Hand crafted wooden end pins for upright bass

[Bob Comarow]

This is sort of self serving. In Chuck Traeger's optimizing string
basses he says the end pin
makes more of a difference than the sound post. My setup guru
demonstrated replacing
his steel endpin with one he made from a hickory drum stick and the
difference blew me away.

I wanted someone to make ME wooden endpins with crutch tips and
strong. I found
an old friend that used to build cellos and he makes them for me.
It's really a windmill
I'm tilting at, as I'm not making didly, it's just for fun and promote
the idea.

I replaced my steel endpin first with Hickory and then with Osage
Orange. The attack
with the bow was dramatic, faster, solid fundamental and more
overtones.

Pizz was faster and clearer.


I created a You Tube Video comparing them. The difference is much
more dramatic than what
I made with a IPAD2 camcorder without any editing. In the video I
called Osage Orange Osage Apple,
which is wrong,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNqctOTMyjg

You'll note that on the wooden end pins with plenty of fundamental you
get faster response, (which I doubt can be heard from a recording) and
more highs which are clearly evident.

While they are on EBAY, since I'm discussing it here we can deal
directly. Of course,
if you don't love it you can return it for the cost of shipping.

Hickory is much cheaper and sounds great and is one of the strongest
woods.

Osage Orange is rare, it was used by the Osage Indians and other
plains Indians for Archery Bows.
It's a lot like Permanbuco and people are making music bows from it.
Even stronger than
hickory, it is more flexible. The difference really is your own
security and subtle sound difference.

For less than the cost of strings you can permanently improve an
upright and, here's the other
benefit. It will significantly reduce the weight of your bass making
it easier to carry. Getting
rid of that heavy metal tailpiece is like taking off a mute on your
bass.

On EBAY just look for item 320738856525 or anything from LowHertz.

Once again, excuse what may appear a self serving post, I'm just
fascinated with the
difference in sound from the wooden end pins and want to share my
"connection"
with other upright players. I assure you, you won't be sorry. If you
don't know the size,
bring you end pin to a hardware store or luthier and have them measure
it.

You can use a 10 mm Osage Orange End Pin in either 10, 11 without any
issue.

I don't know how long this friend will continue making them.

He also made two low mass flaming maple tail pieces out of cello
wood,
one is on my bass, the other is for sale. Besides improving the sound
it's a work of beauty.

The combination took my old Italian bass, that sounded like an old
German bass and made
it sound like an Italian bass, with far more highs with no loss of
fundamental. The response to
the bow is wonderful. Feel free to ask about the 11 " flamed maple
tailpiece. There are
pictures of it at https://picasaweb.google.com/LowHertz/Music#5637600608089012866
or the concave back is next to it.

It's exciting that uprights unlike other string instruments have so
many varieties and styles,
experimentation continues, and there really are no standards.

Bob

Bob

[Geoff Sprung]

Thanks for sharing Bob.  

I met a player from the Nashville Symphony the other day who was excited about wooden end pins.  He uses his to tilt the bass for Rabbath style playing by having a new angled hole drilled in the block.

I'm hoping I can find time to watch the video you attached with a critical ear.  It's not always easy to be an active listener with a four year old in the house!

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[Toby Gray]

What is the floor surface? And, wouldn't a hard wood cup screwed and
glued into a wood floor to cradle the end pin so you can eliminate the
rubber/plastic crutch tip sound even better? OR, drill a small hole
directly into the wood stage floor for the wood pin to rest securely
in? You could plug it after the gig like replacing a divot at golf
course... I've seen drummers use a couple of 12 penny nails to secure
their kick drums to stages. I always thought it was just to anchor the
drum but perhaps there is an acoustic advantage as well. It's the
mention of the crutch tip that bothers me in this pusuit of superior
acoustic transmission.

Toby

<snip> > his steel endpin with one he made from a hickory drum stick

and the
> > difference blew me away.
>
> > I wanted someone to make ME wooden endpins with crutch tips and

> > strong. <snip

[mrbthree]

Hi Bob,

I would like to get an Osage Orange endpin for my bass. How may I contact the maker?
I should point out that I use a Lemur wooden endpin that employs a 5/8"(16mm) endpin.
My email is: mrbth...@gmail.com. Thanks, Gary