grommets work to damp sympathetic vibrations that happen between the tailpiece and the back of the bridge.

They do the same thing for the spaces between the tuners and the nut.

Some mandolins need them more than others. Occasionally I find an mandolin that doesn't need them at all. It's usually a Gilchrist with the latest tailpiece design.

It's easy to test to see if your mandolin will benefit from damping - merely run your pick across the area between the tailpiece and bridge - if the sound goes ZING with sustain you need damping. If it goes plink with no sustain or ringing you don't.

And yes, I make/sell "Steve's Silencers" so YES I AM BAISED. YMMV. ETC.:popcorn:

[jake1975]

got some rubber grommets from the hardware store for 1.37 and they fixed the problem. sounds absolutely perfect now!

[woodwizard]

I agree with mandopete's 1, 2 & 3 reasons for rubber grommets.