egg pin - am i using it correctly?

sean p · #1 01-14-2009, 01:17 AM

i recently bought an egg pin and haven't been able to make it work quite right. the problem is it slips on my endpin assembly. i think this has to do with the rounded shape of the assembly (see photo) not giving the flat egg pin clamp enough to grab onto. i can crank those bolts down, but it never seems to grab enough to stay put, and the bass comes to rest against top of the 'slotted arm' of the egg pin.

to those of you using the egg pin, is this setup like yours? if not, what is the matter, do you suppose?

is this a gotz endpin? and is this a gotz model egg pin?

i really like the feeling of playing with the egg pin attached, but i'm worried about the bass' back table pressing down on it.

thanks!

sean p

Eric Hochberg · #2 01-14-2009, 04:02 PM

Call Don Robertson at Robertson's Violin Shop. He knows everything there is to know about the eggpin.

PS It should not be touching the back table. There may be an extension available or adaptor of some kind to get it farther away from the body of the bass. If you need more grip, you could try wrapping your socket with a friction type of tape or a piece of bicycle innertube.

Jim Calhoun · #3 01-14-2009, 04:41 PM

Hi Sean, As a long time egg pin user I thought I'd chime in.

The egg pin is designed to fit the Gotz endpin which has a 30mm cylindrically shaped collett. In order to make it fit your bass correctly you'll need to take your bass to your luthier, have him/her remove the endpin socket, and turn the brass part on a lathe until the outside diameter is exactly 30mm. My new bass has the same endpin as yours and it took my guy (Steve Bacon at Bellwood Violins) about 15 minutes to do the job. After you do this, there will still be plenty of metal left for the threads of the thumbscrew so that you can go back to using the standard endpin if you want.

Now, having said all that, it looks to me like your egg pin may be one of the universal mount versions rather than the one specifically designed for the Gotz. I think my solution would work in either case, but I'd echo Eric's suggestion to contact Robertson's to be sure.

Hope this helps.

sean p · #4 01-15-2009, 07:16 PM

hey guys,

thanks for the help! i'll give robertson's a call...

i've already noticed a lot of difficulty getting the thumbscrew back into the hole since i'm going back to the traditional pin for the time being. and by that i mean i couldn't turn it without taking a wrench to it. it was threaded correctly, and eventually i got it in far enough to clamp down on the pin, but yow! it has made for some concern.

i noticed a post here that mentioned a similar problem with warping or disfiguring the 'collet' or endpin collar due to the clamping force of the eggpin... any personal accounts out there about this? i wouldn't want to make the endpin assembly unusable for a normal pin again...

thanks again!

sean

sean p · #5 01-21-2009, 06:54 PM

well, i tried the bicycle tube idea, and a thick, lightly adhesive, rubbery 'tape', but nothing can get the 'pin to grab the endpin collett sufficiently. still rotates and the lower back table comes to rest on the slotted arm. sigh... i must have bought a universal 'pin which the seller described as a gotz...

upside: it works great on my kay endpin assembly.

guess i'm in the market for a real gotz eggpin... anybody got one they want to part with?

sean p

Alex Scott · #6 01-21-2009, 08:53 PM

you don't have a goetz endpin. what you have uses the same size spike, but doesn't have the same collar. Worst case you can get a goetz endpin from lemur and have it installed at your local luthier.

Eric Hochberg · #7 01-22-2009, 08:29 AM

Sean, did you call Robertson's yet? Don may have a solution.

Alex Scott · #8 01-22-2009, 10:14 PM

I bought a plug from him once, which fit inside the endpin housing and presented a post the size of a goetz endpin to attach the endpin to. It was pretty darn heavy, but attached the endpin.

Johnny L · #9 01-23-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Scott

...you don't have a goetz endpin...

I think Geotz makes more than one style...but yeah sean p you don't have the right endpin.

mheintz · #10 01-23-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean p

i noticed a post here that mentioned a similar problem with warping or disfiguring the 'collet' or endpin collar due to the clamping force of the eggpin... any personal accounts out there about this? i wouldn't want to make the endpin assembly unusable for a normal pin again...

thanks again!

sean

It is possible that the endpin collar warped. However, if you are having trouble with the screw, check to make sure that the collar did not turn such that the hole is out of alignment. You may be having a tough time getting the thumbscrew into the hole because you are effectively screwing it into the wood. The collar is friction fit. It may become loose and rotate when you use the eggpin. In other words, the eggpin is firmly connected to the collar, but the collar is not firmly connected to the endpin assembly. This is one of the reasons that I ultimately starting using the KC strings tilt block.

JoeyNaeger · #11 01-23-2009, 07:53 PM

My bass teacher had that problem as well. What it is is that the eggpin applies torque to the collar which twists around the wooden core. He ended have to use the eggpin to align the core and the collar to make it work. He ended up getting his bass drilled for an angled endpin which is a far better solution.