Time for an update on my angled endpin journey!
When I first considered the angled endpin I noticed Brazilian luthier and bassist Andrea Spada installs the Ergonpin on some of his new basses. I asked him how he liked it and he replied he loved it. The Ergonpin is designed by Saulo Bezerro De Melo. Saulo is a 40 year classical bassist with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.
When all my gigs were cancelled in March due to Covid I decided this may be a good time to get some long needed repairs and make changes to my basses. My luthier is a bass player. He does not work on anything but basses. Both my basses recently came back from him sounding better than when they went in.
The Ergonpin arrived in four days after payment, from Copacabana/Ipanema. I tried to install myself but the endpin diameter was larger and required reaming on the classical bass. This was a blessing. My luthier discovered my sound post was too short and not in the ideal position. He also changed the cable routing and tail piece location. The result was a significant improvement in sound. The bass sounded good when it went to him and deeper when it came home. Now the sound post does not cover the maker’s label, which had bugged me.
Next I decided to bring him my jazz bass for a consultation. We decided to install a Laborie style post. This poor bass has suffered a thousand indignities over my 45 years of gigging. We are talking about 5000 commercial gigs. The luthier replaced missing bits of wood, sanded rough edges, varnish worn edges, install adjusters in the old Pöllmann bridge, install a different tailpiece, relocate the endpin cable and touch up the fresh wood. It took 50% longer than he expected and he kept it for two weeks.
The resulting sound again was improved. The carved jazz bass always sounded good and now has a growl on the lower strings that it never had. Thank you Mr Luthier!
The longer wood endpin has a bit of a wobble. Not enough to be a distraction. The shorter wood one has no wobble. The carbon Endpin has no wobble. Both Saulo and Andrea said I would be happy with the less expensive metal endpin. I chose carbon for no significant reason.
The Robpin and Lammax endpins also look like a good option to consider if you want to avoid drilling holes.
The angled endpin facilitates moving around the fingerboard in thumb position. The bass is a bit more flat so arm weight contributes to digging in with the bow. I find the angled pin is significant while standing, not so much sitting. Now I do not like the feel of standing with a standard endpin. There are good reasons Rabbath, most of the LA Phil section and many celebrities are using angled endpins.
I found the endpin angled to treble, centre or bass side is a personal preference. I ended up happy with it on the centre.
Everything about installing and using the angled endpin has been a positive experience. I like the final result on both basses. I like that both basses sound better after unexpected visits to the bass specialist. Just after getting my bass back I was hired to play a society wedding gig that actually paid for more than half my luthier bills.
The angled endpin may not be for everyone, but you won’t know unless you try.
