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  #31  
Old 04-21-2021, 06:51 PM
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TDavis TDavis is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
Whether bone bridge pins have any tonal impact depends on who you talk to. Kevin Kopp put bone pins on the K-185 he recently built for me, and I asked him if he thought they have a tonal effect.

He told me that he uses them because they’re durable. He didn’t offer any opinions on whether they affect the sound.


whm

Thanks, Wade. That’s good enough reason for me.
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  #32  
Old 04-21-2021, 07:51 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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In my experience, in reality the tonal effect of most bridge pins is tiny if it even exists at all. It certainly doesn’t to the degree that’s sometimes claimed.


whm
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  #33  
Old 04-21-2021, 09:17 PM
BoSoxBiker BoSoxBiker is offline
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I think the tonal changes in my two sets changed were subtractive. I replaced loose pins in both cases. Little resonant noises seemed to cut down. The first one surprised me for whatever reason. In both of my cases, the argument could have easily been fitment, not material.
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  #34  
Old 04-21-2021, 09:38 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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I agree that fit probably has a lot more to do with tone than bridge pin material. Many will strenuously disagree with me, I’m sure, but the only bridge pins I’ve ever dealt with that unquestionably change the tone are brass ones, and they don’t change the sound for the better. Just the opposite.


whm
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  #35  
Old 04-21-2021, 09:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
.....but the only bridge pins I’ve ever dealt with that unquestionably change the tone are brass ones, and they don’t change the sound for the better. Just the opposite. whm
I was going to mention if folks need convincing that bridge pins have some effect on sound, try a set of brass pins.
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  #36  
Old 04-21-2021, 10:05 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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For me, brass bridge pins are the exception that proves the rule. They add SO much extra weight to the bridge (and through it to the top,) that it would be very strange if there wasn’t an audible effect.

Bone pins versus hard ivoroid pins, though? If there’s an audible difference between those two, I sure can’t hear it.


whm
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  #37  
Old 04-22-2021, 02:12 AM
EZYPIKINS EZYPIKINS is offline
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If they look good. They got'ta make it sound better.
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  #38  
Old 04-22-2021, 02:54 AM
RalphH RalphH is offline
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Well, think about it this way; all the vibration in the string at the pitch of the note you are playing must go through the saddle/nut(/fret) or be lost; pick the string between the saddle and the bridge pin. That is the pitch that that part of it will resonate at -- doesn't matter what your fretting hand is doing; that part of the string simply cannot resonate at the pitch of the rest of the string - it's not possible.

You hear this on guitars that ring above the nut -- they don't ring at the played pitch, they ring at the pitch determined by the distance from the nut to the tuner post -- which is an annoying high-pitched ring.

What the string can potentially carry past the saddle are the high-pitched harmonics of a string, ie the zing from your nice new PBs. So I could be convinced that it could make a difference in that part of the spectrum...

BUT the string is in full contact with the wood of the saddle and bridge plate, and it's pulled against the wood of your guitar pretty freakin hard. There could perhaps be some deadening effect from a plastic pin being pressed against it, but it must be very minimal -- with a slotted pin, the only place it's even touching the string is at the ball-end, and after making 25lbs of contact with the wood of the bridge as it does it's 90 degree bend, how much vibrational energy is the string really able to carry past the saddle, that wood contact, and all the way to the ball-end? Near none i'd have thought.

So to my mind, it's about looks and durability. I have titanium pins on my GS mini. Does it sound different to plastic? I honestly thought when I put them on I could hear a tiny bit more 'air' in the sound - like the real 8khz+ part of the spectrum, but I don't know how much of that was placebo effect -- probably all of it. I think you may just as well say you don't like plastic binding because it soaks up vibrational energy. But they look cool, and being much harder than the strings, they will literally outlive me or my children or my grandkids -- they've been in there 5 years and they still look like new. And because they're so hard, the ball end doesn't dig into them at all and they don't get jammed in the holes -- they literally fall out once the string tension is gone, which is nice.
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  #39  
Old 04-22-2021, 03:59 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shades of Blue View Post
Most people put on a new set of strings when they change out the pins. I think that is what they are hearing most of the time.
I agree with this. Even if you use the same strings they will regain a little brightness when loosened off and re-tuned to pitch, thus fooling the player into thinking the pins are the reason for a tonal shift.
When I was a kid (whenever that was), and couldn't afford to replace strings regularly I would pull up on the strings and allow them to snap back hard onto the fretboard. This loosened the tone-killing crud between the windings and temporary brightness was restored.
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  #40  
Old 04-22-2021, 04:06 AM
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I always thought that glueing a huge sheet of plastic to the soundboard would have har more effect upon tone than pin materiel. Essentially making a wood-plastic laminate.
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  #41  
Old 04-22-2021, 04:09 AM
rgregg48 rgregg48 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
For me, brass bridge pins are the exception that proves the rule. They add SO much extra weight to the bridge .


whm
I had a set of brass pins that did not add that much weight to the bridge BUT they were not solid brass but hollowed out in the shaft , almost like a hollowed tube.
It might have brightened up a mellow guitar
But basically not much change if any !
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  #42  
Old 04-22-2021, 07:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
For me, brass bridge pins are the exception that proves the rule. They add SO much extra weight to the bridge (and through it to the top,) that it would be very strange if there wasn’t an audible effect.

Bone pins versus hard ivoroid pins, though? If there’s an audible difference between those two, I sure can’t hear it. whm
Well, we can disagree. brass pins prove my premiss.
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  #43  
Old 04-22-2021, 08:11 AM
TOPDOGJIM TOPDOGJIM is offline
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I have tried bone in various Martin’s over the years and to my ears the bone pins just bring everything down a notch. All of my Martin’s have Antique Acoustic pins from Elderly or the (Ivoroid) from Waverly. It’s hard to find black as there always out of stock so I went with Buffalo Horn from Colosi on my D-18 Sinker.
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  #44  
Old 04-22-2021, 08:17 AM
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When I changed the bridge pins from the original plastic to bone on the 12-string and ebony on the six, I noticed no difference in tone or sustain, but I felt that my "customized" guitars were way more posh.
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  #45  
Old 04-22-2021, 08:17 AM
J Patrick J Patrick is offline
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...I have had various experiences swapping out bone and ebony pins...on some guitars little to no change and noticeable difference on others....when they do make a difference I find that bone pins can brighten the tone a bit compared to ebony....nothing earth shattering though...
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