Taking Off Strings Breaks Tail Piece?!!?

[Sam Brown]

So today I was (trying) to replace the strings on my mandolin by myself I have a Rover RM-50 and when I was loosing my string the string ripped off the tail piece breaking the loop so now I have to buy a new tail piece and I want to know why this happened and how I can prevent it, because now I'm scared to tune my mandolin.

[George R. Lane]

Sam,
I feel your pain. Same thing happened on my first mandolin, a Michael Kelly. It is on the less expensive mandolins they use cheap tailpieces and the prongs tend to break. Getting a better quality tailpiece is easy to replace. Most of the advertisers here on the Café carry replacements costing anywhere from$12.00 to $25.00. If you do replace it make sure you tape the bridge feet to the mandolins top, so it doesn't move out of position.

[Bill Snyder]

For the time being you can double up on one prong and still play.

[mrmando]

Or, since the Gibson-style 2-piece tailpieces have extra prongs, you don't even need to double up.

If you bought the mandolin new from a reputable dealer, there may be a warranty on it. Check with the dealer.

When replacing strings, I usually take off most of the tension with the tuning knob, then use wire cutters and cut the string in two near the bridge. This saves time and gives me two loose ends to work with, rather than having to loosen the string enough to pull off the tailpiece before I can finish unwinding it at the post, or vice versa.