Endpin question from newbie

[bassmama]

First of all, thanks in advance for your kind consideration of my question. I'm new in these here parts.

I'm reasonably new to the URB and have had my own for about a year and a half. It's a Kohr 3/4 size laminate student model, new. (Home equity is a wonderful thing).

I started out with lessons from the low-strings man at our local state U. I've been working on my own from the Simandl book. (BTW, who besides me thinks those should be spiral bound??)

Anyhoo, I'm game enough to take out "Bertha" to a bluegrass or open-stage jam now and again, so she's travelled a bit.

I'm short enough so that I don't even need to extend the endpin, so I have paid NO attention to the endpin or all the parts that constitute it.

Somehow in all the travels, the rubber tip came off, leaving a sharp point that is good for marring hardwood floors. Then I noticed a nut on the floor that I realized had been part of the endpin . . . but apparently some other little part is gone as well, because I have nothing to screw the nut onto.

I've scanned the archives and I've see discussions about endpin replacement especially with regards to improvement of sound. I'm wondering if I should consider this. My bass is easier to play than the student model I was using when I took lessons, but the sound volume is reduced as well. I'm thinking a shorter, different endpin might be in order at some point. I can't imagine that all that length of metal tubing inside the bass does the sound much good.

Well, I guess that's a lot of leadup for my questions . . .

1) What are the individual little parts that make up the endpin, and can they be replaced?

2) If no, not replaceable, suggestions for a replacement?

Thanks again very much for your kind attention.

[bassmama]

Helloooooo . . . Bueller??? Anybody?

Please tell me y'all aren't rollin' yer eyes at the newbie stupidity of this question.

Ed Fuqua suggested I should hang out here more, instead of activebass.com, to get better answers to double bass questions. Please don't make a liar out of him.

[Josh McNutt]

I'm not sure what the problem is exactly, but it sounds like just the endpin itself is messed up, so you don't need to worry about replacing the whole endpin assembly. You can get a replacement endpin from Lemur: http://www2.mailordercentral.com/lem...0&pagenumber=2

[olivier]

Originally Posted by bassmama

First of all, thanks in advance for your kind consideration of my question. I'm new in these here parts.

I'm reasonably new to the URB and have had my own for about a year and a half. It's a Kohr 3/4 size laminate student model, new. (Home equity is a wonderful thing).

I started out with lessons from the low-strings man at our local state U. I've been working on my own from the Simandl book. (BTW, who besides me thinks those should be spiral bound??)

Anyhoo, I'm game enough to take out "Bertha" to a bluegrass or open-stage jam now and again, so she's travelled a bit.

I'm short enough so that I don't even need to extend the endpin, so I have paid NO attention to the endpin or all the parts that constitute it.

Somehow in all the travels, the rubber tip came off, leaving a sharp point that is good for marring hardwood floors. Then I noticed a nut on the floor that I realized had been part of the endpin . . . but apparently some other little part is gone as well, because I have nothing to screw the nut onto.

I've scanned the archives and I've see discussions about endpin replacement especially with regards to improvement of sound. I'm wondering if I should consider this. My bass is easier to play than the student model I was using when I took lessons, but the sound volume is reduced as well. I'm thinking a shorter, different endpin might be in order at some point. I can't imagine that all that length of metal tubing inside the bass does the sound much good.

Well, I guess that's a lot of leadup for my questions . . .

1) What are the individual little parts that make up the endpin, and can they be replaced?

2) If no, not replaceable, suggestions for a replacement?

Thanks again very much for your kind attention.

Originally Posted by bassmama

Helloooooo . . . Bueller??? Anybody?

Please tell me y'all aren't rollin' yer eyes at the newbie stupidity of this question.

Ed Fuqua suggested I should hang out here more, instead of activebass.com, to get better answers to double bass questions. Please don't make a liar out of him.

We love you Bassmama, but it's difficult for us to help you fix up something you claim you don't need, and to do so (helping) by describing said thing in detail, as requested by you. Usually posts about endpin screws & nuts bring lotsa fun to the forum, I guess you have intimidated them TBers...

