Brass Pins

[FoxHound4690]

Hey guys, just wondering if any of you use brass pins for your acoustic guitars. I'm seriously thinking about buying a set of 6 for my Maton because i've been told that brass pins help the guitar sustain longer and they improve the guitars overall tone. I was told this by a man who works at my local music shop and he absolutely swears by them and this is someone who knows guitars inside out. He's basically telling all his friends and all his customers about brass pins.

Do brass pins really improve the tone and sustain of an acoustic? it's a bit of a long shot to get an adequate response because there's not alot of people out there i know of that use brass pins.

Cheers in advance.

[L20A]

Brass pins are cheap. Get a set and let us know your results. I put a set on my Alvarez baritone to pull out some muddiness. I think that they helped a bit.

[Ralph124C41]

What timing. I gave away yesterday a set of five (I lost one) brass bridge pins. I'm slightly OCD about things matching so I didn't want to have a 5-string guitar custom made for me. LOL

I remember about eight years or so ago I put them on I think an all-laminate Indiana Scout acoustic. I sort of remember that it gave a brighter tone and I think the volume and sustain increased over those dreadful plastic pins. I did keep the pins but I think I didn't like the overall tone all that well so I never installed them in another guitar ... and then I lost one of the pins so they just became something in my sock drawer of guitar parts.

I got a cheap set with a flattened top so IMO they looked ugly, like having machine screws put in the saddle wings. Of course you can buy much more attractive ones but they still just don't look "right" to me.

[DenverSteve]

No but there are a lot of threads herein you can search for varied opinions.

[FoxHound4690]

Originally Posted by L20A

Brass pins are cheap. Get a set and let us know your results. I put a set on my Alvarez baritone to pull out some muddiness. I think that they helped a bit.

Yeah thanks. I have actually bought them off luthiersupplies.com just before so I will post my thoughts on them when i spend a good day or so playing with them in.. it will make my Maton look a bit fancier with some gold hardware in it too =P

[FoxHound4690]

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

What timing. I gave away yesterday a set of five (I lost one) brass bridge pins. I'm slightly OCD about things matching so I didn't want to have a 5-string guitar custom made for me. LOL

I remember about eight years or so ago I put them on I think an all-laminate Indiana Scout acoustic. I sort of remember that it gave a brighter tone and I think the volume and sustain increased over those dreadful plastic pins. I did keep the pins but I think I didn't like the overall tone all that well so I never installed them in another guitar ... and then I lost one of the pins so they just became something in my sock drawer of guitar parts.

I got a cheap set with a flattened top so IMO they looked ugly, like having machine screws put in the saddle wings. Of course you can buy much more attractive ones but they still just don't look "right" to me.

So you're saying the brass pins did change the tone and sustain but you weren't happy with it? interesting.... im just looking at different pins you can get like rosewood and the like. How do you think Metal pins would compare to Wooden pins and the basic plastic pins most guitars come with when you buy them?

[Wade Hampton]

Fox, what brass pins do is add a significant amount of weight to the bridge. This inhibits the ability of the bridge and top to vibrate to their fullest extent. The way this usually manifests itself is that there’s an increase in sustain and an increase in perceived treble response. I boldfaced the word “perceived” because the treble doesn’t actually increase, but you hear it better because the additional mass that brass bridge pins brings to the bridge inhibits the bass and lower midrange response.

In other words, the reason that the treble response seems enhanced when you use brass bridge pins is that they’re killing some of the bass and lower midrange.

Now, on some bass-heavy, tubby-sounding dreadnoughts I can see where brass bridge pins can be a benefit, by reducing some of that excessive bass and letting the trebles through. But on a guitar that’s good-sounding to begin with, they’re tonekillers, pure and simple. I’ve never heard a before and after comparison where I thought brass pins improved the sound: just the opposite.

So if you’ve got a guitar that sounds like a tub of lard with strings on it, brass bridge pins might truly help it. But if you’ve got a nice-sounding guitar and you want to try brass bridge pins because you’ve heard good things about them, I suspect you’ll be disappointed.

Fortunately, they’re fairly inexpensive to experiment with. Buy a set and listen to the results. But I’ve never heard a good guitar that was improved by them.

But don’t take my word for it: get a set and try them for yourself.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[GGSanders]

Several years ago I purchased a smaller bodied Larrivee LSV-11 from a fellow AGF member. It came to him, I believe, in a trade or whatnot, fitted with brass pins. I was, initially, a bit disappointed with its tone. It seemed muted, tight, and a bit harsh. So, the first thing I did was swap out the brass pins for bone.

The change was dramatic. Bass response appeared and its tone was now balanced. Harshness disappeared.

Why the original owner who installed the brass pins didn't pull them immediately I can't fathom. Obviously that owner wasn't happy with the tone of this guitar, as it came to me virtually unplayed.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by FoxHound4690

So you're saying the brass pins did change the tone and sustain but you weren't happy with it? interesting.... im just looking at different pins you can get like rosewood and the like. How do you think Metal pins would compare to Wooden pins and the basic plastic pins most guitars come with when you buy them?

I certainly would like either bone, wood or Tusq before using brass. Brass vs. cheap plastic pins? I don't know but if I had a guitar with plastic pins I would not consider getting brass pins for it. Most of my guitars have plastic pins and I am now slowly upgrading them. I installed bone pins on my Masterbilt and I have some ebony pins coming to me from China and I should get them by Christmas ... of next year.

[ManyMartinMan]

Plenty of past (monthly) threads on brass, and other composition, pins in the archives here. The short answer is the vast majority of people dislike brass pins. Also changing pin material is hit or miss on the preference for the tone afterwards.

[TBman]

I had a set in my Seagull Folk for a while. Their lack of attractiveness outweighed what little tonal benefits they produced so off they went eventually.

I'm mostly an ebony with or without abalone kind of guy. The only exception is my Gibson with its bone pins with abalone inlay.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

Plenty of past (monthly) threads on brass, and other composition, pins in the archives here. .

Seems like weekly sometimes.

[Bax Burgess]

Wade's thorough response should be pinned to the forum's main page.

[FoxHound4690]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Fox, what brass pins do is add a significant amount of weight to the bridge. This inhibits the ability of the bridge and top to vibrate to their fullest extent. The way this usually manifests itself is that there’s an increase in sustain and an increase in perceived treble response. I boldfaced the word “perceived” because the treble doesn’t actually increase, but you hear it better because the additional mass that brass bridge pins brings to the bridge inhibits the bass and lower midrange response.

In other words, the reason that the treble response seems enhanced when you use brass bridge pins is that they’re killing some of the bass and lower midrange.

Now, on some bass-heavy, tubby-sounding dreadnoughts I can see where brass bridge pins can be a benefit, by reducing some of that excessive bass and letting the trebles through. But on a guitar that’s good-sounding to begin with, they’re tonekillers, pure and simple. I’ve never heard a before and after comparison where I thought brass pins improved the sound: just the opposite.

So if you’ve got a guitar that sounds like a tub of lard with strings on it, brass bridge pins might truly help it. But if you’ve got a nice-sounding guitar and you want to try brass bridge pins because you’ve heard good things about them, I suspect you’ll be disappointed.

Fortunately, they’re fairly inexpensive to experiment with. Buy a set and listen to the results. But I’ve never heard a good guitar that was improved by them.

But don’t take my word for it: get a set and try them for yourself.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Good explanation, thanks heaps.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by Bax Burgess

Wade's thorough response should be pinned to the forum's main page.

Using ebony pins with abalone dots?