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Topic: My steel is tricky to string - changing the bridge? |
Kathy Freeman
From:
London England, living in Germany
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 12:44 pm |
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I have an ABM Sentinel 8 string steel (23 inch scale) which is great except for changing strings. You have to keep the string in place at the ball end as you wind which is challenging. I'd like to know
A)is it mechanically feasible to change the bridge for a more user-friendly one? I am not a purist about how it might look.
B) if so - long shot - do you know a good steel guitar maker/luthier in Germany, especially in the Berlin area who could order and install it?
Maybe someone here has some idea? Thanks.
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Jeff Highland
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 1:19 pm
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Try putting something like a golf tee in the hole to hold the string end in place.
_________________
Duesenberg Fairytale
1949 Supro Supreme
1950 National New Yorker
2008 Highland Baritone Weissenborn
2020 Highland New Yorker.
2020 Highland Mohan Veena
2021 Highland Weissencone |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 1:22 pm
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It's a common problem on pedal steels.
You could take a pencil or a knitting needle or something (maybe even an acoustic guitar bridge pin) and stick it into the hole in the bridge to keep the ball end stuck down where it belongs while you tune up. Mainly, wedge something into the hole to keep the string ball in place.
Dave |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 1:22 pm
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Golf tee!
Dave |
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John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
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Gene Tani
From:
Pac NW
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 8:44 pm
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Very cool steel! Seems like a capo or masking tape would hold the ball ends in without string tension.
No idea about German builders bt for replacement bridges, you could ask georgeboards.com, Ryan Rukavina, Bill Hatcher, some other people on the forum.
https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=rukavina
https://www.georgeboards.com/parts.html#nuts
_________________
- keyless Sonny Jenkins laps stay in tune forever!; Carter PSG
- The secret sauce: polyester sweatpants to buff your picks, cheapo Presonus channel strip for preamp/EQ/compress/limiter, Diet Mountain Dew |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 9:02 pm
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I recently bought a beautifully machined aluminum bridge and nut from Ryan Rukavina. I’m very pleased with it. Came with wood screws and was very easy to install.
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Cody Farwell
From:
Sunland, CA
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Posted 14 Jul 2021 11:45 pm
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| I use a couple spare banana plugs for this reason. They're very cheap, you might already have one! |
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Tom Snook
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 2:19 am
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WTH? is a banana plug?
Aloha
_________________
I wanna go back to my little grass shack........ |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 4:01 am
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| Tom Snook wrote: |
WTH? is a banana plug?
Aloha |
It stops the juice running out of the banana....
...and co-incidentally is the same size as the plugs on the end of test leads on most multimeters...when you don't have a banana handy... 
_________________
If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really! |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 4:06 am
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If you don't have any golfing friends, I would go to any shop selling parts for acoustic guitars and get some (wooden) bridge pins..even if you had to whittle them down just a bit, that's got to be the easiest and cheapest way rather than taking your steel to bits...as David Ball said much earlier.
...just saying.... 
_________________
If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really! |
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Kathy Freeman
From:
London England, living in Germany
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 5:07 am
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| Big thanks all for your suggestions and links. All the tips for holding ball end of string are better than the sad pair of tweezers I currently use, and will help while I check out a longterm solution. |
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John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 5:15 am
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[/quote]I recently bought a beautifully machined aluminum bridge and nut from Ryan Rukavina. I’m very pleased with it. Came with wood screws and was very easy to install.[/quote]
Ryan built this bridge for my '41 Epiphone. He does great work.
_________________
"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny." - john waters |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 6:19 am
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I kind of like that bridge, certainly looks interesting. The adjustable intonation isn't useful but are those rollers?
I like John's suggestion of a luthier drilling holes and installing ferrules for string through body. The only trick with that, there doesn't look like there's much wood between where the holes would be and the edge of the body...but string-through might even improve sustain. At least that's what the folk wisdom says (I have no idea if it is true).
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Bill Groner
From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 6:46 am
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 Here is one I made that was pretty close to the edge of the wood. You would need a Luthier with a mill to do a nice job. If need be you can just mill the pocket "U" shaped and use the aluminium as the end of the body instead of fittin it all the way round like I did. Thought since the original post was from England, I'd do the spellin the way they do. 
_________________
Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40 |
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Steven Pearce
From:
Port Orchard Washington, USA
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Posted 15 Jul 2021 8:49 am
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Electrical tape every time. Set the ball into the bridge, tape, wind, and remove tape.
Works first time, every time.
_________________
http://www.fentonstwang.com/fr_home.cfm |
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Kathy Freeman
From:
London England, living in Germany
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Posted 16 Jul 2021 8:49 am
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| John Rosett wrote: |
| I recently bought a beautifully machined aluminum bridge and nut from Ryan Rukavina. I’m very pleased with it. Came with wood screws and was very easy to install. |
thanks, will check him out. |
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Kathy Freeman
From:
London England, living in Germany
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Posted 16 Jul 2021 8:51 am
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| Bill Groner wrote: |
Here is one I made that was pretty close to the edge of the wood. You would need a Luthier with a mill to do a nice job. If need be you can just mill the pocket "U" shaped and use the aluminium as the end of the body instead of fittin it all the way round like I did. Thought since the original post was from England, I'd do the spellin the way they do.
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wow that IS close to the edge, but shows it's doable, thanks mate (that's what they say in the UK) |
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Kathy Freeman
From:
London England, living in Germany
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Posted 16 Jul 2021 8:57 am
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
I kind of like that bridge, certainly looks interesting. The adjustable intonation isn't useful but are those rollers?
I like John's suggestion of a luthier drilling holes and installing ferrules for string through body. The only trick with that, there doesn't look like there's much wood between where the holes would be and the edge of the body...but string-through might even improve sustain. At least that's what the folk wisdom says (I have no idea if it is true). |
the bridge is fixed, non adjustable. Which is one less thing to consider  |
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Dennis Saydak
From:
Manitoba, Canada
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Posted 16 Jul 2021 9:43 am
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Most Dobros have the same type ball end retainer. A piece of masking tape works for me. There's no need for you to change the bridge.
_________________
Dennis
Just when you think you're getting ahead in the rat race, the rats get faster. |
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Bill Groner
From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
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Posted 16 Jul 2021 12:33 pm
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Wow that IS close to the edge, but shows it's doable, thanks mate (that's what they say in the UK)
Even closer.........cause it is the edge! I like to make my lap steels short and there isn't much real estate left when it comes to the bridge. My avatar picture is that lap steel with the string through aluminium plate. Funny thing, I sold it to a workmate of mine and he moved here from London.
_________________
Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40 |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 17 Jul 2021 5:29 am
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You may (?) also find it easier to use one of these to take up the initial slack on the string when you install it.....
https://www.originalartisan.com/product/ernie-ball-peg-winder-black/
....the exercise generally goes a LOT more quickly ...I would not go as far as using the electric versions, but...
_________________
If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really! |
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Tom Snook
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
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Posted 21 Jul 2021 8:15 am
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Why not try to cut a notch for each string?
Aloha
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I wanna go back to my little grass shack........ |
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Tom Snook
From:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
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Posted 21 Jul 2021 8:22 am
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Why not try to cut notches in the bridge like a Fender Champ?
Aloha
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I wanna go back to my little grass shack........ |
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Veit Doehler
From:
Hamburg, Germany
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Posted 22 Jul 2021 3:31 am
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| I simply twist little plugs from the papper wrapping of the strings to keep the ball ends in place. Quick an easy. |
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