Thomastik-Infeld 5-string Tailpiece with Fine Tuners

This is a peculiar one, and a rare bird indeed!

This unique 5-String Upright/Double Bass Tailpiece is made in Vienna, Austria. Labeled in Austrian German as "Feinstimm-Saitenhalter," these are brand new, old stock tailpieces that I acquired, and they are really quite unusual.

"By combining a traditional tailpiece with five individual built-in fine tuners, Otto Infeld created a tuning system which has remained unsurpassed to the present day as the solution for the problem of fine tuning."

These tailpieces are cast in a metal alloy, with metal hardware that allows for fine-tuning of all five strings. At one time, they made these for all of the string instrument family, and these 5-string bass models may well be the least common. And I have a handful of them. (No, I don't have, and can't get, the 4-string version).

Being made of metal, they do have some weight to them - on my postal scale, the one in the photo was a little over 17 ounces (486 grams). But they're beautifully made, with cast frames, painted in matte black, and precision-machined moving parts.

The adjusters allow for fine-tuning of each of the five strings for highly accurate tuning - so if you have an older bass with old, finicky tuners, this might be a helpful addition. According to the included documentation (mostly in German, with instructions in several languages including English) the tailpiece also provides increased "sharpness" or clarity of tone - so it may help bring an overly dark-sounding bass a bit more "into the light." That said, I've never tried one of these, so I can't speak to that effect with any experience or authority. 

According to their marketing talk (which I translated from German), the Infeld tailpiece allows the whole length of the string to vibrate freely, without the need for an additional ridge between tuner and bridge which could weaken the ball end and hamper resonance. This clearly refers to the way the string ends sit on a curved moving surface, rather than having the tuners adjust by dragging the strings back and forth over the break point of a fixed tailpiece saddle. 

If you can find them anywhere, these are supposed to sell for $199.99. We've got them marked down MUCH cheaper!

• Cast in high grade metal alloy
• Low-reflection black matte painted finish
• Integrated fine tuners with brass screws in brass bushings
• Wide adjuster claw to accept modern thick string bindings
• Vertical tailgut holes should be compatible with most tailguts
• Made in Vienna, Austria

This item is New and in the original box; it has been in storage, so the retail box may have some fading and wear and tear. However, the tailpiece itself has never been used and is still wrapped in the factory plastic. Original paperwork and accessory are included.

Something like this might also be a great option for those creative types coming up with a new design for an electric upright bass - at the price I'm letting these go for, it could be worth the small investment.

Limited supply - once they're gone, they're gone. These are considered a clearance item, so they are considered "final sale" - no returns accepted.