What are bridge pins?

LihnChee

Active member
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
I never found out what they are, and how restringing is possible with them?
 
Here is a bridge on a Kanile'a ukulele using bridge pins:

DSC01885.JPG


Much more common on guitars, but a few ukulele builders use them. The pin itself doesn't hold the string in - it just fills the hole. It's just held in by friction. To restring you pull the pin (by finger or if it's a tight fit you can get a pin puller tool), then disengage the string from a slot in the sound board under the bridge. Tie a knot in the new string and put it down the hole, catching it again in the slot under the bridge. You want to be sure it is seated well before you put the pin in - don't just jam the pin in and assume it will hold the string in place. If you do that, as the string tension increases as you tune it up, the pin will suddenly release and shoot across the room. Like I said - it just fills the restringing hole.

They're a bit fiddly and mostly used (in ukes) for looks. I like them, though I no longer have a ukulele that uses them.
 
If you want something similar (but not permanently installed) you can use Bridge Bone Beads from SouthCoast (same guys that make the strings.) You thread the string through the side of the bead and out the top. It goes onto the bridge, the bead acting as a stop. This makes restringing a breeze, is said to provide a less acute angle across the bridge, and if you change out strings, it makes it easier to restring again. I have a set on one uke and I like them. They are not expensive. The brown version is kind of cool--looking very folkloric and handmade.
 
I believe that with a pin bridge the strings anchor to the bridge plate rather than to the top of the bridge. Theoretically this should transfer more string vibration to the top, but then why classical guitar type bridges at all? My new Islander has a pin bridge
 
My new Islander has bridge pins and I was curious how the restringing would go but it was very easy. The "stock" strings already had a small metal bead over the knot so I just repeated that with my new string (wound Low g Aquila) and it went in fine.

Pin bridge does make for a pretty bridge vs. tied strings.
 
Yeah a bead isn't required if you have good knot-tying-fu, but if you don't, beads just make it the easiest thing in the world. It's even easier than standard tie bridges for me, because I can't tie knots for those either.
 
Top Bottom