View Full Version : Kentucky KM 150 Tailpiece.
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 11:54am
Hi all
Am having a problem in understanding how to open the tailpiece in changing strings on Kentucky KM 150.The tailpiece seems glued to the strings.How do I remove the strings from the Tailpiece to insert new strings.This has got me beat.Solution Please....
Drew Streip
Apr-19-2018, 12:03pm
I'm sure someone who owns or sells these instruments will confirm, but I bet you slide the cover off, toward the bottom of the instrument. It's probably a slip-fit joint, relying on friction and/or acute angles to stay in place.
It flummoxed me, too, on my first mandolin. I may have bent the thing trying to get it open!
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 12:31pm
Yes am doing the wrong thing in trying to force the blasted thing open by exerting force and pulling outwards.Have seen Mandolins where the tailpiece opens up.But this is not the case with the KM 150.There are no videos on UTube showing procedure for installing strings and accessing proper opening of tailpiece.Am grateful for your insight.Thank you.Am disappointed that the tailpiece does not open outwards,but slides off as you say making the changing of the changing of the strings a difficult procedure.Sure others who own a Kentucky KM 150 may like to offer insights to remedy this predicament.
Northwest Steve
Apr-19-2018, 12:42pm
It really is not a big deal. As Drew mentioned the cover off the back. It is the same design that Gibson used 100 years ago and is even on the famous Lloyd Loar signed (Bill Monroe) mandolins. The nice fancy cover that pops open is $150 tailpiece and usually seen only on much higher priced mandolins.
When you are changing the stings I would recommend putting a small strip of leather or felt between the strings and the bottom of the tailpiece. That will keep the strings from contacting metal and potentially making a drone sound. If you wanted to and have room you could put a strip above the strings between the cover. Make sure to use a little lead from a pencil and lube the slots on the bridge and at the nut. this will help keep the string from binding at the nut or bridge.
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 1:02pm
Appreciate your insights.Thank you.So once you loosen and take the strings from the pegs the tail piece will give way,and can easily slide off.Anything else worth knowing though it seems a rather cumbersome way compared to the open cover tailpiece to swap strings.
MikeEdgerton
Apr-19-2018, 1:05pm
You can slide the cover off without loosening the strings. Put a coin like a quarter on the tip of your finger and slide the cover backwards using your thumbs braced against the tail of the mandolin. It will slide backwards. I've removed covers that hadn't moved in decades this way.
Take a look at this (http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/Mandolin/MandoString/mandostring1.html) page on Frank Ford's www.frets.com. It will show you what it looks like open.
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 1:23pm
You can slide the cover off without loosening the strings. Put a coin like a quarter on the tip of your finger and slide the cover backwards using your thumbs braced against the tail of the mandolin. It will slide backwards. I've removed covers that hadn't moved in decades this way.
Take a look at this (http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/Mandolin/MandoString/mandostring1.html) page on Frank Ford's www.frets.com. It will show you what it looks like open.
That helps a lot.Are there any KM 150 players here that have an open cover tailpiece on an entry level Kentucky?
Folkmusician.com
Apr-19-2018, 1:40pm
All Kentuckys have this style of tailpiece. There are some minor variations, but all have a dovetailed cover plate that slides off to the rear (unless they changed to a James or something).
MikeEdgerton
Apr-19-2018, 1:50pm
The cover that opens up would be the James tailpiece (https://www.axinc.net/James_Mandolin_Tailpiece_p/jtt.htm). It would add a substantial amount to the cost. There are some other less expensive cast tailpieces that might be more cost efficient in relation to the mandolin. Don't get me wrong, the James Tailpiece is a work of art.
Roger Moss
Apr-19-2018, 3:07pm
If a James is out of uour price range, you might like this...
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gate-M-134-Scalloped-Tailpiece/dp/B005N52D4I
For a classic look.
Or for a little more, this..
https://www.amazon.com/Morgan-Monroe-AB-TP-Mandolin-Tailpiece/dp/B00H57J3CC
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 4:55pm
The cover that opens up would be the James tailpiece (https://www.axinc.net/James_Mandolin_Tailpiece_p/jtt.htm). It would add a substantial amount to the cost. There are some other less expensive cast tailpieces that might be more cost efficient in relation to the mandolin. Don't get me wrong, the James Tailpiece is a work of art.
Would adding the James tailpiece to the Kentucky KM 150 improve its sound quality?....or for that matter any of the other tailpieces mentioned.....
