Pecanic Tailpiece

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

Do compensating tailpieces have a discernible effect on wolf tones and overall sound quality in the average bass?

I don't know. The only way to tell is to experiment on the Bass you have with each kind of TP. If the Bass has bad wolfs, i don't see how a TP can be the magic potent.

More mass in the TP might help but then again, it depends on the frequency/note of your top and back when tapped and the notes where the wolfs are. I am just guessing here but some Basses can absorb more and some just bounce frequencies like a beach ball.

My motto is that if you don't like your Bass to begin with, get a different Bass. All the money you spend in trying to fix or correct it will most likely not increase its value unless it sounds and looks like a higher grade Bass when done.

[Mike Pecanic]

Hi y'all, first hey Bob, how you been? To answer your questions in order. Ahnold once pointed out to me that the tailpiece, tailpiece cord, and afterlength function as sort of a 'reverb unit' to the whole part of sound/tone/projection/volume quotient of any particular bass. Does the piece 'generate'? It certainly responds but generate...? I wouldn't necessarily think I could claim that the piece/cord/afterlength truely generating anything.

Ok, "identcally shaped", "different species", "exact same weight" tailpieces are going to have identical reponse charateristics in my experience.

Hi Stan, thanks for the questions, now on to the wolf tone issue. Yes and no. Sometimes. Kinda. Never. A couple of months back Jeff B. posted that after he installed one of my pieces, the wolftone, and I quote, "left the building." But the phenomenon of wolftones is complex issue of AO/BO tunings of the multiple parts of any bass. The neck has a tap tone, the fingerboard has a tap tone, tension in the garland, etc. are ALL complicit in wolftones. Basically, I think Jeff just got lucky and its an easy experiement to change out the tailpiece!

[Bob Branstetter]

Thanks for clarifying that issue Mike. I think we had a discussion of this on TB in the past and we all pretty much agreed then that it was the weight, and not the material from which the tailpiece is made, that is responsible for any change in response, sound, etc.

BTW - Mike's tailpieces sure are pretty!

[stan haskins]

Yes. They look really, really cool. And Ken, I do like my bass, but there are areas of the fingerboard (especially on the A string) which don't play as responsively as the rest of the bass - I call it "wolfiness", but my experience with real luthiery(sp?) is negligable.

WHat I really want is for someone to say: "Yeah, you should try another tailpiece - it might solve that problem and make your bass sound better!"

Wait, I think I just said it, didn't I?

[Mike Pecanic]

"Yeah, you should try another tailpiece - it might solve that problem and make your bass sound better!"...or not...mebbe...make it worse...no change...transpose your instrument to Bb...I dunno...get 2, they're small...

Honestly Stan, its all a crap shoot! Lemme guess, the wolfiness is around the F# huh?

[stan haskins]

Actually, the whole string is a bit of a problem. the open A and A harmonic are rough, hard to start - it gets a little rough again around F# and G#, too . . . like I said, I'm not sure if it's by definition a "wolf tone" problem, but when I have problems starting the string with a clear fundamental, I think "Wolfiness"

Anyway, thanks for the responses, Mike. Those tailpieces sure do look cool, and all the basses I've heard with them sound good - if I ever decide to try one, I'll report back. I guess I ought to start with a wolf tone eliminator though, I haven't tried that yet . . . (they just don't look as cool)

[David Powell]

What you described Stan, sound like what happens on my B string when I try to tune it to the E sometimes using the fourth /fifth harmonics. The string fights the bow and you can't get a clear note and the sound it makes, well, there is just no hope hearing when it gets in tune. I'm guessing that is why they call it a "wolf";- because it kind of howls in this wierd strained dissonance if you get anything at all. Fortunately it is only on the low B. Once you are at C and above, the string plays well. The body cavity resonance as best I can tell is about C and the fingerboard is A. I don't know if that effects it but the C's are really strong everywhere and the A is pretty strong too. It's just the low B forth harmonic that jumps like that against the bow. Stopped B on the A sounds really strong as do the F#s.

My work around is just to tune that string at the octave to an electronic source. If it is really carefully tuned then the wolfiness is not as bad. And on some days for unknown reasons, it just isn't there at all. I've thought about the Pecanic TP, the tunable ones or even just a compensated one as at least something worth trying, but on my bass, it's just a few notes on one string that suffer. The original TP is a dyed hard wood, not compensated, and looks pretty good so it's not the highest priority to upgrade it, but considering most of the better 5 string basses I see photos of have compensated TP's makes me curious.