[Ed Fuqua]

1. I don't know. Maybe.
2. I like my Goetz endpin.

Even if you are short like unto a teeny shrimp, you prolly want to get your luthier to grind you a little trough so that you can get a little extension of the peg. Just enough to keep it from rattling around or buzzing.

Speaking of luthiers, you should take your bass to him/her. That way they can say" Oh all you need is one of these here doohickeys". Or at least you can get a look at a whole endpin assembly to recognize missing parts that you can get from a hardware store...

[bassmama]

Originally Posted by olivier

We love you Bassmama, but it's difficult for us to help you fix up something you claim you don't need, and to do so (helping) by describing said thing in detail, as requested by you. Usually posts about endpin screws & nuts bring lotsa fun to the forum, I guess you have intimidated them TBers...

I guess it's hard to phrase the question correctly if one doesn't really know what one is asking! Let me try again.

I DO need the rubber tip thingy on the end. I don't know if it just came unglued or if there is more to it than that. For a while there was just the said nasty sharp point, good for scarring floors and feet, but as I said something else loosened and came off, and now the sharp tip bit has retreated into the innards.

Clear as mud now? Thought so.

[bassmama]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Speaking of luthiers, you should take your bass to him/her. That way they can say" Oh all you need is one of these here doohickeys". Or at least you can get a look at a whole endpin assembly to recognize missing parts that you can get from a hardware store...

That sounds do-able. We'll give that a go and see what happens.

Glad to see you're still haunting the place, Ed!

[hdiddy]

Originally Posted by bassmama

I guess it's hard to phrase the question correctly if one doesn't really know what one is asking! Let me try again.

I DO need the rubber tip thingy on the end. I don't know if it just came unglued or if there is more to it than that. For a while there was just the said nasty sharp point, good for scarring floors and feet, but as I said something else loosened and came off, and now the sharp tip bit has retreated into the innards.

Clear as mud now? Thought so.

Hrm, let me take a swing at this. My bass had similar components.

1. Rubber thingy on the end is your friend... it's the endpin tip if I'm not mistaken. Keeps your floors from getting marred, unless you intend to use the floor as extra amplification, in which case go ahead and let the pointy tip stick right in the floor. I dont' think they're usually glued since it's meant to be taken off and put back on by design.
2. Threaded ring... I think that's just a stop for the rubber tip from getting impaled completely by the pointy rod tip. You can probably put other end-pin tips using the threaded end of the end-pin. Me, I put a Wolf "Super End-pin" tip on it and screws on tight. Very nice. Grips good on floors & carpet without leaving holes.
3. Rod is usually extended for those who need more bass height, but apparently you don't need that. I would just keep enough length so that you can keep the endpin tip. I would imagine also that you don't want the endpin rod to completely slip into the body of the bass... otherwise it might get loose inside your bass and roll around and make dents. EEEP!
Come to think of it, the threaded ring is probably a stop to keep the rod from getting swallowed by the body... my blind hypothesis.

If you still have the threaded ring and the tip, then I don't think you're missing any parts.

[hdiddy]

Related question for you guys, and it still fits under the same title.

My end-pin rod is about 2ft long (mmm... that's what SHE said! ). I use about 4" of it, tops. That's alot of unused mass sitting inside my bass since the rod is heavy. Should I lop an extra foot off of the rod? Would this give me any tonal advantages?

Thanks!

I can't help but giggle a little bit reading what I just wrote.

[olivier]

Originally Posted by hdiddy

Related question for you guys, and it still fits under the same title.

My end-pin rod is about 2ft long (mmm... that's what SHE said! ). I use about 4" of it, tops. That's alot of unused mass sitting inside my bass since the rod is heavy. Should I lop an extra foot off of the rod? Would this give me any tonal advantages?

Thanks!

I can't help but giggle a little bit reading what I just wrote.

I knew this thread had all the necessary ingredients...

I was in the same position and shortened the thing to a more adequate dimension (that of a folded music stand) so that, when I use the wheel, the rod would not protrude dangerously out of the gig bag.

[Mike Crumpton]

I can't remember where but there has been a reply in TB somewhere where someone recommended taking off all unused length of the endpin on the basis that it either vibrated unhelpfully and/or was unwanted mass.

