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| Brass bridge pins - General Guitar - Guitar - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Will Approved 
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Here's a cheap tweak you can try on your guitar... It costs you about $10 - $15 per set of brass tone pins (about the same price as Tusq or ebony bridge pins), more if you have to mail order and pay shipping. I decided to try the tone tweak on the half dozen Fullerton guitars that I bought recently, and my own results have been positive overall (longer sustain, richer and brighter tone). I got the best results from solid wood guitars that already have good tone to begin with and less dramatic results on laminated top guitars. Think of the effect of brass bridge pins on guitar tone using the audio system analogy. A boombox will never sound like a high-end stereo system, no matter how you tweak it. I received my shipment of D'andrea brass bridge pins and bone saddle blanks, which I ordered from Elderly Instruments: http://elderly.com/search/elderly?terms=brass+bridge+pins solid brass, flat head - $5.25/set  brass flat head with abalone inlay - $12.99/set  brass round head with white mother-of-pearl dot - $12.99/set  Elderly also carries brass flat head pins with mother of pearl inlay for $12.99 a set, but I did not order these: The bone saddle blanks ($2.00 each) are rectangular slabs; but without special tools and a lot of time, it would take me a lot of work to trim and sand a replica of a compensated saddle (most of my guitars have compensated saddles), so I'm not going to be tackling that any time soon. I might use them for basic replacements of bridge saddles on a few ukes. I did order a pre-cut compensated saddle for my Martin a few years ago, and it did improve the tone. I first installed one set of the white dot brass bridge pins on my Martin D-15 Spruce & Rosewood Custom; I took it to band practice yesterday, and the other band members remarked that the guitar sounded brighter and louder than before, to which I agreed. The notes also sustain longer (20-25 seconds) than before. Next, I installed a set of the abalone-inlaid brass pins on the Fullerton Greenwich 000. Again, I noted a increase in sustain (a strummed G chord now sustains 20-25 seconds), a slight increase in brightness and loudness. Based on what I've experienced so far regarding the usefulness of these brass bridge pins: 1. CONCLUSION: In general, the tonal improvement is usually subtle rather than dramatic, but positive overall. Don't always expect a magical, huge transformation in your guitar's sound. If you already have a good sounding solid-top guitar, the tonal improvement will PROBABLY be MORE NOTICEABLE (longer sustain, a bit brighter and louder tone) than on a laminated instrument, where you might NOT hear as big a difference with brass bridge pins (for better or for worse). Let your own ears be the judge. 2. It is possible that brass bridge pins may over-accentuate the brightness or throw off the individual string tonal balance of certain guitars, so they may not be suitable for all instruments. For example, if you have a spruce and maple guitar, which is already naturally bright, you probably won't like the overly bright tone; I confirmed this when I tried out the brass bridge pins on my Fullerton Kingwood spruce and maple 6-string. If you have a lot of guitars, keep small labeled ZipLock bags handy to keep track of the original bridge pins, in case you have to put them back. 3. When installing the brass pins, slacken the guitar strings enough so that you can extend the grommet below the end of the brass bridge pin, which allows the brass pins to be fully seated before re-tightening the string. If you don't do this, the grommet will keep causing the brass pin to pop out of the bridge hole when tightening the string up to correct pitch. Better yet, use this occasion to change to a new set of strings. 4. Buy just a few sets of these bridge pins to try them out. Guitar tone is extremely subjective and individual instruments of the same model can sound different. What sounds good to me on my guitars may not sound good to you on your guitars. 5. Most of the D'Andrea brass bridge pins have flat heads with knurled sides that are slightly larger in diameter than traditional roundhead bridge pins. The roundhead style (white mother-of-pearl dot) brass bridge pins are a bit smaller, and the closest match in appearance to regular bridge pins. If tight spacing of the bridge pin holes is of concern (i.e., 12-string guitars), go with the roundhead style. 6. If you don't find anything objectionable in the tone after installing the brass bridge pins, but are disappointed in the apparent lack of dramatic tonal improvement, enjoy the look of the brass pins - they are distinctive looking, especially the abalone-inlaid pins which look great on a guitar with genuine abalone trim (Fullerton Greenwich and Montclaire). 