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RE: DiamondSecure Tieblock System (in reply to rombsix)
I wanted to bump this thread to see if anyone has an updates they'd like to share on bridge beads. Any feedback would be much appreciated!
On my guitar, I am noticing that the strings are eating into the bridge a tiny, tiny bit—though, with time, it will become noticeable. I'd like to prevent that from happening, so looking into the bridge beads.
RE: DiamondSecure Tieblock System (in reply to bahen)
I tried them on my Pedro Maldonado recently and they looked great. They also protect the tie-block from getting slowly gnawed out. They improve the break angle, similar to what a 12-hole bridge would get you, except without using a 12-hole bridge.
The biggest problem that I discovered when I put them on the Maldonado was though that they totally destroyed the guitar's intonation. For the life of me, I could not get that guitar to sound good anymore, and I was like, "What the hell? I swear it intonated perfectly before I put these beads on!" - so, I took them off and tied the strings traditionally, and lo and behold, the intonation is perfect again.
I talked to a couple of luthiers about it, and apparently the change in the break angle / contact point with the saddle can shift ever so slightly with the beads, that on certain guitars, it will screw up the intonation.
I used the beads for years with no issues on several other guitars, but the Maldonado hated them.
I also became a fan of ball-end nylon strings for a while, but I stopped using them for no particular reason. They are much easier to use than having to do loops / tie knots at the bridge, but most people disagree with me and say I'm being lazy and having to use crappy strings as a result (because most really respected brands of classical / flamenco guitar strings don't make ball-end ones).