[Brent Norton]

Originally Posted by hdiddy

Me, I put a Wolf "Super End-pin" tip on it and screws on tight. Very nice. Grips good on floors & carpet without leaving holes.

Good call, diddy warbucks -- Wolf's Super Enpin balls are great, you can get 'em for around $12-$15, they eliminate the need for that nut that fell off of your endpin (maybe it was a compression fit?), and they grip well on just about any surface. NO chance of marring smooth flooring like hardwood or linoleum, and no chance of spiking right through carpet. They make for an inexpensive fix that works quite well. You may never need another rubber tip again.

[hdiddy]

Originally Posted by Mike Crumpton

I can't remember where but there has been a reply in TB somewhere where someone recommended taking off all unused length of the endpin on the basis that it either vibrated unhelpfully and/or was unwanted mass.

That enough of a reason for me... makes sense, though it would be nice if someone gave a good explanation why the extra end-pin length is bad. I think my end pin is good enough for me, and I don't need the good transfer of energy right now cuz I don't want my downstairs neighbor to complain of that booming bass noise coming from upstairs .

Next time I go visit my parents I'm going to borrow the vise and hacksaw.

But yeah, the Super Endpin balls are nice. They're actually pretty easy to take off too, so if you use a wheel it doesn't take much effort. But they screw on with 3 screws into the end pin, so it stays on pretty tight unless you're spinning your bass too much and it goes down the threaded portion. I don't have a gaines wheel cuz my Busetto is pretty light but I'm thinking about it from time to time.

[Mike Crumpton]

Yeah Diddy - I use a wolf ball too - good ain't they - I've had other end thingies that gave me walkin' bass as in the bass moved forward and I strode after it - real embarrasing fun that was in the middle of a solo.

[matt macgown]

Got the same thing goin on with my end pin. And every time I look at it I say, "I gotta do somethin' about that." Stop lookin', I guess. Throw a folded up towel under it.

[bassmama]

Originally Posted by matt macgown

Throw a folded up towel under it.

Or dig out a spare mouse pad from under your computer table. I found a great one in hubby's workspace that had NO graphics or printing on it, just plain.

That's why you save them, right . . . because you knew they would be useful for "something" . . . "someday" . . .

[littlepokey]

Just thought I'd mention and cheap and easy way to deal with this. For about 4 dollars, you can go to walgreens or any pharmacy/ drugstore type place and get a box of rubber crutch tips. The come in a surprising variety of sizes. Some already have a metal plate in the bottom of them so your pointy endpin tip wont just punch through the bottom. If the dont, just put a washer or a penny in the bottom, put the tip on and you are good to go for up to a year before changing it out again. Non slip and non marring, this is pretty easy. Been doing this for about 8 years now and works good.

-m.

[hdiddy]

Ok, I had forgotten that I was supposed to do this, but finally today I went out and bought some cutting discs for my dremel-knock off. After 15 minutes of sparks flying all about, I now have two endpins inated of one. Took a while to cut thorugh all that stainless or carbide steel or whatever it was.

I think the shorter endpin it made a bit of a difference soundwise. The last bits of seem to have muddy-boominess has gone away. I think I gained just a little more volume while the bass got a touch brighter. The sound is a touch more defined I think. This is all subjective, obviously.

I may have to search for new strings again - something that's a little darker than the Heritages that I'm currently using.

Interesting, aint it?

[hdiddy]

FWIW, I just tried my amputed end-pin bass today and it actually sounded great amplified. It used to be a little muddy, but everything sounds much clearer. Again it's subjective, but so far I dig the results!

[ZombieGhosTrain]

Originally Posted by littlepokey

Just thought I'd mention and cheap and easy way to deal with this. For about 4 dollars, you can go to walgreens or any pharmacy/ drugstore type place and get a box of rubber crutch tips. The come in a surprising variety of sizes. Some already have a metal plate in the bottom of them so your pointy endpin tip wont just punch through the bottom. If the dont, just put a washer or a penny in the bottom, put the tip on and you are good to go for up to a year before changing it out again. Non slip and non marring, this is pretty easy. Been doing this for about 8 years now and works good.

-m.

How did you attach them to the endpin, exactly?