7. If money is no object  {ha ha}, John Pearse makes a set of bell-brass pins (7 bridge pins and a larger guitar strap in) for $38.00 a set. Bell brass is much harder and denser than the machinist brass used for the D'Andrea pins.8. Spruce and rosewood guitars seem to show the most dramatic improvement in tone with the brass bridge pins, followed by spruce and mahogany. Cedar top guitars such as Seagulls seem to benefit as well. I'm planning to next try out 2 sets of the roundhead white dot brass pins on my Seagull S12+ 12-string. The best prices for these pins that I've found are at Elderly Instruments, which have them all in stock: http://elderly.com/search/elderly?terms=brass+bridge+pins Last edited on Wed May 16th, 2007 04:44 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Roj Approved
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I use brass pins on a cedar AMI parlour and yes i find they make a big difference to the sound. There is a school of thought that since the Brass pins are more dense they vibrate the bridge a lot more and the excess vibration can, in time, damage the instrument as there is no 'give' in the material. Can't say it's affected my AMI for the past 3 years,but may be worth keeping in mind if you are thinking of fitting them to your vintage Martin. Cheers Roj
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Will Approved
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Roj wrote: I use brass pins on a cedar AMI parlour and yes i find they make a big difference to the sound. There is a school of thought that since the Brass pins are more dense they vibrate the bridge a lot more and the excess vibration can, in time, damage the instrument as there is no 'give' in the material. Can't say it's affected my AMI for the past 3 years,but may be worth keeping in mind if you are thinking of fitting them to your vintage Martin. Roj, Thanks. I really must credit you for giving me the idea to try out the brass bridge pins. I had been looking at those items on line for several months when I came across your post , but I wasn't able to track the old thread when I last looked. I don't own a vintage Martin (or vintage anything, for that matter); it's a 2005 Martin D-15 Spruce & Rosewood Custom made specifically for Musician's Friend, and the bridge pins seem to work. I don't really believe in the excess vibration theory regarding the bridge pins. Breedlove Guitars intentionally installs a bridge doctor system in all of their guitars, which acoustically couples the top vibrations with the sides of the guitar, causing increased vibration and more vibrant tone; this could be considered "excess vibration."
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Roj Approved
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Hi Will Im glad you tried and liked em  - i agree that with you on the vibration issue, as most mass produced guitars are a bit over built and modern glues are much stronger. But you never know if someone reading this has a more delicate instrument. I own a custom built guitar that is A braced rather than X braced which is very lively and responsive and i haven't tried brass pins on that. I did try them on a spruce top dreadnought and hated the sound - have played with the idea of just using brass on the bass strings and see what happens.But for $10-15 it's a great way of easily experimenting with your sound & you have supplied alot of useful info for others. The breedlove sounds interesting - i have never seen one - i live in the UK and they dont appear to be in the mainstream here. Cheers Roj
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Will Approved
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Will wrote: 8. Spruce and rosewood guitars seem to show the most dramatic improvement in tone with the brass bridge pins, followed by spruce and mahogany. Cedar top guitars such as Seagulls seem to benefit as well. I'm planning to next try out 2 sets of the roundhead white dot brass pins on my Seagull S12+ 12-string. After playing the guitar with a pick at a loud volume, I think the brass bridge pins make my Seagull 12-string too bright-sounding, so I'm going to re-install the original 12 Tusq bridge pins. In conclusion, guitars that are designed to sound bright (maple body guitars and 12-strings) don't seem to benefit from brass bridge pins; but only you can judge whether the tone has been improved or not on your guitar. 5/20/07 REVISION: After playing the Seagull 12-string for a while with 12 brass bridge pins, I began to like the new sound. It now sounds 30% to 50% louder than it was originally, and it would stand out in a jam. The bass is also deeper along with the midrange and treble. Last edited on Sun May 20th, 2007 07:23 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Will Approved
