RS-2 FEEDBACK

Allen RS-2 Reso Tailpiece Testimonials

Click on image for larger view  Here are some testimonials regarding the new RS-2

Hi Randy,

Ron Bednar here. Great talking with you the other day!Just short note about the RS-2 tailpiece I recently bought. Wow, what a difference it made on my reso, it really opened that guitar up! A marked increase in volume, richness of tone and sustain...and it looks very spiffy cool too! You did a great job on it, everyone should have one, that's my honest opinion. Thanks a bunch for the best tailpiece ever!

Cheers,

Randy;

That tail piece is amazing. I tried it on my D60 and a friends National and Beard. I could not believe the difference it made on the sound of my D60 and the National. It really wasn't very impactful on the Beard. The improvement of the sound on the other two were unbelievable. I had no idea such an otherwise not thought of part could play such an integral part in sound performance. I want one.

Thanks for the test drive, Randy.

Benny Barrett

Hello.  Here's my (lengthy and belated) review of the Allen RS-2 Tailpiece I tried out earlier this month.

First, much thanks to Randy Allen for sending the review sample.  With the number of requests he received for tailpiece tryouts, he sent a couple more out for parallel processing, so I received my tailpiece quickly.  Another example of the cooperative spirit in the reso community.

My first impression is of a finely crafted piece of hardware, nicely styled and beautifully rhodium (lighter/brighter than nickel; warmer than chrome) plated.  The tailpiece is quite solid, rigid and weighty.  Two design features make this part easy to retrofit on the guitar:  the slotted hole for the mounting screw allows height (and therefore string angle) adjustment, and the string spacing matches that at the saddle for straight string pull (these are both great improvements over the RS-1).  The RS-2 is shorter than the standard dobro tailpiece; that combined with the styling and plating present a non-traditional look, while exposing more coverplate openings.

Installation was straightforward as expected.  I couldn't use the screw from my Dunlop Straplok strap button (too large in diameter).  So, I used the supplied screw with a toothpick to take up the slack (no glue required, but I'd plug and re-drill for a permanent installation).  Of course, I may be the only person in Reso-land that uses the Dunlop Straplok instead of the Schaller system, so it may be a moot point.

I installed the RS-2 on my 1985 OMI Model 27, with Quarterman cone, bone nut, ebony/maple saddles (Tim Scheerhorn set it up once before I bought it, but I've had the cone out a few times since, so I guess that doesn't count…).  I mounted the tailpiece so it cleared the coverplate by about 3/32".  The red damping strip on the underside of the tailpiece is too far back to be effective on my instrument, but the slot allowed a mounting which cleared the coverplate.  I may have increased the string break angle by about a degree or so.

The first thing I thought I noticed was more sustain, but after replacing the original tailpiece, I realized that was I was hearing was a stronger, more solid fundamental (the sustain was about 15 seconds either way).  The range of solid tone moved up from about the 7th fret to about the 10th fret.  I thought the sound was louder and punchier.

One interesting observation is the significant string length between the tailpiece and saddle.  With more string length, the strings behind the bridge vibrate louder than behind the longer standard tailpiece.  On my dobro, the pitch was very close to a C chord, two octaves above a fifth fret bar position.  The sympathetic vibrations may have helped the sound up the neck (above the 7th fret) when I played in G and C, but not as much when I played in A.  I tried damping the strings behind the bridge; the sound became drier and less pleasant to my ears.  Please note that the pitch behind the bridge may be different on other instruments, based on the length from the back of the saddle to the leading edge of the tailpiece.

Summary:  The Allen RS-2 tailpiece is well made.  I found the tailpiece improved the overall tone of my instrument.  It looks good if not traditional.  If I were going to keep my 27 (another good story for another time), I would purchase this tailpiece.

As always, your mileage may vary, close cover before striking, imaginary luthier on closed track, etc.

I received Randy Allen's new tailpiece with the wider string spacing today (Monday, September 20th). First of all, I must say it looks *nice*. All around good looks and nice finish.  There are three or four features I really liked even before I installed it on a guitar.

(1.) The way the strings come out from underneath the leading edge. That is good in my book. It gives a positive "jumping off" point to the bridge.

(2.) The slotted hole for the mounting screw. This allows for a couple of different things. One thing (the original intention, I believe) is it allows the tailpiece to line up with screw holes that are not quit "standard." You have some leeway there. The other thing is that the slotted screw hole allows you to place a piece of leather under the tailpiece should you want to raise it up to adjust your down pressure to the cone.

