Bridge pin pings out

ewal · June 2020

The low E string on my 19 year old Aria has started pinging out when I tune it up to pitch. Having googled the issue, I've tried holding in place when tuning, and kinking the string to make sure ball is under bridge plate. No joy. I reckon it is wear on the bridge. Any potential things I could try before contemplating repair?

Sputnik · June 2020

How about the trick of sliding an old ball end over the string to double the likelihood of it being safely secured below the bridge pin? Two ball ends have to be better than one, don't you think, @ewal? If that fails, try wrapping the bridge pin in fine grade wet or dry abrasive paper to increase its girth - if indeed that's the phrase I seek. Good luck!

earwighoney · June 2020

ewal said:

The low E string on my 19 year old Aria has started pinging out when I tune it up to pitch. Having googled the issue, I've tried holding in place when tuning, and kinking the string to make sure ball is under bridge plate. No joy. I reckon it is wear on the bridge. Any potential things I could try before contemplating repair?

Sounds like your bridge plate has some wear and IMO it's best to have it looked at by a tech.

One solution would be to get unslotted bridge pins and have your bridge slotted (which might work), have the bridge plate plugged (filled with glue/saw dust and redrilled), have the bridge plate replaced or have something like this installed

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GuitarTechs-BRIDGE-BACKUP-PLATE-Acoustic-Guitar-Repair-Project-PlateMate-Tool/263625295032?hash=item3d614ac4b8:g:EPQAAOSwwzla293R

LastMantra · June 2020

How old is the guitar?

Sometimes you just need to push it in quite hard.

Winny_Pooh · June 2020

Grab a fine washer to put around the ball end, scrape your bridge pin in all directions with a blade to roughen up the parts that contact the access hole.

ToneControl · June 2020

do you bend the string near the ball end as well as the point where the double wrapping starts?

Snags · July 2020

I used to get that all the time when I first started with acoustics. Solved the problem on one by buying EZ-Pegs but they don't seem to exist anymore.

Solved the problem on the next one by changing technique:

kink string roughly where the end winds stop
line string up with groove in bridge pin, ball end close to end of pin
put pin and and string in together
give a sharp pull up on the string whilst holding down the pin firmly to help 'lock' it in place
stuff string through tuner and carry on (sometimes with an extra tug up near the pin if it's slackened off too much in the interim)

99/100 that stops them rising, and a little finger pressure on the pin as the tuner starts to exert tension keeps everything in place.

ToneControl · July 2020

Can you get your phone inside the guitar and take a photo of the bridge plate with the pins removed, and another with the strings installed?

drofluf · July 2020

Could you try a different pin? That would isolate whether the problem is with bridge or pin

prlgmnr · July 2020

ToneControl said:

Can you get your phone inside the guitar and take a photo of the bridge plate with the pins removed, and another with the strings installed?

Followed by this afternoon's thread "how do you get a phone out of an acoustic guitar?"

ICBM · July 2020

It does sound like it's a worn or chipped bridgeplate, but it could also be that the pin is too narrow, too short, or has too much of a chamfer at the end, so the ball isn't pressing purely against the side of the pin.

As ToneControl says, a look with a mirror or a phone pic will tell you a lot.

lovestrat74 · July 2020

I wrapped a piece of tape around one of my pins that was doing the same

enjo · July 2020

Did the pin come out of the same hole? It may be the different pins and holes are slightly different and you might find that swapping them round fixes the issue.

ewal · July 2020

Lot's of good suggestions - thanks. I do think the bridge plate is worn - the string has cut a groove, but also thought about trying a different pin/hole combination to see if that made a difference.

The guitar is about 20 years old, but doesn't get heavy use. I may have bought new pins at some point in the past.

octatonic · July 2020

enjo said:

Did the pin come out of the same hole? It may be the different pins and holes are slightly different and you might find that swapping them round fixes the issue.

This is usually what I start with.

Sometimes they just wear down and you have to replace the pins with oversized pins.
Or you can ream the hole out slightly for a better fit.
Or both.

ESBlonde · July 2020

If you suspect the pin is lifting to allow the string to pop out, get sonme medium course sand paper and scrath the pin in a circular motion around the taper, that might be enough for it to grip better inside the bridge plate.

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Bridge pin pings out

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