Anyone tried an Outlier tailpiece?

[joehendrick]

http://www.shapeways.com/product/RQU...ionId=20588788

Anyone try one of these 3d printed tailpieces? They look interesting. There are 2 price ranges for the different styles. I'm interested first if they will retrofit regular tailpiece holes and of course the sound. One model seems to have a built in dampener made from cork and the cheaper one does not.

Joe Hendrick
Schenectady NY

[Marc Berman]

Haven't tried his tailpiece but I would trust something coming Ben's shop. It looks to me that they all come with the cork. I think the price difference is the silver finish. Here's his email if you want to drop him a line - ben@outlierworkshop.com

[Phil Goodson]

I'm a little out of the loop with 3-D printing now. Can you actually print with all those different metals now? Last I read, everyone was using plastics. Are these really printed or are the metal selections just a coating on a polymer????

[HoGo]

I'm a little out of the loop with 3-D printing now. Can you actually print with all those different metals now? Last I read, everyone was using plastics. Are these really printed or are the metal selections just a coating on a polymer????

Coatings of course.
I wonder what material he uses (he only notes bronze filled) and how strong they really are. I would be frightened to hang 80 pounds on such fragile thing. Solid metal tailpieces can break and plastics are quite unpredictable in the long term stability.

[Outlier]

Hi y'all,

Ben Pearce here. Thanks for the interest in the tailpiece. I am happy to inform you that the tailpieces are not plastic. I have done a few in different materials (none in plastic... sorry HoGo, just cast precious metals), and I am down to using only steel ones or plated silicone bronze. They are infact, printed steel here is more info on the process , it is pretty amazing.

The one that is on my personal mando, is cast sterling silver; solid. Although a very soft metal, the design/material combo is more than strong enough to stand up to the tension of medium mando strings (18-23 linear lbs x 8). I did have tuning issues for about 10 days, while the the small points of contact as well as the system at large found its equilibrium point. Overall there was no noticeable deformation.

The steel ones are incredibly strong and have none of the issues of using softer materials. The only issue would come if you had a VERY high bridge, and the dampening piece would not dampen the strings. I will personally buy anyone a new tailpiece of their choosing should any of the string hooks break.

To get back to the original question, the dampening material can be made of whatever you choose; I'm happy to provide a template or just make it from black leather, which is what I have been using since I found some of the appropriate thickness. The cork was just a stopgap measure.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions, and thanks again for asking.

Cheers,
Ben

[Marc Berman]

On a side note - check out Ben's web site. His work is great and I love his squid headstock inlay.

[pops1]

I went to you website earlier and noticed the brass, silver, gold etc. and didn't see any plastic. Thanks for the response and setting the record straight.

[billhay4]

His work is quite lovely. I'd like to hear some of his mandolins.
I'm glad to see him using this technology for tailpieces. Wonder if he'd do custom work. I have something in mind.
Bill

[Steve VandeWater]

On a side note - check out Ben's web site. His work is great and I love his squid headstock inlay.

That is very nice looking work! But it makes me think back to the famous Squid O Lin thread from a couple years ago.
I am also impressed with the 3D printed tailpieces. Very cool