Bridge Pins

[krussell201]

hey everyone, I have acouple questions about bridge pins, I have an older model Guild, with the original pins still in it, I wanted to put some new ones in for a better looks, but Was wondering if I am better off with the old ones? I dont want to hurt the sound quality. If the original ones are usually junk, then what brand should I look for?? thanks -kris

[greppson]

you mean the pegs you put in to hold strings down? i don't think it really matters what type they are. just grab whatever the guy at the counter has at the nearest guitar shop.

i don't think affects sound quality at all.

[Rob]

Actually, it does affect sound. Plastic is the cheapest, wood is commonly used on a "good" guitar, and bone/ivory is used in the highest level guitars. Plastic kills resonance, making the bridge a dead spot for sound. Wood tries to match the bridge. Ivory and bone compliment the wood, adding their own unique tones.

[scoot_14]

Actually, it does affect sound. Plastic is the cheapest, wood is commonly used on a "good" guitar, and bone/ivory is used in the highest level guitars. Plastic kills resonance, making the bridge a dead spot for sound. Wood tries to match the bridge. Ivory and bone compliment the wood, adding their own unique tones.

That's interesting, I've often wondered about that.

[dmbzosojazz41]

I dont think it makes a huge difference, but if your guitar is a solid wood top, id be safe and stay away from plastic. Planet Waves sells some cool looking ivory one with pearl on top.

[soups41]

Plastic and bone or ivory tend to make the sound a little sharper, while ebony and tusq mellow the sound a bit. I have bone bridge pins on my Collings, and my d-35 has Ebony on the high 3 strings and plastic on the low 3. They're really cheap if you buy the ebony or plastic, and you can experiment with changing them to see what sounds best on your guitar. Martins almost all come with plastic (even my D-42 came with abalone-inlayed plastic pins). Just try some and see what's good

[Pipsqueak]

it's a subtle difference, at best, to my ears....

I've got ebony on my axe.

they even make brass ones....(supposed for a brighter sound)

definitely a cheap experiment if you're up for it.

[TheSack]

it's a subtle difference, at best, to my ears....

I've got ebony on my axe.

they even make brass ones....(supposed for a brighter sound)

definitely a cheap experiment if you're up for it.

Should you also change the nut at the top of the guitar too?

[Pipsqueak]

Should you also change the nut at the top of the guitar too?

you can, if you want.

You know, when it comes down to it.....changing these things out is all about the sound you want to get out of your guitar.

switching out the nut and saddle to bone or ivory tends to make a guitar more mellow.

I have a maple-bodied guitar and it's bright enough to cut through glass, but I like it. I have no reason to mellow it out right now.

There are so many factors.

I mean....I can just change my strings if I want a little more of a mellow sound. If I want more bass, I could throw on a set of bluegrass strings, or mediums and tune down a half-step.

It's fun to experiment. All I will say is if you don't know what you're doing by switching out a nut or saddle, stick to experimenting with strings or let a professional do the work for you.

[cj4258]

If you've got a guitar with a problem... We'll take the Hummingbird Lawsuit Copy my dad got from a family member for example. This guitar looks and feels great, old, yes. As far as sound, the lower three strings (bass strings) boomed with "thumpy" bass. Sounded great on that end. The higher strings (treble strings) just didn't cut it. Shape of the shoulders affect the amount of bass response, this being a square-shouldered Hummingbird copy it had no problem there.

I bought a set of ebony pins in hopes that it would help the trebles, and didn't really. I agree with what's already been said - ebony provides a mellowness while augmenting tone. So I sank $35 into a set of brass pins, and lo and behold, it sounds like a real hummingbird. Took out a crappy plastic nut and filed a new bone nut, sounds like a million bucks.

[krussell201]

hey everyone,
Just a lil update, so today I stopped by the locale guitar store and shot a couple questions to the ol' timers... so this what they told me, the difference the bridge pin makes is realitively small, and you shouldnt have to worry about it unless you are in the studio or working on that kind of level... if you want a difference they said to replace the stock plastic nut and saddle with bone, but make sure its done by someone who knows what they are doing.

Anyone have this done at all, if so let me know how it sounds??

[Lactoes]

Ditto to what Soups said above, but regardless what you do -- keep the original pins. Stuff like that's important on nicer guitars, especially 'older Guilds'.

On top of that, wouldn't nicer guitar manufacturers automatically ship nicer accessories like bone/iv pins with their goods? If not, then WHY not?

[TheSack]

Ditto to what Soups said above, but regardless what you do -- keep the original pins. Stuff like that's important on nicer guitars, especially 'older Guilds'.

On top of that, wouldn't nicer guitar manufacturers automatically ship nicer accessories like bone/iv pins with their goods? If not, then WHY not?

They don't ship automatically because you can't mass produce bone and ivory. It's also a little harder to come by than plastic. I think you'll find most of the bone/ivory is fitted to each guitar, and done by hand. That's why most good luthiers won't just file you a bone nut without also installing it too.