Double Bass Stagg EDB End-pin Rattle

[matthew4414]

Hi

I have just got my Stagg 3/4 electric double bass and noticed the end pin rattles quite a bit inside the body. I was wondering if anybody knew a handy way to stop this?

Cheers

 

[vin*tone]

I had something similar on my bass but it's acoustic. Not sure if its different to your electric.

The sleeve around the pin on mine was nylon and wore away so it didn't grip it properly. The pin needed to be replaced. Wasn't too expensive IIRC.

Aparantly another thing to try is cutting off the unused length of the pin inside the bass. This may be resonating inside the body and making things worse.

 

[Francois Blais]

Putting a piece of electrical tape around the endpin may also help.

 

[ErikvanD]

I used some electrical heat shrink tubing but that did not hold on the longer term. In the end I have done several mods to the endpin and now it does not rattle anymore... See here. The flimsy plastic endpin plug (combined with a really long pin) is one of the most major design faults of the Stagg in my opinion....

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Go to the hardware store and get a small bag of 1mm Wide, 10mm Inner Diameter O-rings. Access the cavity on the back and roll a few several inches down the endpin. That should do the trick.
http://www.mcmaster.com/mv1431722803/#catalog/9262K104

 

[dc-upright]

I really like Mark's suggestion about the o rings posted above. I tried a couple of different ways to stop the rattle but wound up wrapping duct tape around the top of the end pin. I did this maybe 5 or 6 months ago and so far has worked great.

 

[johniiieee]

Had the same problem. Slid a wooden kebab skewer down alongside the pin. Sorted

 

[PDX Ron Brown]

Go to the hardware store and get a small bag of 1mm Wide, 10mm Inner Diameter O-rings. Access the cavity on the back and roll a few several inches down the endpin. That should do the trick.

I tried that, but that o-ring size didn't fit into the hole so they got pushed right off the end again. Perhaps this is due to my height and fuller extension of the endpin. Wrapping the end with a single layer of duct tape was actually the right amount of spacing however, so problem solved. Thanks anyway for the suggestion Mark.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

I tried that, but that o-ring size didn't fit into the hole so they got pushed right off the end again. Perhaps this is due to my height and fuller extension of the endpin. Wrapping the end with a single layer of duct tape was actually the right amount of spacing however, so problem solved. Thanks anyway for the suggestion Mark.

Ah, could be. The Stagg may have some differences to the Dean Contra, which is what I've done the o-ring trick with. Glad you got it sorted!

 

[delta7fred]

I posted this in the Stagg EUB megathread but will repost it here.

TL;DR I cured the dreaded endpin rattle by shoving a piece of plastic tube into the endpin hole in the cavity.

Long version.
I got sick of the endpin rattling so a few days ago took the long back cover off to see if I could easily cure it.

Looking in the cavity the hole that the endpin slides in is oval, about 20mm x 15, presumably where the drill had "wandered" as it was being machined. (Yours may be different of course.) The endpin can rattle around in this hole, the noise is caused when it hits the sides.

I measured the endpin diameter at 10mm so went looking for some plastic tubing that was a nice sliding fit over it. I had nothing even vaguely suitable but a neighbour had a piece of hard plastic tube of the correct ID with an OD of about 15mm, about 750mm long (30"). You only need about 500mm long (20")

The endpin is prevented from dropping out by a aluminium rivet (USA models may be made of a different material ). I placed a piece of cloth across the body and down into the cavity to catch the filings and carefully filed the protruding ends of the rivet off. (I could have drilled it out but that would have meant going out in the cold.)

Once the rivet ends were filed flush the endpin was removed. Working in the cavity I then pushed the plastic tube into the hole as far as I could easily push it (bending it slightly because I was working in the cavity). I marked the tubing about an inch from the top of the cavity so it was in no danger of touching the coaxial cables that run from the pickups.

I then cut the tubing at the mark (and cleaned up the cut end with a file) and pushed it into the hole again, this time as far as I could with reasonable hand force. Trying to pull it out it didn't seem to need any adhesive. My original intention was to bond it in, time may well tell if I made the correct decision!

I could have cut the tube shorter and replaced the rivet but didn't see the need as there is now sufficient friction to prevent the endpin from dropping out when the clamp is undone.
I gave it a quick play to see if I could make it rattle - no, so I screwed the cover back on and played it for the next hour in celebration.

Sorry there are no photos, I wasn't expecting the level of success I achieved and had it all back together before I thought about photo documenting it.

I'm sure there are many more ways to stop the dreaded rattle but this was easy (for me) and works on my Stagg. The longest job was looking for suitable tube (and talking to my neighbour), the mechanical bit took about 15 minutes tops.

Disclaimer - Do this mod at your own risk, I will not be held responsible in any way for damage you or your instrument may incur.

 

[Craig Martin]

Hi

I have just got my Stagg 3/4 electric double bass and noticed the end pin rattles quite a bit inside the body. I was wondering if anybody knew a handy way to stop this?

Cheers

 

[Craig Martin]

The solution that we found to eliminate endpin rattle is as follows:
1. Remove the bridge. There are 2 endpin sleeve set screws under the bridge. Remove and endpin assembly will slide out.
2. Drill in body through the endpin hole 6" with a 5/8" drill.
3. Insert 4"x5/8" pex tube from the hardware store in drilled hole.
4. Reassemble.
Just a short note that if you are not sure or have little to no experience repairing musical instruments, contact a reputable luthier as the cause and solution of each repair may vary.

 

[John Le Guyader]

I used heat shrink tubing on the pin when I had one. Don’t remember of it was multiple layers.

 

[Dladd94]

This has been driving me nuts since I bought the bass and I finally figured out the solution! It’s actually super simple. There is a small hole on the back of the body with threads in it that match the end pin screw. Just unscrew the endpin screw and screw it into this hole and viola! No more buzz. I attached pictures.

 

[JulesRedwing]

Before you try any of the above, experiment with rotating the end pin in situ. I found it ranged from really loose to nice and tight within in 90 degrees. My wild guess is that the rivet does.