I decided to replace the tailpiece my Kentucky 272 came with. The lower part was stainless steel, decently heavy and the upper part was stamped brass, according to their website. But I liked the one piece tailpieces, and ordered one, a clone of the Allen AR-2. (Sorry, Allen, I love your tailpieces but I just cannot afford the $45 S&H to Canada, which works out to about $60 CAN). The tailpiece, by AXL, is very high quality--solid cast brass with a good nickel finish, and shipped free.
I had read some say they thought their mandolins sounded better after going with heavier tailpieces. I was dubious that a tailpiece could improve the tone of a mandolin, but it does. In particular, at least on my instrument, what it does is increase the sustain and clarity of the A and E strings, which now ring like clear bells.
Just sayin' . . . if you're considering a tailpiece change, you might be surprised the positive changes you'll get in your instrument's voice.
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