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D'Andrea solid brass bridge pins were tested out on the following guitars (these results and interpretations are strictly my own - let your ears be the judge if you want to try these pins out). RESULT GUITAR Martin D-15 Custom solid wood dreadnought, spruce top, rosewood back and sides Fullerton Montclaire solid wood dreadnought, spruce top, rosewood back and sides Fullerton Brigantine solid wood dreadnought, spruce top, mahogany back and sides Fullerton Greenwich 000 solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides Blueridge BR73 000 solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides Seagull Grand 0-size parlor, solid cedar top, wild cherry back and sides Seagull S12+ solid cedar top 12-string (brass pins made guitar much louder, fuller, and brighter, even when played without a pick) Carlo Robelli dreadnought, laminated mahogany back and sides Carlo Robelli 3/4 sized travel guitar, laminated mahogany back and sides Fullerton Kingwood jumbo 6-string, solid spruce top, maple back and sides (way too bright)Last edited on Sun May 20th, 2007 07:21 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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fullertonboy Approved
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I have a Washburn solid spruce top dreadnought, with presumably laminated rosewood back and sides. I 've tried out the brass bridge pins for a few weeks now, and have decided that they make the guitar a little louder, which makes many of the characteristics of the guitar's sound more prominent. It actually sounds a little warmer and fuller (probably because this is already a characteristic of the rosewood guitar sound), yet it also seems to accentuate the metallic quality of the sound (this is also said to be characteristic of the rosewood guitar sound). I've just swithched back to plastic pins and think the sound is better now. Call me fickle. Last edited on Tue Jun 19th, 2007 08:02 pm by fullertonboy |
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Will Approved
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Will wrote: D'Andrea solid brass bridge pins were tested out on the following guitars (these results and interpretations are strictly my own - let your ears be the judge if you want to try these pins out).
I've kept the brass bridge pins on all of the above guitars, except for the Seagull S12+, which was decidedly too bright. After changing strings, I put the original Tusq bridge pins back in, but just yesterday, I bought and installed 2 sets of aluminum alloy bridge pins called "Hot Rods" - they come in 6 colors and sell for about $10/set of 6 (I chose silver - the gold colored pins were sold out at the local Sam Ash store). The Seagull 12-string has never sounded better. http://www.jellifish.com/hotrods/index.html  Epilogue: When I changed the strings on the Seagull S12+ and installed a set of Cleartones, the aluminum pins made the guitar sound too bright, so I put the Seagull's original Tusq bridge pins back in place. Conclusion: metal bridge pins don't work well for 12-strings or maple-body guitars that are already bright in tone. Last edited on Tue Dec 11th, 2007 04:40 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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AcousticWriter Approved
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I put a set of brass pins on a cheap delta acoustic and it actually sounded worse. I still have the pins and will try them on a solid top Last edited on Tue Dec 11th, 2007 03:10 am by AcousticWriter |
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Will Approved
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I agree that the brass (D'Andrea) or aluminum (Hot Rods) bridge pins are not a magical solution. They didn't help my cheap Carlo Robelli dreadnought very much (still very little bass). Brass bridge pins, in combination with a set of new Cleartone strings, gave the best results and most dramatic improvements in tone with the following solid wood/solid top guitars: -Martin D-15 Custom Spruce & Rosewood solid wood dreadnought: much louder, deeper bass, clearer highs -Seagull Grand parlour (size 0) cedar top: much louder, deeper bass, fuller tone all around -Fullerton Montclaire spruce & rosewood solid wood dreadnought: much louder, deeper bass, clearer highs -Fullerton Greenwich (size 000) solid top spruce & rosewood: louder, deeper bass, clearer highs Last edited on Fri Dec 14th, 2007 02:16 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Will Approved
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All of the d'Andrea solid brass bridge pins are now on sale at Musician's Friend, including the fancy inlaid ones - @ $10/set of 6. Yes, you can now get the abalone and mother-of-pearl versions for the same price as the solid brass pins. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/DAndrea-Tone-Pins-Brass-Bridge-Pins?sku=364789    
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > General Guitar > Brass bridge pins | |
