Carbide Tipped Endpins

I find my plain steel enpins get sharp pretty easily with a quick pass on my bench grinder, or probably even a stone or file. They're pretty soft but they stay sharp enough for at least a year or so. Carbide probably sounds good, but it seems like overkill to me.

 

not at all, they are great

Stetson at stringbass.com sells one as well.

You should know that they do go dull eventually, especially if you treat them rough.

 

I'm going to play devil's advocate and ask why you need a sword on the end of your bass? why do you need it to be so sharp? I haven't found anything that the rubber tip won't grip on.

 

in case you want to drill a hole in the stage?

 

provides better stage resonance right?

 

And, I suspect, because it's much easier to bond the carbide to CF than it would be with most other materials.

CF is going to sound different to a metal pin, which might be a factor. Probably not a big difference overall, but still, it'll be there.

 

How well the rubber tip works depends greatly on the weight of your bass, whether you play at a very slanted angle, whether you lean onto the bass putting extra body weight etc....

Carbide tips are not sharper than a normal metal tip, they are just harder so won't go dull as easily.

 

Well that explains A little, I have a medium weight bass, and I play almost straight up and down. mine has a point, but I've never need ed to use it, also if the endpin ever slips I will have finally found a use for my cake of pops rosin.

 

A lot of guys (myself included) like a nice sharp tip to catch a purchase on a hard floor, usually wood. I think it generally sounds better, and sometimes even the best rubber can slip if the stage is dusty or something. I keep my pins sharp, and then I take the original rubber tip with the threaded insert and reshape it so it can be stuffed into one of those big, soft crutch tips. That way I can protect the spike and also have a nice grippy rubber tip for places that don't allow a spike.

 

During important performances, such as recitals, I always take the rubber tip off my endpin. It gives me a huge sense of security.

The sharper the angle (seated or bent endpin), the more necessary it is for a sharp tip.

Carbide sounds cool; I'll consider it if my steel pin ever becomes dull beyond repair.

 

carbide tends to stay sharp but is suseptable to shock, it is very brittle and requires a diamond wheel to sharpen. that said it will hold a point much longer than steel, especally if the steel isn't hardened.

 

I used to like a spike endpin til I got a KC Strings wood w/carbonfibre shaft endpin. Now I make the bass vibrate instead of trying to vibrate the floor So far, no slip with the rubber tip on wood and concrete, and improved sound.