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KarenMNorman
Registered User
Posts: 2
(8/2/01 7:08:01 pm)
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Bent End
Pins??
On "Cellists by Night" board, someone mentioned bent end-pins in
relation to problems getting a good knee grip on the
instrument.
Being a well-endowed woman, I'm interested in
whether one might help me get a better playing posture and grip my
instrument better. I am always open to ways to improve my playing,
but want to be fairly sure I'm not wasting my time, money and
spoiling my cello.
Does anyone out there have a bent end-pin?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of them, when should one
consider getting one?
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Christopher
Chan
Registered
User
Posts: 164
(8/2/01 11:10:45
pm)
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Re: Bent End
Pins??
Here is a link with some good info on bent endpins. If you look in
cello chat there should be an old thread about them is well.
www.cello.org/cnc/tim61.htm
A bent endpin it's a fairly inexpensive item that you can
make yourself.
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Dick500
Registered User
Posts: 109
(8/3/01 8:32:49 am)
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Re: Bent
endpins
I've played with a bent endpin for years. The major advantage I see
about such a device is that it enables the cello to swivel more
freely thus allowing the cellist more lower body and leg mobility.
(Sure it's possible to raise the cello so high that it escapes the
knees but that has never struck me as a particular advantage.)
Another plus is that the endpin attacks the floor with a larger
angle than is possible with a straight endpin thus reducing the
possibility of slipping of either the endpin or the endpin
holder.
So I like them.
Dick
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Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
Posts: 372
(8/3/01 10:18:30
am)
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Re: Bent End
Pins?? Do it yourself???
I had a cello with a too short straignt steel endpin. I bought a
length of 5/16" iron rod at my local hardware store to use as a
longer endpin. The extra mass and low elasticity tended to deaden my
cello's sound.
I studied a couple of photos of Slava and
Tortelier (sp) - I think with their two different brands of bend end
pins that appeard at just that time in the STRAD magazine. I made
measurements of their heights, angles, ets, and decided what would
be the proper angle for bending a pin and where to bend it - and on
my way through our garage to put my cello in the car and head for a
quartet sesson, I cut off part of the iron rod and bend it around
some of the garage beams (easy to do) - and stuck a rubber endpin
guard on the end of it and threw it in the car.
It did
improve my tone - I think because having the strings at this
different angle to the ground doubled the force of the bow's normal
weight on the string. I found balancing it a bit hard. Also, at this
angle, I was in a more direct line to the f-holes and the sound
source. I decided this was the only way to play a cello, even though
it was annoying to have to remove the endpin and carry it outside
the cello - but after the new sound enhancing straight composite
came to market - I did change - and have not looked
back.
I've talked to people who use the Stahlhammer, and
apparently it can get rattles when the rubber washers get old - it
does need some maintainence. But at least it collapses so that it
stays in the cello. From what I've observed it does not enhance an
instrument's tone the way the composite and some new high-priced
steel alloy pins are reported to.
Because of the different
angle to the floor, there would be more "volume" of space below the
cello, but whether it provides more rooms for endowments would
depend on their exact locations and how high you can keep the bottom
of the cello. I can envision where it would actually make the
situation worse.
If you can try getting to a store where some
cellos with bend endpins are available for testing - and test them -
it doesn't matter which kind they use, because,for your own use, you
would put the cello in the same position, regardles of the brand of
endpin. OR - you could go to your own hardware store and-----just to
determine measurements. It will not cost you more than a couple of
dollars - might be cheaper than gas to get to a fiddle
shop..
Andy
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Todd
French 
Moderator
Posts: 225
(8/3/01 11:17:12 am)
Reply
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Re: Bent End
Pins??
I used to use the Stahlhammer endpin because I liked the more
extreme angle (I am fairly tall at 6'2"). However, because of the
added weight, double layer of rod inside rod, and maintenance as
Andy brought up, I decided to try one of the new composite endpin
rods when they first came out. This was in about 1993, and the
carbon fiber/graphite rod was purely experimental at this time.
(Consequently, there was also titanium rods being explored at that
time, but boy, were they expensive!) Because I could get a
substantial length on this endpin, and the weight was a fraction of
what I was using before, it seemed like a good thing to try.
I am still using the composite endpins, but now it is David
Bice's model. The stiffness allows me to place it at any length I
desire, and David's 'bullet tip' is so substantial and sharp that I
don't have to worry about the endpin slipping due to the angle.
Granted, now I have changed my playing position and play with the
cello more vertical than horizontal, but if I switch back, I know
that I can go either way with this type of endpin and still have the
best sound from my cello.
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oldmancello
Registered User
Posts: 14
(8/3/01 6:33:44 pm)
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angled
endpin
When I got my Byce endpin (10mm) with holder, I needed to have the
hole for it reamed. The luthier asked if I wanted it at a slight
angle, and I opted for it. THe endpin now angles downward at about 5
degrees, which does not make it a bent endpin, of course, but gives
me a bit of the advantage of the bent endpin. For one, I need less
extension of the endpin to get the same position for the cello, also
it sticks to the floor at a steeper angle, meaning less danger of
slippage. Any experiences with this setup, which to me makes a lot
of sense. Herbert.
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Todd
French
Moderator
Posts: 230
(8/3/01 8:08:59 pm)
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Re: angled
endpin
Herbert,
Was the luthier who did that, by any chance, Stan
Schmidt? He's the only luthier I know who is a big fan of reaming at
an angle - I wonder if it has caught on...
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 Steve
Drake
Registered
User
Posts: 405
(8/3/01 9:08:41
pm)
Reply
Community Supporter
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Re: angled
endpin
I would think that reaming the endpin hole at an angle would have a
negative effect on the stability of the endpin. Of course there are
so many pressures on the end block that maybe it wouldn't make much
difference...
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oldmancello
Registered User
Posts: 15
(8/3/01 11:50:27 pm)
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angled
endpin
Todd- the reaming for the angled endpin was done in the shop of
Hammond Ashley in Seattle. In regards to the stability, it seems
rock-solid. The luthier first turned the outside of the endpin
holder ( there is a better term, I can't think of it) to match his
reamer. The block in which the holder is seated is so large, I have
no concern about it not holding. Herbert
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