Glass bead ball ends

ukecantdothat

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Forgive me is this has been addressed before, but is there any truth to the rumor that glass beads, used for string ball ends, increases sustain. It would be helpful to know before I have an "accident" with one of my wife's necklaces...:rolleyes:
 
I put them on my Pineapple Sunday and I can't tell the difference.

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I can believe that contact with a rigid, hard glass bead could transfer vibration more efficiently than contact with a softer string knot or wrap, but the most critical point of vibration transfer to the top is the bridge saddle, so my personal expectation would be pretty much what Ronnie found... i.e. little if any noticeable difference.

That said, I'm going to try it out of curiosity at my next string change (if I remember)...
 
I would suggest that on a very cheap laminate Uke, with a less than good quality wood used in the bridge, this may make a slight difference - but on anything serious perhaps not.

That said - changing bridge pins on an acoustic guitar for bone or brass does make a noticeable difference to the sound - never really understood why, as I thought it was the bridge saddle that was the point of main pressure to the soundboard.
 
Brass bridge pins could add significantly to the mass of the bridge. I can believe that would make some difference to the sound. Not so sure about changing from plastic to bone pins. I'd take some convincing that there's a detectable difference there...

Come to think of it, don't think I ever saw bone bridge pins... I've led a sheltered life. :eek:
 
I put them on my Pineapple Sunday and I can't tell the difference.
Thanks. That's what I suspected, especially on a high end uke like that as Paul suggests, and like Rick, I'll try it anyway, if for no other reason than I hate doing the wrap, so I usually just go for the knot. I know someone who carefully melts the knot a bit to make it more solid, but I'm not sure if that does much either.
 
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