Tailpiece?

[rowka]

While fitting a new CA bridge to my old Rover RM-75 I noticed that the edge of the tailpiece was touching the face of the body. It was easy to bend up and leave about 3/16” gap.
However, when I strung it back up the pressure from the strings flexed it back down in contact with the body.

Is this a significant detriment to my sound (having never played a “good” mandolin it seems fine as is, but what do I know)?

I wouldn’t mind an upgrade with my next string change, but don’t think spending $150 on a James is wise.

Thoughts?

[John Kelly]

I noticed that you have a posting elsewhere on this forum about having to take a lot of wood off your new bridge to get a good height and break angle. This, coupled with the fact that the tailpiece is sitting on the soundboard would lead me to suggest that you check your neck angle.

[rowka]

Yeah. I kinda screwed up and took too much wood off the foot but that’s a different story. Got a very good fit, but the adjust wheels are higher than I think they should be.

But yeah, the neck angle is probably a bit shallow. There is zero chance that I will spend the funds on this Mando to adjust that.

[EdHanrahan]

... my old River RM-75 ...

Guessing that you meant "Rover"?

[rowka]

Yes. Corrected.

[MikeEdgerton]

Try raising the bridge base with some veneer glued on the bottom and lowering the bridge top a bit. If you layer a thin strip at a time you might retain your fit.

You could try one of the very inexpensive cast tailpieces available on eBay to resolve the tailpiece problem.

The neck angle is what it is.

[amowry]

It's also common to see tailpieces that are touching the top because the top was carved too thin and it is bulging up in that area. I would guess you Rover doesn't have this problem, though.

[sblock]

Posting a picture, taken from the side, would help settle this.

Regardless, if your action is set to the correct height at the bridge, and the tailpiece is touching the top when the strings are 'neutral' (i.e., not bent) and emerging from their rear attachment point, then the shape of your mandolin top is all wrong! There should be clearance, and the strings should not deviate from a straight line as they emerge from the tailpiece. Raising the bridge up higher (at the saddle or the base; that doesn't matter!) will of course give greater clearance behind it, but it will also change the action. If the action is set correctly, though, then you have very few options. You could get a cast (or other rigid) tailpiece that doesn't touch the top, but that would cause the strings to bend as they emerged from the tailpiece towards the bridge. Or, you could just live with it (it's a pretty cheaply made mando, to be frank). I would not invest in putting a CA bridge or a cast tailpiece on a Rover mandolin. Instead, save the money that you might spend for these things and put it into the fund for your next, better, mandolin.

[rowka]

Agreed, it's a pretty cheap mando, but not Rogue cheap, for sure.
The replacement bridge was needed. The original saddle was actually chipping out around the string slots and was deflecting downward in the middle, and it was a relatively small difference between the CA and a cheapo import replacement bridge. But I really don't think it's worth the investment to "make it right."

I was eyeing a Silver Angel Fantasma on the classifieds that had disappeared. Oh well...

[Br1ck]

SilverAngels come up fairly frequently in the classifieds, you just need to pounce. There is always a $1500 A style or two offered that would be a mandolin you can live with for a while. Last week I got together with a friend and we compared my Arches kit, my Silverangel, and his Pava, and concluded having all three would be a good thing as they each brought something to the table.

His next gig we'll have all three there to see how they work in a group. He was impressed with my Silverangel's low end and chop, but the Pava had a great mid range, but the Arches has volume and a high end presence that should cut through a band. We'll see, but the main thing is they are all very good at this level.

[rowka]

Before I drop $1500+ on a new mado, I REALLY need to make a road trip to someplace that has more than a Guitar Center and try out a bunch to see if I'd like a wider fretboard, a radiused fretboard, and how different "good" instruments sound compared to my Rover. I've got the Rover set up and playing very well at this point.