Tailpieces, Kershner, Price, or??

[Spoefish]

I am tired of the crappy repro Presto tailpiece on my Whyte Laydie
conversion 5 string, and do not want to go back to a No-Knot. I find
the No-Knot does not give me quite enough pressure = not as bright a
tone. It seems that these days Kershner realy means Kershner style.
I currently have a nice repro Kershner that came off an old Alvarez
Silver Princess - about two inches long and well made except it is
chrome instead of nickel. Any other recommendations on Kershners - or
maybe a Price (are they still being made - their website does not come
up any more, and no one seems to have them in stock) - or one of the
Price copies that come from Gold Tone? I like the mass of the
Kershner, just wonder if there are any better repros than the one I
have. Thanks

[Musicmannt]

My two cents worth. You must be trying to kill the sound of you banjo with a
that heavy Kersher tailpiece.. Any coments or experience.
Larry

[Peter Roehling]

Musicmannt wrote:
>
> My two cents worth. You must be trying to kill the sound of you banjo with a
> that heavy Kersher tailpiece.. Any coments or experience.

You think he doesn't know what he likes?

P.

[W. Paul Mills]

spoe...@mindspring.com (Spoefish) writes:

The web site is there, you just have to add a tilde. Telepath.com
must have changed their web server software.

http://home.telepath.com/~ghprice/

Paul

--
* For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, *
* that whoever believes in Him should not perish... John 3:16 *

[Carl Baron]

If you want to know what is, and has been, out there, check out the 64
known plus other unknown tailpieces at
http://www.mugwumps.com/tailpieces.html
In particular, you might consider the Talon though I don't know if they're
still available. It's a simple, neat tailpiece and gives you some
increased head tension since the strings start at an inch over the head.
Carl

[Tyler Gingrich]

Carl Baron <cba...@mail.med.upenn.edu> wrote in news:3D0C8C26.2EBC80E1
@mail.med.upenn.edu:

> check out the 64
> known plus other unknown tailpieces at
> http://www.mugwumps.com/tailpieces.html

how can an 'unknown' tailpiece be listed on a website?

;-)

- Tyler

[Todd]

here ya go
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/P113.htm

Todd

[Mike Stanger]

I like Kerschner tailpieces a lot, and don't find they kill the tone
whatsoever.

The weight and rigidity of them works to drive the strings harder,
because the vibrations behind the bridge aren't dissapated so much. And
the Kershner's adjustability allows the player to fine tune the kind of
tone wanted. The Price is good for the same reasons, and is better in
it's straight line design than the Kerschner.

While there is sure nothing wrong with a soft plunky tone, obviously
this player wants some more volume and a crisper tone. Any of the
tailpeices he mentioned would help in this.

I don't like the Presto much. The string cover is a pain in the butt and
unneeded, and to me, they are like stiff diving boards- they are stiff,
but seem still flexy. This may be desireable to a lot of players, but
not to me. So much of tone depends on the individual that it's very hard
to put any one element, or combination of elements, into rock solid
absolutes. Experimentation is a good thing, especially when your
requirements or tastes in tone change, and banjos are made to tinker
with.
Regards,
Stanger

[Musicmannt]

My experience of not being able to use the Kershner tailpiece comes from
changing out a Presto on my Gibson RB4 to a Kershner and rendering it dead!!!!
I wanted the ease of changing strings but killing my banjo was not in the
plans. I will say I have a kershner on my Stelling which I have never changed
and it seems to work on that banjo. Experimenting on each banjo is the key.
What works on one will not work on the other. But I still believe heavy
tailpieces and thick bridges mute the sound of any banjo IMO!!!!
Larry

[Bob Gregory]

"Musicmannt" wrote
>..But I still believe heavy tailpieces and thick bridges mute the sound of
any banjo...

Thicker (i.e. more massive) bridges do mute the sound; most commercial mutes
use this principle and clipping a clothespin to the bridge of any banjo
demonstrates this clearly. But with some banjos I've set up, the tonal
balance and increased sustain of the heavier bridge sounds better to my ear.

The tailpiece, on the other hand, has a different function. One way to look
at a banjo (or any acoustic stringed instrument) is as a mechanical
amplifier: string vibrations are eventually converted into sound waves. The
tailpiece anchors the strings behind the bridge. Some theorize that a firmer
anchor (i.e. a massive and rigid tailpiece) results in more energy being
transmitted through the bridge to the head, making the banjo louder rather
than muting it. Adding mass to a tailpiece clearly has a less dramatic
effect. If the tailpiece is steel, stick on a magnet salvaged from an old
loudspeaker to add significant mass. This usually doesn't mute the sound. Of
course, mass is only one factor in a tailpiece.

A couple of years ago during a major overhaul of my banjo I tried both
no-knot and kershner clones, but in the end reverted back to the massive
cast tailpiece from an old Ode I once owned. Compared to the heavy (over
1lb) Ode tailpiece, the other, lighter tailpieces seemed quieter on my
banjo. Some would argue this is a good thing (grin :), but over the years
I'd become accustomed to the sound of the heavy tailpiece on that banjo and
the others just didn't sound "right" to my ears.

As with most things banjo, "it depends" --on the banjo, the player, the
desired result, etc. There are very few hard and fast rules. With both
bridges and tailpieces, experimentation is a relatively painless and
inexpensive process.

--Bob