Sure! The quick short answers to the question(s) is/are: wood, wood, wood...the different hard (and some soft) woods have different response characteristics. I've found that what Ray Brown used to say about lighter woods make better tailpieces for pizz. players. as pretty true. So have my customers. I've also discovered that the ebonies don't necessarily make the best pieces for the arco predominant players, and they (the ebonies)shore don't make good adjustable tailpieces as they are just too darn heavy. The compensation thing sorta came about after realizing that most high-end arch top guitars and mandolins have compensated tailpieces as well as the 5 string Pohlmann's...my basic premise is that the larger diameter the string, the longer the string length, you know, like the harp. Then there is the aethestics of the shape, I think they look pretty cool! Back to the various types of wood. One example I like is that A 440 on a marimba sounds way different than A 440 on a vibraphone, at least to me. And they are all "one offs", made to order, one at a time in a little shop in California, nestled in foothills which, by the way, have snow on them today(wonder of wonders)! As David Gage once said about them, (I paraphrase) "I don't know if they work, but they look cool..." Hey, I think thats a complement coming from David...and I get my Cocobolo from a well-known maker of high-end electric basses, (Thanks again Ken)...
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