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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → bridge pins
Strangely enough I have just changed the pins on my 70's Melody 12er. The old plastic was were not all the same so I have put a set of bone ones on. I tapered the ends first and none of the strings suffered from 'hang up' or were lifted during tuning. A new set od D'Addario lights and she as as good as new and sounding great.
Roger
I replaced the saddle and bridge pins with Bone on my OOO size Acoustic Guitar. The tone was much better as well as the loudness, big difference. I recommend changing them out and, its fun, just make sure you read as much as you need too to understand fitting the saddle, about $35. a pop so you don't want to ruin one. b
NELA started this thread back in June but I just became aware of this new bridge pin design:
http://www.guitarworld.com/gear-review- … rs#slide-1
Although the initial installation takes a bit of time, it looks like a great way to eliminate the usual wear & tear that happens under the bridge plate from repeated string changing. It might improve the tone / sustain, but the wear factor is the one that impresses me. What do you think?
That's a neat design TF, but what matters to me is whether it positively affects the sound.
Very interesting concept, and could be next years christmas gift to myself.
Got me curious, even though my Ovation already has a kind of "string through" saddle. I HAD to check out the link.... cool idea and with the back-up washers and nylock nuts should be a one-time installation. String tension looks pretty linear also which should reduce the tendency for the saddle "lifting", couple that with the bit of added mass of the hardware I would expect some increase in sustain also.
If you change strings often, $35 is a good trade off against having to be pulling and resetting/replacing bridge-pins IMO.
Good observations, Doug.
The whole idea just seems to make good sense. I paid $200 to have a bridge plate in my old Norman replaced a few years ago, and the saddle had also lifted a bit and never went flat again due to the slightly bowed top. It was +30 years old, and my daughter-in-law is still playing it, but I think something like this would prevent those troubles. I change my Elixir strings every 2 months or so, and am already seeing a bit of wear at the insertion point on the saddle of my Larrivee.
Thanks for the input!
As an afterthought, I failed to notice if they were available in both 3.5 and 5 degree taper..... we had discussed that in an earlier thread about changing to brass pins. It might be wise to test fit these new doo-dads and ream as needed to get a tight fit for optimal transfer of vibration.
I wish you guys would not keep putting these fancy do-dads up on here!!
First it was Russ with his automatic tuners; my Fender Strat went and ordered itself one and now it is Tenenment Funster with his Power pins. My Tanglewood acoustic has gone and ordered itself a set of these.
I am banning my guitars from e-bay and Amazon.
Roger
I am banning my guitars from e-bay and Amazon.
Now that doesn't seem fair to me. If they make you money they should have a say in how it's spent. 
With that said, even though my Epi doesn't make money for me, I'm thinking about letting it buy a set of these pins. After 30+ years the saddle is starting to show some serious grooves.
First it was Russ with his automatic tuners; my Fender Strat went and ordered itself one and now it is Tenenment Funster with his Power pins. My Tanglewood acoustic has gone and ordered itself a set of these.
My tackle bag is constantly doing that sort of thing.
I wish you guys would not keep putting these fancy do-dads up on here!!
First it was Russ with his automatic tuners; my Fender Strat went and ordered itself one and now it is Tenenment Funster with his Power pins. My Tanglewood acoustic has gone and ordered itself a set of these.
I am banning my guitars from e-bay and Amazon.
Roger
Just a little warning about the Power Pins. A Luthier / Guitar tecj friend of a friend does not recommend them. Says they put undue pressure on the rear part of the bridge and that he has had to reattach more than one bridge due to their use. Of course, your mileage may vary.
Roger, do let us know how these work out for you. As mentioned before, I think adding that much mass to the bridge would be a hindrance. I read something about a very low break angle also.
Just a little warning about the Power Pins. A Luthier / Guitar tecj friend of a friend does not recommend them. Says they put undue pressure on the rear part of the bridge and that he has had to reattach more than one bridge due to their use. Of course, your mileage may vary.
I was wondering about that as well, so I went here....
http://bigrockeng.com/powerpinassemblypage.html
and took a look at the illustrations. One would think that the "clamping" effect of the hardware would serve to laminate the layers together better than the original glue bond. As for the angle, it looks like it would not change much as it stays fairly close to what it would be if the bridge was unchanged (only a mm or so higher than the factory exit).
What think ye Roger? You've been doing Lutherie for awhile.
It had crossed my mind but in my opinion the only problem would be if the guitar top warped. Most of the tension is along the string so I think that the torsion on the bridge will be minimal and well within a guitar's design limits, but only time will tell.
Roger
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → bridge pins
