Emerald pinless bridge

[Godfather]

Is there a trick or secret to easily restring my new pinless bridge Emerald X7?

I fumbled and messed around trying to hold the ball end in the bridge position with one hand then cut and and thread the string into the tuning machine, hold tension on said string while picking up the cordless winder and winding the string enough to take up the slack…..PING…a broken G string and a ruined set of Thoma$tik Infeld Plectrum$, a lot of cussing and frustration ensued. (Just when I thought my patience was really improving, I get tested. LOL)


I walked away for a while before a restart with a set of DR Sunbeams. 55 minutes later its re strung. What is usually a 15 minute project turned into an afternoon I hope to never experience again.

How does one properly hold the ball end in the slot while doing everything at the headstock?
Clueless in Cadillac.

[Frettingflyer]

I have heard that a golf tee can work. I have no experience with this though. Sorry to hear of your afternoon.

[Methos1979]

Your frustration is warranted. In the brief time I owned an Emerald with their pinless bridge, I never found a 'good' way to do it. Worst. Design. Ever. I owned 5 Emeralds over the years. If I ever do order another one, it will not have the pinless bridge.

[StringMeUp]

Does this help?

https://youtu.be/cG16qLGR5R0

[iluvguitars2005]

Have to admit, watching the Emerald video posted in the last few days on youtube on how to string up with the pinless bridge...makes you just cringe. Alistair doesnt even look comfortable doing it

But per the FAQ on Emerald's site, pinned bridges are no longer an option as the pinless is the optimal design.

My buddy was debating getting an Emerald and has changed his mind.

[Mark L]

In German there is a perfect term for this: schlimm verbesserung.

“An improvement which makes things worse”

It’s a term all engineers and tinkerers should encounter, and pay heed to.

[BairdM3]

My first string change on my X20 was about the same (minus breaking a TI string, sorry...). Eventually I figured out that by putting a slight kink/bend near the ball end of the string it would catch a little better and stay in the pin less bridge while adding tension/winding. Afterwards I did some searching and seems like others came up with the same method...
(FWIW, I was restrung with Elixir Nanoweb 80/20s which are slick...) Might try the TIs next...

[sumokids]

Alistair seems a bit defensive in the Emerald video, but that could be me reading into it. It's got a bit of a "Look, it really is easy, despite the fact that many of my customers have commented on how hard and frustrating it is" vibe to it (his expression at the end tells the tale). I'm glad I have my "vintage" X20 and X7 with their old-fashioned pins :o)

[mountainmaster]

Does this work better with the Ghost piezo bridge? It is obviously pinless as well but the holes seem to have a different shape.

[jklotz]

Mine's an X-20, but I assume they are all the same? Maybe it's because I played electric guitars with bigsby's for a long time, and they are a little difficult to restring, but for me, it's a non issue. First, lay the guitar flat on a table. I put down micro fibre towels to keep the back from getting scratched. Just bend the ball end a little, putting a kink in it, put the ball end into the hole and pull it forward into the slot. Pull up a tiny bit to make sure you got it to seat in the slot. With my right hand (I'm right handed) I keep enough tension on the string to keep it in the slot, I slide my hand up the string to the headstock and switch hands, keeping that tension on the string the whole time. Now with my left hand, I keep the tension while using my right hand to guide the string into the post. Then pull up the string to put a bend into it where it exits the post and put your index finger on the nut while using the rest of the hand to pull the string up to keep tension on it, then wind like normal.

I can restring my x-20 in 5 or 6 minutes. The trick is just to keep the tension on the string the whole time so it doesn't come out of the slot. Once you figure it out, it's no big deal. I promise.

[jdrnd]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Is there a trick or secret to easily restring my new pinless bridge Emerald X7?

How does one properly hold the ball end in the slot while doing everything at the headstock?

I have an X-30

It takes practice to do it Jklotz's way.

Use a spare guitar pin, shaped dowel, etc to keep the string in place. I can change my strings in 15 minutes using this technique.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by jdrnd

I have an X-30

It takes practice to do it Jklotz's way.

Use a spare guitar pin, shaped dowel, etc to keep the string in place. I can change my strings in 15 minutes using this technique.

I watched Alistar’s string change video…he made it look easy, but how many has he done to be this proficient?

I was thinking using a capo to hold tension on the string may work, but I like the putting a bend near the ball end and the pin ideas too.

It will be a while before the next string change so I have time. I am confident after a few changes it will become easier.
Thanks!

[seannx]

I use a 2” piece of 3/16” wood dowel, tapered down to 1/8” over 1” on one end. It does a perfect job of holding the ball end in position until there is enough tension on the string to keep it in place. Bending the string on the ball end on enough of an angle is critical, too, to keep it in the slot.
Using the simple dowel tool makes changing strings on my X20 easy and hassle free.

Before I had the dowel, I tried a capo, which was helpful, but it was still awkward, and not a good solution.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by seannx

I use a 2” piece of 3/16” wood dowel, tapered down to 1/8” over 1” on one end. It does a perfect job of holding the ball end in position until there is enough tension on the string to keep it in place. Bending the string on the ball end on enough of an angle is critical, too, to keep it in the slot.
Using the simple dowel tool makes changing strings on my X20 easy and hassle free.

Before I had the dowel, I tried a capo, which was helpful, but it was still awkward, and not a good solution.

Thanks…..this sounds great. I will pick up a dowel today. 😁👍

[CarolD]

Just grab a cheapo chopstick from your local grocery store’s awful sushi section . They work great for all sorts of things!