endpin rattle

Sones · #1 07-30-2006, 01:09 AM

I am learning to play bluegrass upright on an Englehardt ES-9. I am having a lot of problems with the endpin rattling on certain frequencies. I ha=ve cranked down the screw as much as I can by hand but it still seems to rattle. Any suggestions , guidance?

Thanks!!

Brent Norton · #2 07-30-2006, 10:28 AM

Get a new endpin. If you're currently dealing with the stock Engel pin, you'll thank yourself. Still can't figure out why those guys refuse to ship their basses with a better (or at least non-metal-on-metal) pin; people have only been bitching about them for decades now...

Jake deVilliers · #3 07-30-2006, 02:02 PM

If you have no budget, take the endpin right out and GENTLY bend an arc into it. Rotate the pin while you tighten it at your height and you should feel it bind up nicely.

Otherwise, buy a Carbon Fibre endpin from Norton Customs and say goodbye to rattles forever!

Jake

Sones · #4 07-31-2006, 11:34 AM

Thanks for the help guys !!

Bob Gollihur · #5 07-31-2006, 04:41 PM

One of the guys with whom I corresponded theorized that it was the shaft vibrating against the inner part of the sleeve. He used a Dremel to grind just a bit off that part of the sleeve and eliminated the rattle.

That said, I've always been able to make it go away by tightening the set screw; sometimes filing the point makes better contact. Also, I picked up one of those plastic knobs with the 1/4x20 threaded bolt, available at most decent hardware stores, the type with an aisle of little drawers full of parts. I get plenty of leverage with the larger knob. It's worked for me on my Kay for the last 40 years.