Liquid Metal Bridge Pins vs Titanium

[Rosewood99]

There is a recent thread on Martin's Liquid Metal Bridge Pins and it made me wonder the pros and cons of those vs the Titanium ones. Has anyone had experience with one or both?

[desert2000]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

There is a recent thread on Martin's Liquid Metal Bridge Pins and it made me wonder the pros and cons of those vs the Titanium ones. Has anyone had experience with one or both?

Liquid metal? I can't imagine mercury working well as a bridge pin at all.

[AndrewG]

Obviously this isn't my personal opinion because I haven't come across these pins yet, but several videos I watched have left the testers somewhat underwhelmed. I guess at £150 a set I would need to hear a considerable difference or improvement in both volume and sustain, which is what Martin is claiming, before flashing the plastic. I haven't come across titanium pins either.
I'll be interested to hear what users think.

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Obviously this isn't my personal opinion because I haven't come across these pins yet, but several videos I watched have left the testers somewhat underwhelmed. I guess at £150 a set I would need to hear a considerable difference or improvement in both volume and sustain, which is what Martin is claiming, before flashing the plastic. I haven't come across titanium pins either.
I'll be interested to hear what users think.

The few reviews I found said quite the opposite. They thought it made a huge difference. Was hoping to find some AGF members who have used either.

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by desert2000

Liquid metal? I can't imagine mercury working well as a bridge pin at all.

That refers to how they are made. Not the final product.

[Athens]

I'm just thinking about the physics here. The added mass would help sustain by adding mass to the top and keep it moving longer.

But.....

You would need more energy to get to top moving so would that mean the instrument would be less responsive to light finger style playing?

[cmac]

Originally Posted by Athens

I'm just thinking about the physics here. The added mass would help sustain by adding mass to the top and keep it moving longer.

Or, alternatively, a given input of energy will be used up more quickly due to the added mass of the top, meaning sustain is reduced.

I'm not saying which is right (I don't know) but as you noted:

You would need more energy to get to top moving

So if you increase the amount of energy to overcome the added mass then whether or not sustain improves is down to the efficiency / damping of the soundboard. A very resonant soundboard, which logically consumes less energy, might get better sustain.

But this is guesswork on my part. The physics of this stuff is desperately complex.