Tailpiece Wires for the Double Bass

Why is a tailpiece wire so important?

Although a tailpiece wire might seem a rather insignificant part of your instrument - it is in fact fundamental to its playability. Its function is to hold the tailpiece in position and counter-act the tremendous pulling forces that are placed on it when the strings are tuned up to pitch. Should your tailwire break while you are playing the instrument - you will quickly realise the importance of it - as you will not be able to play the instrument any further.

What will happen if my tailwire breaks?

There could be either a fairly loud bang or a more muted "phunk" type of sound as your tailwire finally breaks through, snaps or gives-way. Which ever sort of sound it makes - there will certainly be a sudden loss of tension on the bridge and it will fall over and clatter down the front of the instrument to the floor. The resultant loss of pressure on the instrument table (front) will - in nearly all instances - cause the soundpost to fall down inside the instrument. As bridge and post falls - tailpiece and strings start to fly upwards - often with violent force. On the odd occasion it has been known to hit the player on the hand or in the face and cause injury. On the journey back down - the tailpiece - because it is still attached to the strings - will swing down like a spring and impact heavily onto the table. When it finally stops swinging about - it will hang loosely at the end of limp strings. The event takes just a few seconds to run its course but can leave one feeling particularly ruffled and very undignified. Just imagine this happening to you during the quiet movement of say - the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor – at an important rehearsal or concert.

Could my instrument sustain structural damage if this happens?

Yes indeed. At the very least there could be some nasty scratches to the varnish and the possibility of some heavy bruising to the timber. At the worst the initial impact could have caused a crack towards the lower table. Once you finally dust yourself down from the incident and inspect your instrument more closely - you may well notice that a small crack has appeared just underneath - or slightly below - the treble side foot of the bridge. The sudden upward movement of the soundpost prior to it falling down will have caused this and it will undoubtedly cost several hundred pounds to repair properly.

Is a flexible tailwire best for my instrument?

Yes. The best sort of tailwire is both flexible and adjustable.
Re Flexible: A flexible tailwire is desirable because it allows the tailpiece to be flexible. The flexibility helps in the production of sympathetic vibrations within the tailpiece - which in turn lends itself to an overall better quality of sound.
Re Adjustable: An adjustable tailwire is preferable because it allows the tailpiece to be set at the desired length. A correctly positioned tailpiece will help the strings below the bridge produce sympathetic vibrations when the instrument is played. This in turn will help the instrument produce a better overall quality of sound.

What sort of tailwire do you recommend?

The Contrabass Shoppe Ltd – has two types of tailpiece wires available. The Bass Sure-Lock and the Wittner Tailpiece Wire.

Bass Sure-Lock	Wittner Tailpiece Wire