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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).
RE: DiamondSecure Tieblock System (in reply to rombsix)
I tried out both the Diamond Beads and the Alba beads (from amazon).
The reasons for trying out the bridge beads were: 1. to protect the bridge tie from gouging by the strings 2. faster and easier string changes, the beads really work well here.
I preferred the diamond beads for one reason - they have a deeper indentation where the bead rests against the side of the bridge, this deeper indentation allowed the bass strings to be contained within the cavity and only the plastic of the bead rests against the tie-bridge.
The alba beads have a much shallower indentation and the bass strings stick out a bit and this left small marks on the wooden part of the bridge which was something I was trying to avoid by using beads in the first place.
I only use bridge-beads now as it makes string changes so fast.
but for some reason everyone assumes the guitar has a problem with the break-angle when they see bridge-beads!
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