Zach Wilson
Apr-19-2018, 5:07pm
Would adding the James tailpiece to the Kentucky KM 150 improve its sound quality?....or for that matter any of the other tailpieces mentioned.....
:popcorn:
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 5:22pm
Would the James tailpiece install without problems.I read that a poster says the following observation regarding installing a Morgan Monroe tailpiece.....I post this cause I do not know the right measurements of the KM150 to install a replacement tailpiece.
from Amazon:
Concerning MOrgan Monroe tailpiece installatllation:
Verified Purchase writes
This mandolin tailpiece is made well and is plated. Purchaser should BEWARE! the screw spacing is 0.776" with .340" hole. which is okay for NEW installation. Traditional tailpiece mounting is 1.051" with ,368" hole.So, if this tailpiece is desired to replace an existing one, screw mounting will NOT match up and hole dia is different. The tailpiece can be mounted but you must plug and touchup old screw holds. You can purchase a direct placement from Allen Guitar.
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Mandoplumb
Apr-19-2018, 5:23pm
Would adding the James tailpiece to the Kentucky KM 150 improve its sound quality?....or for that matter any of the other tailpieces mentioned.....
Tail pices hold the strings, they don't produce sound or contribut to it in anyway IMHO.
George R. Lane
Apr-19-2018, 5:31pm
You will spend as much for James than the mandolin itself. Stick with what you got.
Hudmister
Apr-19-2018, 7:29pm
You're a novice who did not know how to take the cover off, it happens, it's OK, the cover removal is the least of your worries as far as the mandolin is concerned. Those who don't give up get to play and enjoy mandolins!
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 7:40pm
You're a novice who did not know how to take the cover off, it happens, it's OK, the cover removal is the least of your worries as far as the mandolin is concerned. Those who don't give up get to play and enjoy mandolins!
What is the easiest method to remove the tail cover?
MikeEdgerton
Apr-19-2018, 8:00pm
Like this. I should have made this video years ago. It might be easier with a dime or penny. The coin simply protects your finger.
fLIRe-0wprA
KoalaBear
Apr-19-2018, 10:11pm
Like this. I should have made this video years ago. It might be easier with a dime or penny. The coin simply protects your finger.
fLIRe-0wprA
Brilliant. A picture speaks a thousand words.My middle finger in my right hand has a broken tendon and have a splinter on it....so the coin fulcrum will work fine with my left hand.
thank you.
CeeBee
Jul-09-2018, 11:17pm
I have this mandolin, and the tailpiece is super tight, but it's getting easier to slide off. Of course, I've taken it off a half dozen times in the last couple weeks (since I just got the mandolin....) while investigating a buzz.
Mine isn't at the right angle, I think, and the cover is in contact with the strings. Haven't decide what to do about it, so I've been playing without the cover on it at all.
multidon
Jul-10-2018, 5:38am
Why not just play it with the cover off? The cover serves no purpose other than for looks. Unless it has a strip of felt or leather on the underside as a damper in which case you can substitute a leather shoelace weave through the strings or those tiny rubber grommets.
The Ashton Bailey is like the standard Allen where nothing matches up. You have to fool around with filling old holes and drilling new ones. Allen makes a different model designed for direct drop in replacement, should match up on holes. Expensive, yess, but they occasionally come up on our Classifieds used. The Mandolin Store carries an AXL brand cast tailpiece which they say has a “standard 3 hole pattern” for $49.95. If true, should be a direct no drill replacement.
Folkmusician.com
Jul-10-2018, 12:21pm
The AXL tailpiece will generally match up with the screw holes, but the endpin location is not standard.
Gruntfish
Jul-10-2018, 2:41pm
I have one. It slides off towards the peg. Getting it back on can be frustrating though...
multidon
Jul-10-2018, 3:29pm
Here’s another idea for you. Contact an Eastman dealer and see if they can order an Eastman cast tailpiece for you. The 500 and up series use them, and I’ll bet they are a drop in replacement.
How many decades did the old Gibson style tailpiece work just fine?
Put the money in a piggy bank and start a fund to buy that Weber Galatin or Collings MT, or Northfield.
CeeBee
Jul-10-2018, 9:56pm
I've been playing without the cover for the time being, and it's been fine... certainly fine enough to not prompt me to investigate some other option. I hope that someday I'll be taking it places (once I actually know how to play it - I'm still on page 33..), and I wonder if the strings will gather lint when it's in its gig bag. An exposed belly button of sorts.
For now, it sits on my table when I'm not playing it, so it's no bother.