Where'd it go?

So, the other night I pull out my Yairi Kanai to play. The A string is way out of tune on the low side, which is odd because I've had the same set of Worth browns on it for several months now with no issues. I start tuning it up to spec and all of a sudden the bridge pin flies out. I find it, take off the string and make some more industrial type knots, re-string and the same thing happens again. Only this time, I have no idea where the bridge pin ended up. My desk/room is a mess and it could be a long time before I find this little sucker and figure it out.

I do have an old Ibanez acoustic guitar and may just loosen the strings enough to remove a bridge pin to see if it's comparable. The Kanai is a bit of an oddball instrument, so I don't count on the bridge pins being any kind of standard size.

Meanwhile, I'm back to my Cordoba tenor strung re-entrant. I was so loving the low G tuning on the Kanai.

<sigh>

Aloha It'sme,
Yup those things are like mini missiles when shoot out....I've seen them at Musician's Friend Catalog..
Does your pins have a groove in them for the string???? MM Stan...

mm stan said:

Does your pins have a groove in them for the string???? MM Stan...

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Yes, they do.

I looked up bridge pins at both stew mac and luthiers mercantile and they come in so many vairations it's not funny. I didn't see any specifically for ukes and they come in sets of six, so presume ukes use the same ones as guitars.

Was going to try one off the Ibanez (actually it was inherited by my husband and he doesn't play at all). Lo and behold, I opened the storage pocket and there was a plastic string envelope with five bridge pins in it! So someone must have had to replace one at some point, though no hint of size, brand or whatever.

The pin is slightly shorter, and only a hair wider at the max point according to the caliper I used to measure it. It goes in the slot pretty securely but sticks up just a tad higher.

I tried cannibalizing both a used clear and a brown Worth string and had problems with both snapping. So I dug into my stash and put a brand new Worth brown on and it's working.

Now the low G seems to be going out of tune. Do some strings just go bad after a length of use? With guitar it seemed they just got a little dull, but tuning was not really an issue.

You lucky girl, finding spare pins.....never happens to me that way for me....no worries, one day that pin will eventually show up..
As for the string, could be a bad string....or jus needs breaking in.....Maybe you uke was jus telling you I need new strings...he he

I've found that uke strings just go crazy when they're ready to be changed. Sometimes tuning gets weird, sometimes they just sound weird...I would just put new strings on it. As for bridge pins...I shy away from ukes with them for that reason. I don't need to be hunting for them when they shoot out. It will turn up though.

mm stan said:

You lucky girl, finding spare pins.....never happens to me that way for me....no worries, one day that pin will eventually show up..
As for the string, could be a bad string....or jus needs breaking in.....Maybe you uke was jus telling you I need new strings...he he

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Yeah, I was lazy and just wanted it back. It's like I was jonsing and it felt so good to be able to even play it again.

Finding those bridge pins was a bonus. Neither of us ever plays that guitar, but I can't seem to part with it. Whenever one of his buddies comes over and sees me playing and wants to wail on my guitar, I get the Ibanez out and tell them to go to town.

I should change the rest of the strings. With classical guitar, I always change trebles and basses in sets. Usually go thru 2-3 sests of wound basses for every set of trebles.

Keep in mind that flying bridge pins are a sign of an improperly installed string. The knot in the string is supposed to be pulled up snug against the bridge plate, with the end of the pin going past the knot. To install correctly, insert the string thru the hole and using the very tip of the pin to hold the string in place, pull the string back out until the knot rests against the bridge plate. Then insert the pin in all the way. The string should NOT go in any further. If it does, it means that the knot is stuck on the end of the pin, and tightening the string will launch it.

Brad

Thanks for your advice, Brad. But what gets me is how this string was on for over four months with no issues whatsoever before it went bonkers. I did change the other strings as well, and have had no problem with them.

You might be able to narrow down your search for the missing pin if you can reconstruct the position it was launched from. I was roughly able to find a popped bridge saddle (or was it the whole bridge?) that way. If you can figure out the angle, you might see where it might have ricocheted and get close to it's final hiding place. In my case I was relieved to find it in the box I use to store my Ukes, instead of behind the filing cabinets a few inches further away.

–Lori

Whoa... Incoming! Brings new meaning to the cool UU t-shirt that reads "Say Aloha To My Little Friend."