Fletcher Tenortone Cloud Tailpiece

[multidon]

I have been admiring the Fletcher Tenortone guitars lately. Very handsome looking! But I am curious about the tail pieces Mr. Fletcher uses. I know Jill has one, maybe others have taken the plunge and will weigh in. The tailpiece appears to be a Waverly "Cloud". I thought they didn't make those anymore, and that no one was making copies either! Does anyone know where Mr. Fletcher gets those? Does he get them custom made, or is there a source now? I really wanted one for an instrument I made but I couldn't find one. Any info would be appreciated. I posted this question under "Equipment" but didn't get any responses. Or maybe I should have posted under Builders and Repair. I don't know. But I sure am curious about those tail pieces. I hate mysteries!

[Jim Garber]

Sure looks like it. Why not go to the source and email them maker directly: fletcherinstruments@gmail.com.

[Avi Ziv]

[edit: apparently posted at the same time as Jim :)]

I have one of those Tenortones as well and it too has the "cloud" tailpiece. I don't see any writing on it that indicates the origin though. Why don't you write Jamie at Fletcher and just ask. He may point you to a source or even...sell you one? Can't hurt to try

Good luck

[bruce.b]

Jamie told me about a year ago that he only had a couple left and couldn't get more when they ran out. Unless he found more of them somewhere it will be interesting to see what the new Tenortones come with.

bruce b.

[Jim Garber]

I wonder if those are 4 prong tailpieces or have 8 prongs.

[Avi Ziv]

I wonder if those are 4 prong tailpieces or have 8 prongs.

Jim, the tailpiece on mine has 8 prongs

[Jim Garber]

I wonder if he found new old stock of those somewhere.

He could use the same one the Big Muddy does.

[multidon]

Jim, those Big Muddy tailpieces aren't the same as the Waverlys, they are more like a Gibson with the press fit top and prongs underneath. They do somewhat resemble the 5 lobe "cloud" but with a shorter straight portion than the standard Gibson. I like the look. I tried to find those also but the only place I could find that has these so-called "short" models is LMI, and they have it in gold only. I would like to find those in nickel if I am unable to get Wavery. I don't understand why someone doesn't start making reproductions of the Waverly cloud. There would be a demand I think.

[multidon]

Here is an update. I e-mailed Jamie directly to ask about the tailpieces and he was kind enough to answer me. He says he gets a lot of questions about the tailpieces. They are Waverlys. He bought a boxful off of eBay a few years ago and just used his last one. He is presently "looking into" getting them made for him somewhere, hopefully by next year sometime. He did not mention what he will be using in the interim. Mystery solved!

[JEStanek]

Brian Dean has made a side business of casting tailpieces. He might be a source for those.

Jamie

[Jim Garber]

I was just trying to find an alternate to the Waverly tp that is available. Actually the Waverly, IIRC, is a similar cover that slides on to the base. The main difference is that the prongs and tracks for the cover are on the bottom of the instrument as opposed to the top.

I have a feeling that it might be pretty costly to create a whole new Waverly style tp. The only other ones readily available are the one piece scallops. You can find them at StewMac, Elderly and numerous eBay sellers. if I ever get my campfire kit done I will use one of those.

The problem (I think) is fabricating those tailpieces in quantity. They are sheetmetal vs. the handmade cast ones like Brian's or Monteleone or Price.

[MikeEdgerton]

A while back somebody had the dies and jigs for making the tops to the waverly cloud tailpieces for sale in the classifieds. That's a long way from making the entire tailpiece. I'm pretty shocked that anyone would use them on a production instrument. They are pretty much like gold on the restoration market.

[Taylor and Tenor]

I spoke with Jamie about the tailpieces. He told he had bought box a of them back a while ago and his supply was about to run out.

I went the Stewart Mac route for the 8 pin tail piece I put on my Harmony conversion and moved the strings around until I found the best spacing.