Members andy thompson Posted March 16, 2011 Members Share Posted March 16, 2011 Tone arguments aside I got some ebony bridge pins, (I like the look and the fact its organic). They are far too oversize so I took them in for my tech to do, anyway heres the thing.. Hes gonna put a 45 degree ramp on the ball end side to make the string ball end nice and snugg..? Anyone else do this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitnoob Posted March 16, 2011 Members Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hes gonna put a 45 degree ramp on the ball end side to make the string ball end nice and snugg..? Not sure I follow. It's common to ramp the bridge to improve the break angle, but is he talking about ramping the bridge plate? Seems like that would make changing your strings difficult. People do slot the bridge. The slots go through the bridge plate too, and then you use unslotted bridge pins. Edit: or is he just going to bevel the ends of the pins? If so, that could help them fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 16, 2011 Members Share Posted March 16, 2011 Tone arguments aside I got some ebony bridge pins, (I like the look and the fact its organic).They are far too oversize so I took them in for my tech to do, anyway heres the thing..Hes gonna put a 45 degree ramp on the ball end side to make the string ball end nice and snugg..?Anyone else do this... You can ramp the slots from the pins to the saddle at approximately 45 degrees - that is a very good thing to do - makes the break angle about perfect. You can also slot the bridge so that balls sit snugly against the bridgeplate - that also is a good thing to do and can reduce the wear on the bridge plate. If you slot the bridge you either use unslotted pins or you turn slotted ones around and use the unslotted side. I routinely do both slotting and ramping - Bryan Kimsey has a pretty good article on the reasons http://www.bryankimsey.com/bridges/slotted.htm Resizing pins to fit holes would be a real PITA - can't you buy the proper size and taper? I've seen the tool at supply houses - basically a little tapered lathe. btw - I'll be curious about what you think about ebony pins once you've had them fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitnoob Posted March 16, 2011 Members Share Posted March 16, 2011 I think this is what he's talking about. Here's a bridge pin with a beveled end (not a great example, but it's all google would give me): The bevel just helps prevent the ball-end from catching on the pin. It's a useful mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 16, 2011 Members Share Posted March 16, 2011 You can ramp the slots from the pins to the saddle at approximately 45 degrees - that is a very good thing to do - makes the break angle about perfect. You can also slot the bridge so that balls sit snugly against the bridgeplate - that also is a good thing to do and can reduce the wear on the bridge plate. If you slot the bridge you either use unslotted pins or you turn slotted ones around and use the unslotted side. I routinely do both slotting and ramping - Bryan Kimsey has a pretty good article on the reasonsSame here - it's in my opinion the most important mod that I routinely do. If you do the ramps on an old guitar that has action problems, you can actually slot the bridge IN FRONT of the saddle too, so that the saddle is recessed in the slot but the strings don't hit. I've saved a few instruments that couldn't justify a neck reset or couldn't have one like most classicals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members andy thompson Posted March 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Yeah, thats it in the picture. Interesting point on break angle Gitnoob. Im a slow aspiring perfectionist, still waiting to put film in my Rollei 35mm so Ill show you later, but the pins are way back from the saddle,Tanglewood TW15 with, to me, a very shallow angle. He who knows said it was fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members andy thompson Posted March 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 FK, yeah I didnt fancy it either. Hes a real professional enthusiast, always buys over size as there are two sizes of taper, 2 degrees and 5 degrees, the extra meat ensures a good fit after a visit to his lathe.. I did read an interesting piece about fit being as important as material, FWI appart. Something about air escaping from chamber ie pin hole. Im afraid tonewise I wont notice any difference as I havent had it long. After I rescued it, I put Martin 80/20 s on, 12 gauge and its the first guitar Ive had where playing a D chord was inspiring, both others, Yam 403 ms and S6 I winced with a D, tried all sorts of strings, SPs Sunbeams,even Newtones and that chord was always my nemesis. He strung it with Rares, musical yes, but blending, I can imagine, in my ignorance, all guitars sounding the same strung with these, defining ..no. I think Ill try 80/20s again for a week or two then try some John Pearse nickel strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members andy thompson Posted March 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Same here - it's in my opinion the most important mod that I routinely do.If you do the ramps on an old guitar that has action problems, you can actually slot the bridge IN FRONT of the saddle too, so that the saddle is recessed in the slot but the strings don't hit. I've saved a few instruments that couldn't justify a neck reset or couldn't have one like most classicals. Wow, sorry just wow, so...if I understand correctly...the saddle is below the front of the bridge and the grooves allow the string to carry on without fouling. Im guessing you cant just shave the whole of the front of the bridge for structural reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Wow, sorry just wow, so...if I understand correctly...the saddle is below the front of the bridge and the grooves allow the string to carry on without fouling. Im guessing you cant just shave the whole of the front of the bridge for structural reasons.Yeah - imagine a cheap Yamaha classical that has a top bulge that *just* prevents it from having low enough action, but is worth roughly $50. If you sand down the whole front of the bridge the whole saddle will lean forward - but if you just use slots... Since the string anchor point is right there and hence not much movement of the string you don't need the slot to be much wider than the string. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Remember this is not what you'd do on a Martin with a top bulge - just a trick to make a beater work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Yep - I always slice a 45 degree slope on the edge of my bridge pins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tartanlad Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 INTERESTING POST ^^ But i have at times trouble with both E strings on the Seagull MJ the fat E string when i re-string it tends to after i begin to tighten the string by tuning with the machine head it tends to pull up the peg from its foundations in the hole even though ive put the peg in correctly seems like the bridge-hole where the peg goes into must be slightly bigger ? and making the peg although slacker it holds when tuned up ---> probably through the tension with the string although the peg is higher than the others in height from the hole in the bridge Whereas with the low E string it is also slackish in the bridge-hole but the peg sits slightly all way down in the bridge-hole and although low down seated the peg is still being held down by the force of the string when tuning the string the other pegs all seem fine and on the level..Guitar sound ok likes.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members andy thompson Posted March 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Steve.. Thats exactly what happened with my S6, guessing the peg was too loose, when all strings were off I felt inside, the bottom of bridge plate was a little frayed, guess too many people hadnt strung itcorrectly. Koiwoi....thats a blinding bit of info. I dont hang around in guitar shops much, my last visit this chap walks in, havinga clearout, loads of peddles and a yam 12 string, just too high. He only wanted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tartanlad Posted March 17, 2011 Members Share Posted March 17, 2011 Andy..Ye it most probably is that..though just a pain in the neck when stringing up.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 18, 2011 Members Share Posted March 18, 2011 Steve.. Thats exactly what happened with my S6, guessing the peg was too loose, when all strings were off I felt inside, the bottom of bridge plate was a little frayed, guess too many people hadnt strung itcorrectly. Koiwoi....thats a blinding bit of info. I dont hang around in guitar shops much, my last visit this chap walks in, havinga clearout, loads of peddles and a yam 12 string, just too high. He only wanted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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