My Blueridge Woes - Part II

In My Blueridge Woes - Part I you could have read a really dazzling post about my battle with those darned String Pins, but the post gremlins saw fit to erase it and keep Part 1 open to bring shame upon me. Sorry . . . I hope Part II turns out better.

A while back I decided to retune my Blueridge BR 60T to GDAE with 11 20 30 42 strings, but, when I had finished, it sounded awful. After much musing and scratching my head, I decided my strings were not set in the bridge properly. But after 2 or 3 hours of trying to reset the darned G string properly, I gave up and put new D’Addario EJ66s on it. It seems to be alright this morning.

What I wanted to know when I started this tirade is why I couldn’t get the darned G string to set in and hold. I want to know because I have another set of GDAE singles that I could maybe try again later if doing so is possible. I also wanted to whine and complain about those stupid string pins, but I’ll save that for another time.

Hi,I don’t quite get what your problem was, do you mean the bridge pins would not hold the strings in place and were rising up?
I think you string choice should at least sound ok although they are on the light side for a Blueridge .
Bridge pins do come in various sizes but it will probably be the groove in the pin that is not big enough to take the heavy string, you can check all the pins to see if they all have the same size groves.

There is nothing wrong with string pins but be aware that they don't hold the strings in by the pressure they are inserted with. They will work even if they are loose. They work by blocking the hole, so the string end is forced under the top and held by the top. Always make sure the end is on the side of the pin and not at the end.
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musi...loosebit10.jpg
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musi...loosebit10.jpghttp://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musi...loosebit10.jpg

Yes, Paul, I understand that now, but, before, I thought they were held at the end of the pin. However, even though I learned how they were supposed to fit — the darned #42 G string just didn’t. Finally, I just gave up and put the lighter ones on, though they too were a bit of a trial. It’s tuned to CGDA now, and I have new set of strings that aren’t gonna fit.

The ball string/bridge pin system is an abomination.

If the problem was that the G string was pulled up then the groove in the pin is too narrow, the string must slide freely in the groove
It is also advantageous to bend the end of the string, so it easily clears the end of
the pin

Perhaps you missed my post?
I still don’t get went went wrong, was the string moving so it would not stay in tune or was the pin rising?
There should not be an issue with a 42 string.

Fox, the string would not stay seated in the bridge hole no matter how I bent it, stuck it in, twisted it, swore or said a little prayer to the string/pin gods.

Dick,
It's common to file the ends of the bridge pins at 45 ° so that the ball ends don't get lodged at the end of the pins.
I don't know why they don't make them that way, it would save some plastic.
The slot in the pins should be wide enough to accept the twisted part the string.

If for some reason the groove in the bridge pin is too wide, and that's what's causing the string to pop out, you can turn the pin so the string isn't aligned with the groove. I saw someone somewhere online advocate for that as a general practice, but I don't remember the details or the reasoning.

Yes, Mandophyte (?), I knew that aind did it it better on the G string, but the rest were already done.

Well, I played it for forty minutes, and it sorta sounded okay. There was some overtone problems with the C string, but it stayed in tune and didn’t explode in my hands. I used a lot of different picks, and, surprisingly, my Dunlop .050 and 1.0 Tortexes sounded best to me . . . so far. I think I’ll just play it as is for a while to see if it settles down. If not, I’ll get a tune up.