Bend it like Rostropovich! The merits of angled cello endpins.
Everyone remembers that great photo of Slava reclining with his jaw jutting out and the position of his cello angled out in front of him like a table top. Why did he sit with position so foreign to many “more traditional” players? Gravity! The more horizontal the top of the cello, the more the force of gravity pulls the weight of a player’s bow arm into the string, allowing more projection with less effort. But why an angled endpin instead of simply a very long straight endpin? Because to achieve the height required for such a horizontal position, a VERY long straight endpin is required, which presents another problem: With a long straight rod, the endpin tip sticks into the floor well out in front of the cellist and supports less of the weight of the cello. Effectively, an angled endpin brings the tip in closer to the player and makes the cello feel lighter weight than the same playing position with a straight endpin. This “lighter feel” is not without trade-offs, however. With a straight endpin, it’s easy to twist the cello on its axis when reaching out to play on the A string, or for more knee clearance when playing on the C string. This subtle twisting of the instrument is an integral part of some cellists’ technique to make playing on the outer strings easier. Janos Starker, for example, could sometimes look almost like a Cossack dancer when alternating his foot position to angle his cello one way or the other! When using an angled endpin, this axis twisting can become more difficult, and some players also find that the left arm can feel somewhat cramped in the lower positions, especially on the A string. Another potential shortcoming of many angled endpin designs is that, if a cellist gets passionate and leans into the instrument for a long shift, an angled endpin offers less support than a straight endpin and is more likely to feel a bit bouncy. (Not great for long shifts! Although Slava did just fine…) Proper endpin design and material quality mitigate this potential problem, and in the end, it is generally possible to replicate any preferred cello position with either a straight or bent endpin by adjusting its length and angle.
So what are the options if you want to try a bent endpin? If you have a standard 10 mm endpin socket, you can simply order a 10 mm rod online and bend it the way Rostropovich’s Luthier did! A pipe bending tool costs about $35-40 at Lowe’s or Home Depot. But watch out: Don’t attempt this with an 8 mm rod and mount! It will be much too bouncy and will twist in the socket. 10 mm rods will also eventually twist if you don’t file a flat spot on the rod to engage with the thumbscrew. I don’t recommend a bent rod for New Harmony or Bois d’Harmonie style endpin mounts because there is no way to keep the rod from twisting against the bushing in the socket.
The oldest commercially available angled endpin on the market is the well-known “Stahlhammer” from Sweden. Years ago, these could be adjusted between two angle options, but now Sammy Stahlhammer has limited the functionality to the more popular of the two choices (presumably to fix the design’s tendency to rattle and buzz.) Some cellist’s love them. I find that, even when screwed tightly, Stahlhammer’s design allows more play than ideal at the point the upper rod enters the mount.
A newcomer on the market is Emmanuel Feldman’s “TekPin” which is a steeper version of the Stahlhammer with similar inner workings. At around $800 MSRP, this is a well-made product with less chance of buzzing or rattling than the Stahlhammer (which retails for approximately $300 to $400 depending on options). The TekPin mount is large and non-traditional looking but sturdy, and will soon be available in plastic for about $500, I’m told. When I tried the TekPin, I found the angle too steep, but every cellist is different and some players like it. In his childhood, Tchaikovsky Competition winner Zlatomir Fung studied with Mr. Feldman, and now is using the “TekPin” in concerts to considerable publicity.
There have been a variety of short-lived elbow socket versions of endpins for both cello and double bass, but they have tended to have one mechanical problem or another. I’ve spent years trying to come up with a really strong and small elbow socket that sounds good, and is small enough to retract into the instrument, but each attempt has failed. My conclusion: The length of the “lever” (endpin rod) and the fragility of an incrementally adjustable endpin socket, make such a design weak and prone to buzzing and rattling. Limiting the angle to one option (like the TekPin or Stahlhammer design) is more practical and less likely to fail, but the lack of angle options is a steep tradeoff.
The Saddle Rider approach:
My friend and design partner Rob Anzellotti, based in Köln, Germany, created a fitting that allows 18 incremental position and angle options. I’ve been amazed at how well it works and how excellent it sounds on my cello! My finishing design touches for cello are shown below, and I look forward to playing all my future concerts on it! To prevent any chance of twisting in the socket, I’ve machined a flat edge on the upper rod. It is designed to be used with Saddle Rider’s “Vector Mount” socket design, the 2022 model of which will be included with cello RobPin orders from SaddleRider.com while supplies last! (MSRP for the endpin assembly is $260, with the 2022 vector mount included for free.) The RobPin for cello is also “concert-ready” when used with traditional thumbscrew sockets. It works with other styles of endpin sockets, as well, but I would only recommend those as a luthier’s sizing tool. The RobPin for cello fits into standard cello cases as shown below.
