Bridge pins (changing strings)

[ukcarrie]

Hello, I've recently bought a nice used Auden mandolin. The strings are tied on using bridge pins and I would appreciate any tips on how to change strings, strings type (ball end?) as haven't used one before. Thanks.

[Ray(T)]

Yes, you’ll need ball end strings. If you can’t find any in your local shop, Newtone will sell you whatever you want and they’re generally no more expensive.

It should be just like changing strings on a guitar. The pins hold the ball in place in a small notch in the bridge plate (the bridge plate and the bridge form a sandwich with the meat being the mandolin top). The pins do not hold the string in place, they simply prevent the ball from slipping out of the notch, so you needn’t hammer them in. If you need some sort of tool to get them out, they’re fitted too tightly.

To remove a string, first remove the end from the tuner and push the bridge end down into the bridge pin hole; this should allow you to pull the pin out. To fit a string, push the ball end into the hole, fit the pin and pull on the string to seat it in the notch. The process is far easier to carry out than it is to describe!

[ukcarrie]

Many thanks for your help Ray.

[EdHanrahan]

Lots of bridge pin examples on YouTube; guitar logic still holds on a bridge-pin mando.

Two items to be aware of:

- Lots of folks cut, file, or sand the narrow end of the pin to a 45-degree angle, ensuring that the ball slides down to the bridge plate (instrument's top) rather than hang on the end of the pin, which tends to pull the pin up under tuning tension.
https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-id...idge-pins.html

- Rare but: Some thicker strings' windings are too wide for the slot in the pin, which ALSO tends to pull the pin up under tension. I've used a 90-degree piece of scrap metal to scrape the slot's edges just enough wider.