Bridge pins for Martin D35

[Mbroady]

I also switched to bone bridge pins on a D-35, and was pleasantly surprised to find it gave the guitar a bit more snap in the low end.

What really surprised me, and in turn convinced me to keep the guitar, was putting in an Anthem pick up. Prior to the anthem I always felt the low end was (Still) a bit muddy. But having the Element UST under the saddle did something to the sound that I perceived as more low end clarity. Go figure

[Stevien]

Originally Posted by ShrinkStrum

From a physics standpoint, I don't how anything distal to the contact points can have any effect. The bridge is making contact, not the pin. How does something distal/beyond the bridge have any effect?

By providing more (different) mass to the bridge. However, is it enough to be discernable to our ears is the question. I've tried many without any noticeable difference. My only observation is similar to what Glenn said. Older Martins seem to sound better with the old plastic originals.
Steve

[NickZag]

Most old school hardcore Martin guys swear by bone bridge pins. I haven’t tried them yet but they are in my list of things to try.

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by stephenT

When I bought my 00-28 I tried several different types of bridge pins I had on hand,.. bone, ebony, snakewood and FWI (all w/ the same strings and TR adjustment).

I found I preferred the plastic Martin pins. BTW, I'm sure those who say there's no difference in sound couldn't hear any difference,..

What’s up with those strings?!? Have never seen anything like that…

[Silly Moustache]

I put bone pins on/in all my flat tops.
Collings give you ebony pins in ebony bridges.
there is no point in trying to improve the tine of a Collings - they are perfect from the outset but I LIKE the look of bone pins in a n ebony bridge , so that's why I do it.

I have bought a coupla sets of Bob Colosi's pins and they look like old bad teeth but do seem to enhance sustain a tad but they look cool.

The other bone pins I get are on ebay. The guitars all sounded good anyway, but now they look a little prettier.

[TobyB]

If you contemplate the physics and engineering for pins ... they are acting as stops to anchor the string. And contribute to the mass of the bridge. Bone or plastic will be of a similar mass,so unlikely to be any real differences. If you want to explore the possibility of a difference, some heavy steel, or even lead, would be interesting to try?

[Tnfiddler]

I don’t know if pins contribute to the tone or not, but I ditched the plastic pins on my D41 and had my bridge slotted and went with unslotted Antique Acoustic pins. The MA550t strings are the ONLY String that I’ve ever had break on me In all the years I’ve been playing.

[sinistral]

According to Robert Corwin, Martin has been using plastic bridge pins since the “Hawaiian craze” of the early 1900’s:

A Virtual Museum of Vintage Martin Guitars—The Evolution of Bridge Pins on Martin Guitars

Around the same time, Martin switched from using elephant ivory for white binding to plastic (celluloid).

I can’t recall when Martin switched from hard plastic to the softer plastic that is used in most guitars today, but it may have been when Martin stopped slotting bridges and started using slotted bridge pins(?).

Plastic pins are light weight and don’t expand and contract (like wood pins do). A common upgrade is to switch to harder plastic pins made of galalith, such as those made by Antique Acoustics or Waverly. Martin may have used galalith pins for a while.

Alan Carruth and others knowledgeable on the subject postulate that the difference is sound is mostly attributable to the mass of the pins, effectively adding mass to the bridge.

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Here’s what Martin says about it. Basically it uses plastic pins because it considers them as the most “neutral.” The high end guitars like Authentics ship with bone.

This is not correct. The Authentics come with unslotted plastic pins (faux ivory, in the case of the D-28), the same as the original guitars they are based on. I believe the pins are harder plastic than the ones that come on Standard Series guitars (perhaps made of galalith).

[kizz]

Originally Posted by Dr_el

I should add the tech made a slight truss rod adjustment, put on a fresh set of strings, and installed a K&K pure mini for amplification.

Maybe you should wait until the strings and the neck have just settled and then put the old plastic pins in and report back if you can hear the difference (maybe after a couple and hours after you loosened the strings and strung them up again, because they will sound different right after ) there are a few factors here that can easily color a real assessment.

[Teherie]

I still have the original pins and hardware on my 1976 D35 purchased new in early 1977. It sounds great to me but my hearing is now almost 47 years older than it was when I first bought the guitar.

One other comment: Over the years, the lacquer has yellowed and chipped/worn off of the white plastic binding. It not only looks cool, the binding has done its original intended use to protect the edges of the guitar.

[dave42]

In 1997 I bought 2 new Martin guitars, a D-16TR and a D-42. A couple of years later I thought that a nice Martin deserved the best, so I bought a set of bone pins.

Much to my surprise I liked the plastic in the D-42 better. So it still uses plastic pins.

Those bone pins really helped the tone of the D-16TR. This guitar turned into my gigging guitar and over the years had many string changes. The pins are still as new... straight!.. which I think has been the biggest advantage of bone pins.

Even though the playing out days are over, pretty much, I still have both guitars.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by kizz

Maybe you should wait until the strings and the neck have just settled and then put the old plastic pins in and report back if you can hear the difference (maybe after a couple and hours after you loosened the strings and strung them up again, because they will sound different right after ) there are a few factors here that can easily color a real assessment.

I was going to say the same thing. The truss rod adjustment shouldn’t have made a difference, but the pickup might have and the new strings definitely would have. It’s better to do the comparison with all of the other factors held as constant as possible.

People knock plastic pins, but often they are an excellent choice for a variety of reasons. The bigger improvement is to slot the bridge and use harder, unslotted plastic pins, the way Martin used to do it (and does on Authentics, as well as builders such as Collings, etc.). Not so much for tone, but for the longevity of the bridge plate.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by kizz

Maybe you should wait until the strings and the neck have just settled and then put the old plastic pins in and report back if you can hear the difference (maybe after a couple and hours after you loosened the strings and strung them up again, because they will sound different right after ) there are a few factors here that can easily color a real assessment.

I was going to say the same thing. The truss rod adjustment shouldn’t have made a difference, but the pickup might have and the new strings definitely would have. It’s better to do the comparison with all of the other factors held as constant as possible.

People knock plastic pins, but often they are an excellent choice for a variety of reasons. The bigger improvement is to slot the bridge, ream a taper into the bridge pin holes, and use harder plastic pins, the way Martin used to do it (and does on Authentics, as well as builders such as Collings, etc.). Not so much for tone, but for the longevity of the bridge and bridge plate.

[leew3]

my most expensive guitar, a Martin, came with the plastic bridge pins. At a Martin event held at the shop where I bought it I had the opportunity to talk with the woman who picked out the wood for my custom Martin. I asked her about the bridge pins. She essentially said that they find that 'they just sound good.'

You'll find endless threads about the amazing changes specific pins make in your guitar sound. I'm with the Martin folks and like the plastic ones.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

What’s up with those strings?!? Have never seen anything like that…

Those are GHS Bright Bronze Contact Core. Another rabbit hole for the AGF. My favorite strings so far on the 00-28. GHS says they are the brightest strings they sell, my experience playing w flesh and nail is more like balanced high fidelity w sustain.