>But am I mistaken or did I not hear you talk about the problems with string >cuts in bridge pins in your class in Reno. It was my understanding from >your lecture that cuts in the bridge pins combined with the >expansion/contraction of the bridge cap over time prevented proper seating >of the string on top of the bridge. A problem exacerbated by tapping down >the strings and one that leads to poor intonation, i.e. false beats. >Please correct me if I am mistaken. You're not mistaken, but it's the loose pin that does the flagpoling and produces the beat. The crushed cap and worn pin keep the string from seating on the edge of the notch, which leaves the pin free to flagpole. It all happens at once, and the fact that the beat usually quits with some pressure on the pin indicates to me that the primary culprit is the loose pin. If the pin was undamaged and the cap un-crushed, the string would probably seat well enough that a loose pin wouldn't produce a beat (but where will this situation exist?). Then again, CA around a loose pin will kill the beat, without correcting the cap and pin damage. There are all sorts of contributing factors, but I still think the flagpoling pin is the thing that ultimately produces the beat. It turned out that I had more "stuff" to cover than time in which to cover it, and didn't explain it very well. >That being said, why not use a bridge pin more impervious to cutting, >assuming, of course, that it is not so hard as to cut the string. > >David Love I don't know, I never tried it. Why not? And why not use a composite root and/or capping material that doesn't shrink and swell with humidity swings, so the string doesn't scrub a flat spot on the pin and crush the edge of the cap, and the pin doesn't get loose enough to flagpole? While we're at it, we probably need a better termination system on the bridge altogether. There's lots of room for improvement. Ron N
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