KC Strings angled endpin?

PB+J · #1 08-07-2008, 10:08 AM

Hi everyone , I've been away for a while but gigging still

I'm a big believer in the angled endpin. I use and like an eggpin, but I get tired of the weight and also of having to put it on and take it off. I'm always afraid I'll forget the allen wrench, and I always get annoyed putting the thing on and off on some crowded bandstand in the dark.

The Laborie scares me, frankly--I don't want to drill

So has anyne tried the KC string angled endpin? It's a non-destructive install, and you get a wooden pin that simply fits in the hole. It's pricey, but I can do that level of woodwork

arnoldschnitzer · #2 08-07-2008, 11:03 AM

PB, how about you install it and then report about it here? I'm curious, too. The last time I had to drill a second hole in a fine bass it made me feel faint...

JoeyNaeger · #3 08-07-2008, 04:52 PM

I would be interested too. My main bass is drilled, but there is no one local that will drill my other bass.

anonymous12251111 · #4 08-07-2008, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldschnitzer

PB, how about you install it and then report about it here? I'm curious, too. The last time I had to drill a second hole in a fine bass it made me feel faint...

+1...I'd be very interested to hear the results.

PB+J · #5 08-08-2008, 05:29 AM

Well it looks like someone has to be the guinea pig. We're going on vacation next week, but I'll order one for when we get return and report back

ongkara · #6 08-11-2008, 10:08 AM

I don't know if you've seen this, got it in a Lynn Seaton thread. He's quite positive about it.

What end pin is this?

I'm looking into getting one myself. Waiting for PB+J's review

Schoolhouse · #7 08-12-2008, 04:41 PM

I have used the KC tilt block several times with good results. It comes pre-drilled for the endpin angle, the hard part is done. It is mounted through the endpin hole. You can't use a regular wheel with it but they sell a really nice side carrier.

PB+J · #8 08-19-2008, 12:23 PM

There was a delay in shipping--apparently it's going out today. I'll try to document the process of installing

unless it turns out to be a disaster...

wdave · #9 08-19-2008, 01:06 PM

I put the KC angled end pin on my bass recently. Its pretty easy to install if you have a few tools (drill press, saw, sand paper, stain) and a little patience. The instructions are at the bottom of this page: http://kcstrings.com/bass-machines.html
After I had it all together, I bought a hoe handle at Home Depot ($4.00) and used it for my peg leg - cutting it off in increments until I figured out how long I wanted my KC peg leg. It all worked out very well. That, along with the Marvin wire tailpiece and a great fingerboard shaping and bridge setup by Tom Thoreson (Atlanta Symp. Orch. player and luthier) makes my Johannes Kohr hybrid handle and sound like a much more expensive instrument.
My teacher (Ramon Pooser) wants one for Christmas.
Dave Little

PB+J · #10 08-22-2008, 02:31 PM

Well it arrived today. It's much lighter than I expected--the angled endin block is maple with a piece of soft pine laminated to the bottom--not sure why. I'll try to get it done this weekend, wife and child permitting

wdave · #11 08-22-2008, 02:54 PM

Quote:

the angled endin block is maple with a piece of soft pine laminated to the bottom

I'm thinking that the soft pine laminate will conform to the slight curvature of the bass better than the maple. Mine doesn't have the pine laminate and is fine, but I think the laminate is a good idea.
Dave Little

PB+J · #12 08-23-2008, 08:00 PM

Well I started on it tonight--with my little three year old flitting around "helping." That was mistake right there. Kids--their lobbyists tell us they're a blessing.

It turned out to be one of "those" nights where everything goes wrong. Starting with the clunk of the soundpost falling over. Hello, midnight lutherie?

I think I can get the sound post reset--there's actually a bit of a mark. On my shen flatback the soundpost sits on the back brace and it left a little mark. Ok, assuming I can grab the sound post and get it vertical....Then maybe I can make the rehearsal I've got on tuesday, then take it to a pro

Anyway, the round headed thing is way too wide to fit into the endpin hole, so out comes mr. chisel and mr. scraper and mister daddy what's that bad word you keep saying? I finally got a good fit, but in my little workshop stuff kept falling off shelves and my drill press kept petering out and etc. etc

I got a good fit finally but the apparatus may not be removed, ever, until 40 years after my death, so no one can ever see the truth.

So I've got it sitting in the shop with a coat of feibing's black leather dye, which is made out of depleted black holes or something--it's a miraculous fluid that covers everything in the vicinity a deep deep black. The bottle has a genius for tipping over and leaking even though you learn the hard way that it tips over and torque the lid down...

So tomorrow the real fun begins--getting the wooden disk/nut dealio onto the bolt that sticks through the endblock. Boo yah! Then the soundpost.

If I start posting about the tremendous improvement in tone, be skeptical

PB+J · #13 08-24-2008, 10:33 AM

Hey, it's installed, and wow, what a an improvement in tone!!

Seriously, it does sound different, but I think it's because I've go the sound post in a marginally different place. After much muttering and cursing, I think I've got it set right. Before it fell I got a good visual reference and I checked it with a mirror to make sure it was seated right against the top

I called a local luthier to see about getting it set by a pro

mheintz · #14 11-21-2008, 09:43 AM

I too had the angled endpin installed and am very happy with it. It is much easier to simply remove the wooden peg than to attach the egg-pin, which I had previously been using. A nice feature was the addition by my luthier of a rubber tip on the anchor knob, so that when traveling or standing in the corner, the bass rests on the rubber tip.

PB+J · #15 11-21-2008, 10:14 AM

I've been using it for a while now and I think it's an excellent alternative to the eggpin. It's lighter and way more convenient.

I need to get a rubber tip for the anchor block--I keep forgetting to go do that. Thanks for the reminder

JoeyNaeger · #16 11-21-2008, 10:38 AM

Did you by any chance have any trouble of getting your bag to fit after adding the block?

PB+J · #17 11-21-2008, 10:41 AM

It's a little bit tighter but it's only a little. I haven't had to struggle with it and there's no sign of strain to the bag

JoeyNaeger · #18 11-21-2008, 11:04 AM

That's good to hear. Thanks for posting this experiment for all of us.

chris dammann · #19 12-03-2008, 09:31 PM

since the hole is already drilled in the block, is it possible to still offset the bent end pin (like, Rufus Reid has)?

PB+J · #20 12-04-2008, 04:36 AM

No, you can't offset it, it has to go in at one angle, in line with the neck.

I used to offset my eggpin, because that's how rufus did it, but over time i just ended up having it in line with the neck