It was an older all-black tailpiece, not chrome and black as curently shown on website. Very sturdy unit based on 3/32 or 1/8" thick plate, looks almost indestructible, meant to be a direct replacement for existing tailpiece. The instructions included were for the electric guitar models, but the missing details were intuitive.

Had to drill the attachment hole for the one strap-button screw that holds it in place, which is probably a good design, as I didn't have to poke a new hole in the ol' Dobro. I left a tiny bit of space between cover plate and new tailpiece, filled gap with scrap leather, to avoid possible vibrations between these two components.

For each string there is a cam-lever. When the lever is pushed down against the tailpiece, it's the tightest string setting and you tune with tuning pegs. When the lever is flipped up to a mid-point stop, the string is lowered and you tune with a tiny allen wrench. When the lever is flipped again it is lowered further, and you tune with a tiny allen wrench. Stops are precise and definite, with a solid "click" as they pop into place.

Here is how I set it up -- took 4-5 tuning iterations for the strings to settle in the first time.

highest ----- D A D G B D
midpoint ---- x G x F#A x
lowest ------ x x x x x x

This gives me three related tunings, without changing the loading on the resonator very much, without any cabinet drop worth mentioning, when switching from one tuning to another.

open G ----- D G D G B D
open D ----- D A D F# A D
D6/Bm7 ----- D A D F# B D

There are many un-used settings left. The example given on the Hipshot website shows about a dozen tunings on a single guitar. I will gradually try to work in more small adjustments, but want to avoid drastic swoops in string tension that will affect tuning stability or cone rattle.

Will have to see how well it works on a gig or two, and let y'all know.

[This message was edited by D Schubert on 07 April 2005 at 10:01 AM.]

About 20 years ago, I put a Hipshot b-bender assembly on a Dobro with the extra string-lower levers. It was not as sturdy as the Trilogy unit, and very hard to keep in tune. I removed it after a few weeks. Maybe I'll have better luck this time. Or, there will another tailpiece in the garage sale.

[This message was edited by D Schubert on 07 April 2005 at 11:03 AM.]

Just finished re-installing the Trilogy on my Dobro again. This time I cut a piece of leather to go under the tailpiece to tame any potential rattles. Revamped the tuning as follows...

GBDG BD -- levers up
EA.F#AD -- levers in 2nd position
DG.E GB -- levers in 3rd position

That lets me toggle between all of these tunings in real-time...

GBDG BD-----hi-bass bluegrass G
DGDG BD-----lo-bass blues G
DADF#AD-----open D
DADF#BD-----D6/Bm7
GBDE GB-----G6, lower form of C6

There is a little bit of de-tuning that's apparent when I drop the low G down to low D. And the three treble strings are a bit floppy when I drop them down for G6, and while the strings are brand new and the cone is settling in again, it's hard to dial in all of the stops. But, I think that it will still be satisfactory for switching back and forth between these tunings in between songs with little or no fine-tuning. Will give it another round of fine-tuning tomorrow night after everything has a chance to settle in. More later.

By the way, I did not break any strings yet while tuning or de-tuning with the levers.

[This message was edited by D Schubert on 30 May 2005 at 08:27 PM.]

G B E G# C E - levers up
E A D G B D - lever mid
D G C F# A C - levers down

This gives me easy access to the following tunings:
G B D G B D - G, high bass
E B E G# B E - E
D A D F# A D - D
D A D G A D - Dsus
E B E G B E - Em
G B E G B D - G6
D A D F# B D - D6
D G D G B D - G, low bass

I always have to fine tune a bit when toggling tunings, primarily to compensate the intonation. For instance, I keep the B-strings straight up for Open-E tuning, but tune them a little flat when for G-tuning. Though, if it's just changing one string, I'll often do that mid-song, like switching from Open-D to Dsus for a solo break.

Haven't had any problems going from D->E->G on the bottom string, though I need to use a lighter bass string than I normally would.

Tuning						
	6	5	4	3	2	1
C6	C	E	G	A	C	E
A9	C#	E	G	A	B	E
A6	C#	E	F#	A	C#	E
A7	C#	E	G	A	C#	E
D9	C	D	F#	A	C	E

Trilogy Set-up						
Upper	C#	E	G		C#	F
Middle	C	D	F#	A	C	E
Lower	Bb				B

To my way of thinking, the simpler the better.

Craig.

[This message was edited by Craig Prior on 06 June 2005 at 08:28 AM.]