Extension Without Wheel

[Dr Rod]

Hi there

has anyone had an extension without the little wheel that eliminates friction while tuning?

Did your low C strings have a shortened life?

was it considerably harder to tune, or did you get used to it?



comments?

[Brian K]

My Kolstein bass came with an extension with no wheel. It worked fine, though I've taken it off, only because I didn't want to keep using an extension.

[basswraith]

Yes my extension came with out a wheel.
It was hard to tune and would stick and bind. Yes my string broke.
Then I installed a pully wheel and movable nut at the top. That made a great difference. Now I can fine tune the low C with the sliding nut and the tuning machine. I would recommend getting a wheel installed.
They can be made from old bridge adjusters.
Michael Hartery

[bejoyous]

While my extension doesn't go past the scroll, you can see in these photos what I used instead of a wheel. The capo is a low-C and the roller is a low-B.

I did a lot of calculating with a fret calculator and gave some technical drawings to my luthier. He used a 3/8" drill bit to drill the sideways hole, cut off a section of the drill bit and inserted the section into the hole. I used a lot of pencil to lubricate the hole and bit so it rolls when tuning the string.

This setup has the roller act as a wheel and a nut at the same time. If I were to do it again, I'd use a 1/2" bit or larger so there wouldn't be such a sharp bend in the string.

Pros - in someways it was easier to insert than a wheel at that place; it's small and discrete; it acts as a nut for the low-B note, since it is so hard the note is very clear; I can talk about it on Talkbass

Cons - it is not adjustable at all, if I had miscalculated it would have been all for nothing and would have had a new wooden part carved; when I change strings it easily falls out and could get lost; because it is so small, there is a rather sharp bend in the string and I'm worried it might be damage the core, but it still tunes easily and there have been no broken strings (I've used a EP regular, Spiro Mittel and Stark with this setup); calculating the correct height was rather difficult, installing a wheel would leave a little room for error and would allow the low-C to be adjustable.

I suppose you could do the same with a regular length extension. I'd have the extension wood start off a bit longer than needed, drill the hole, then saw off the remaining wood so there would be a U-shape at the top to accommodate the drill bit section.

[Dr Rod]

thanks a lot guys, very informative advice

[crowsmengegus]

Originally Posted by bejoyous

While my extension doesn't go past the scroll, you can see in these photos what I used instead of a wheel. The capo is a low-C and the roller is a low-B.

The capo looks like a D. Do you tune down a whole step?

The immobile nut seems to me like a bit of a problem!

My extension doesn't have a wheel, but I haven't had too much trouble tuning. I have to give the string a yank once in a while.

[Dr Rod]

Originally Posted by crowsmengegus

My extension doesn't have a wheel, but I haven't had too much trouble tuning. I have to give the string a yank once in a while.

that seems to be the price to pay, but it´s not too bad if you ask me

[robobass]

Brian,
I like the idea of having the roller double as a nut. Does it rotate when you tune? You could do the same thing with a proper pulley, or at least a sleeve over the pin to increase diameter, and allow some bearing action. Now, if someone could figure out an elegant way to give it some adjustability, I'll bet the idea would really catch on.

[dperrott]

I had an extension with out a wheel and it greatly increased the string tension. I even broke the E string tuning. I now have an extension with a wheel (on the same bass) and have no problems.

If the tension of a C/E string is high, you can often reduce it by putting the string "backwards" on to the tuning gear. You will have to turn the gear "the other way" to tune but it can lessen the angle of the string from the extension to the gear.

[Dr Rod]

Originally Posted by dperrott

You will have to turn the gear "the other way" to tune but it can lessen the angle of the string from the extension to the gear.

I was thinking about using the D peg for the low C/E string

[Square Bear]

Originally Posted by crowsmengegus

The capo looks like a D. Do you tune down a whole step?

i was thinking the same thing... i guess if you are tuned down a step that would greatly reduce the string tension and lessen the effect of the steep angle into the pegbox. is it still okay tuned up to E?

[Michael Glynn]

The extension on my bass doesn't have a wheel, but I have never had any trouble with it. In fact, it's the only string I've never broken! Tuning can be a hassle, but that's true of all my strings. I blame crappy old machines, not the extension.

[bejoyous]

Yes, I tune DADG and the short extension takes it string down to a Low-B.

Yes, I imagine the roller rolls. But I don't think it would have to roll very far since once it is tight it only goes up or down a few cents of pitch. Then again, if it wasn't rolling, a fair amount of imbalanced tension would result.

When the drill bit cut through the rosewood, the walls of the hole were burnished smooth. Plus, I coated the hole with lots of pencil lead. Each time I restring the lowest string, I add more pencil lead to the hole and the small bit itself.

If any luthiers want to copy the idea, go right ahead. I'd suggest a larger bit though, maybe 1/2" or 3/8". The bit is a real b*&^h to saw off though.

[bejoyous]

I put a pencil mark on the bit at the 3 o'clock position then tuned the string up a tone. Yes, the bit definitely rolls smoothly. It went to about the 5 o'clock position.