(3.) The tailpiece is about an inch shorter than a stock tailpiece. This gives more string length behind the bridge, and makes for "good vibrations" for the cone. Since the tailpiece is shorter, there will be more of a drop in the string height from bridge to tailpiece, especially as the strings exit from beneath. If you fear that the drop is too much, you just place a piece of leather under the tailpiece about even with the ball ends of the strings. I did this to see how it would work out, and it works just fine, thanx to that slotted screw hole. Of course, there is the ability to add one or two more strings with this tailpiece as well. You got your six, seven and eight stringer right here, folks.  I figured the best test would be on my OMI D 60.

It sounds great as is, so I wondered what the result would be. The tailpiece is no trouble to install. There may be some who complain about the fact that you have to thread the strings through from the back, but that is a non-problem for me. I did space it up to sort of match the string drop I had before, since it was where I had found that I liked it. The first thing I noticed (other than the spiffy good looks) was that it made my guitar more fun to play.( Most will know what I mean...there are lots of great Dobros, but some are simply *more fun* as soon as you start to pick...). The tailpiece seems to have given my D 60 a more lively action. I *really* liked that. It had an improved response over the entire range, but especially in the Bass. I would not hesitate to say that I found a definite improvement in my guitar after installing Randy's new tailpiece.

I LIKE IT.

The only thing I don't like is the fact that I gotta take it off and send it on to Benny Barrett. Hang on, Benny, relief is on the way...

For those of you who remember Randy Allen's great offer to circulate a couple of his new reso tailpieces among the list members, well, I finally received one and had a chance to try it out. Thought I'd post my thoughts here as a thank you to Randy and to let you all know my take on the RS-2 tailpiece.

First of all, the RS-2 is a thing of beauty. Heavy, beautifully-finished, and a real eye-catcher. It would be worth having one just as an eye-pleaser. When it arrived, the finish looked wonderful except for some markings on the matte-finish behind the rearmost 2 extra string holes. Don't know if this was from strings being installed, but I don't think so. More like somebody doodled on it with a pencil. A small thing, and shouldn't be an issue. The rhodium plating is quite striking--not an exact color match for nickel or chrome finishes, so it stands out.  (I'd love to see the bronze tailpiece, just for comparison.)  I ended up trying it out on a circa-1971 Dobro.

I recall someone saying they thought that feeding strings through the holes on an Allen tailpiece was more inconvenient than slipping them into the slots of a traditional tailpiece. With the exception of the rare occasion when you're actually changing and comparing tailpieces and trying to save the strings, I disagree. It was great not having to use a piece of masking tape to hold the string in the slot while I fiddled at the far end to get the string on. I find the Allen design a definite feature and not a bug.

Others have described the design of the tailpiece, so I'll just describe what it did for my Dobro. It definitely improved the lows, while the highs were a bit softer--not a bad thing, just a mellowing of some of that Dobro shrillness. In the midrange, it somehow seemed to eliminate that Dobro funkiness--coupled with that new Quarterman cone, it sounded a lot more like an open soundwell guitar than I ever expected that instrument to sound. Now, I happen to like that funky tone on the Dobro, but the sound coming from that Dobro was very pleasing.  Makes me really wonder what I could have done with a screw hole in the right place and a little judicious adjustment.

I plugged a microphone into my computer and made some quick and dirty recordings, first with the RS-2 installed, then with the old tailpiece back on (and a new set of strings), then, for the heck of it, my newly set-up Jones. Now, it's hard to do this and know how much of what you're hearing is the guitar, or the slight shift in angle and position of the microphone, or maybe even the change in humidity from the time I made one recording to the next. For what it's worth, though, the recording of the guitar with the RS-2 sounds clearly different from the old tailpiece. Less muddy, less overtones, louder, and sweeter, even with a slightly used set of strings. Less midrange "funk." Overall, it's a pretty amazing difference.

I'd love to find one of these in my Christmas stocking. It's not going to make as big a difference as a new set up or putting in a new resonator. It definitely falls into the category of a subtle but real shift in the tonal qualities of the instrument. I'd love to have one for the Jones guitar and the time to really work with it, adjusting the height and tweaking the angle of the strings.  I think it could be a real asset.  And sound issues aside, the thing just looks great.

Thanks, Randy.

Jim Norman.