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| I ran across this video on Youtube. The segment on the Ovation mandolin starts about 8:45 into the video. I know nothing about mandolins and was wondering what the consensus was of the BFLG.
Do you think the luthier in the video took the right approach to the repair or do you think he should have restored it to it's original configuration?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAd1CWnc77I&t=1046s
Edited by BCam 2019-12-27 7:47 PM
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | That is the Laziest way to do that. 
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | I am concerned, not so much with the guy's badmouthing of the design characteristics, but with why the bridge broke, in the first place. The tailpiece remedy may be bulletproof, but not optimal for the resonance & sustain qualities. As it is said, YMMV............ |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I disagree ... Actually I think that is a brilliant repair. If for no other reason that not having to use ball end mando strings. not sure I would agree that "75% of these fail", but keep in mind that this is a cheap Applause mando and probably not worth spending much money on a more elegant repair. In the end it looks like he did pretty nice work. |
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Location: Lake Forest, CA | The original bridge repair failed for two reasons.
1) Bridge was glued with a PVA glue.
2) Mando was subjected to high heat after repair.
PVA glues such as TiteBond will creep when subjected to temperatures found in hot cars. The bridge repair separated because the glue was warm and gooey. Then it cooled down and the glue became semi-rigid again.
It must have been pretty hot because the glue holding the epaulets also softened and the epaulets curled up from the top.
Had the original bridge repair been done with hide glue it would have stood a better chance of coming through whatever hot event it experienced. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | The Repairman expressed a bias showing me that he didn't understand or believe in the original design.
Going to a tailpiece will reduce the amount of sound.
An economical fix but not the right fix. |
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Location: Katmandu | I would have to agree with Jerry's assessment in the beginning of the video that this mandolin design as such is just an invitation for disaster. Admittedly, it is an inexpensive instrument and Jerry mostly works with, and makes, high-end mandolins. I can't say enough bad things about metal screws holding down the bridge in a mandolin or a guitar. On the other hand the mandolin just looks goofy with the tail piece. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | MWoody - 2019-12-28 6:48 PM
Going to a tailpiece will reduce the amount of sound.
Mike, why do you say that? Not trying to pick an argument, just curious what physics would cause this. If anything I would be concerned about the stress that the tailpiece would place on the bowl which certainly was not designed with a tailpiece in mind. But I don't see how it would effect the tone. Maybe circumstantial evidence, but to my eyes and ears every top end mandolin I know of uses a tailpiece and the comparison in sound (unplugged) to Ovation is pretty obvious. The Ovation/Applause is in my opinion designed for plugged in use and I don't think the sound on the pickup would be influenced by the presence of (or lack of) a tail piece. Just my 2 cents and keep in mind we're talking about a $250 applause mandolin in this case  |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Dave, I could be misguided (I thought I was wrong once, turns out I was mistaken) but I see a couple of elements at work:
- The angle of the strings over the bridge are steeper on the back of the pinless bridge of the Applause.
- With the pinless bridge the string energy is focused on moving the bridge perpendicular (up/down) to the soundboard as well as bridge to neck (forward/back).
- With a tailpiece the energy is moving up/down and mostly through the Piezo saddle (better for plugged in?) but since the Applause is "overbuilt" the thicker top cannot transfer the energy as well.
When making repairs stick to the original design even if you don't like it.
Unless it's really broken (or epoxy is involved) then take license to recreate... |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | What he said..............that was my speculation about resonance & sustain. There is an increase in mass, with the tailpiece modification, and so needs more force to maintain the same level of power. Newton was probably right. |
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June 2002
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Ah, good points. A wooden mandolin almost always has an arched top which means that the break angle from the tailpiece is steeper than it would be on this flat top applause with tailpiece. Maybe I'm just jaded because I think it looks very cool with the tailpiece. |
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Location: northern Georgia | There are some flat-top mandolins that use a tailpiece -- probably more than don't. Some that come to mind are the Gibson Allrite and Army-Navy, and the Flatiron copies of the A-N, and even the old Stradolins. However these also used bridges that are a little higher and had somewhat shorter bodies that give a better break angle over the bridge. Their tops are also lightly braced compared to the Quintad bracing in the Ovation model. Still the complaint about the holes in the bridge for the strings being a major design flaw is bogus, and Ovation is not the only company to use this type of bridge, even for mandolins. Having said that, the fact that this put an inexpensive mandolin quickly back into service is a good thing, and this "repair" should be reversible. |
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| To his credit, he did consult with the owner before proceeding. |
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Location: When?? | I'm guessing he gave the customer two options.. fix it to original spec, or re-invent it.. as well as two different price tags to go with those options.. and the customer chose the lower road. |
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Location: When?? | Dan.. could your 3D printing expertise devise a cost effective bridge like that one was, but out of something strong that wouldn't split and separate like the wood did? |
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Ovation Mandolin Repair Method-Improvement or Heresy?
