Tailpiece for flat top Octave Mandolin

[Cliff Seruntine]

I have a Garrison octave mandolin that I bought two months ago. The fellow that owned it is an instrument collector and he owns dozens, maybe hundreds of instruments. He took loving care of this one. Even though Garrison has long since been bought out and closed down by Gibson, the OM is mint. There wasn't a scratch on it, or even the case. I think it mostly sat in a humidified room with other instruments.

Anyway, I love it! The one thing it definitely needs though is a better tailpiece. The one it came with is one of those stamped Gibson style two piece tail pieces and the thing is freaking stiff. It's a standard mandolin tailpiece, but the problem is the OM is a flat top. Who makes tailpieces for flat tops OMs? Perhaps I could make do with a one piece clam shell tailpiece, something like the one in the link below from Elderly Instruments. With one of those, whether the body is flat or arched should make no difference, i think.

https://www.elderly.com/scallop-shell-mandolin-tailpiece.htm

[HonketyHank]

Would something like this work for you? https://www.ebay.com/itm/chrome-8-st...sAAOSwTO9aEUj9

Plus: should work with flat top
Minus: a) curvature might not be an exact fit; b) no cover for string end-windings maybe = snagged shirt sleeve(?).

[Rob Meyer]

I have a flat-topped Petersen OM on which I replaced the stamped tailpiece with an Allen TR-3.

http://www.allenguitar.com/tpcs.htm (The page shows other options too.)

It is a easy switch as all the holes line up with the original stamped tailpiece. The Allen tailpiece has the great advantage in that it can accommodate both loop and ball end strings.

[John Flynn]

I have a flat-topped Petersen OM on which I replaced the stamped tailpiece with an Allen TR-3.

http://www.allenguitar.com/tpcs.htm (The page shows other options too.)

It is a easy switch as all the holes line up with the original stamped tailpiece. The Allen tailpiece has the great advantage in that it can accommodate both loop and ball end strings.

Agree, I have one on my Mendel OM. Being able to use select guitar strings is great for the OM player.

[Cliff Seruntine]

That's a very good point, but it's easy to remove the balls from a guitar string and make the work on a mando tailpiece. For the moment, I am going to try the Golden Gate M-134 clamshell tailpiece. They have really good reviews and are apparently very solid. And it has the wonderful advantage that I can buy one in Canada, which means I don't have to pay $55 in S&H plus another $10 in import fees. (Yeah, it's crazy!) If it doesn't work, I'll get an Allen tailpiece. I really like the Allens.

Is there a dealer of Allen tailpieces in Canada?

[Jim Garber]

The one thing it definitely needs though is a better tailpiece. The one it came with is one of those stamped Gibson style two piece tail pieces and the thing is freaking stiff.

I am not really sure what you are talking about when you say the tailpiece is "freaking stiff." The main difference between a carved top vs. a flattop might be the angle that the strings leave the tailpiece. Is that what you are talking about?

Peter Sawchyn is a long time Canadian maker and he makes a line of flattop instruments including an octave mandolin. It looks from this one that it has a standard Gibson-style tailpiece.