Bridge Pins

B.MasterGeneral

I was thinking of sprucing up my acoustic with a new set of bridge pins, the old ones are a bit chewed up. The guitar is a Blueridge Br-60. Has anyone had any experience buying these online? I'm a bit worried about getting the correct size, also has anyone experimented with other materials, bone or brass for example? Some seem to say it makes a noticeable difference.

68 lost souls

The cost of bridge pins so so little you are wasting your time buying online becuase the shiping will be more than the pins are worth, you can pick up a set of 6 for less than a fiver in most shops if you want plastic ones or a set of brass pins will be aroun 20 - 25.

B.MasterGeneral

Yeah, I see your point, but I'm thinking of buying a few bits and pieces though so I think I can justify delivery. Also in my situation, I have almost no access to music shops, ever! Thanks anyway!

68 lost souls

Ok. The bridge pins should make a bit of a difference alright. Some bad plastic ones have a tendancy to break easily when you are changing the strings. Here is a quote from another forum by a luthier.

"People like to say how much the bridge pins change the tone but truth of the matter is that they don't change it all that much. Plastic is really soft so it makes it easy to string your guitar the wrong way which dampens the tone. If you are careful to string your guitar right then plastic pin's won't hurt anythingl.

Brass pins are hard which means if you string your guitar wrong you will still get good sound, and just having hard pins makes it easier to string your guitar the right way anyway. The problem with brass pins is that they are so heavy. Heavy pins dampens the tone which means that if you string your guitar correctly the plastic pins will sound better than the brass.

I like to use wood pins that match my bridge. If I'm building a guitar with rosewood a rosewood bridge then I use rosewood pins. If you building a guitar with an ebony bridge then I use ebony pins. The wood pins don't add much weight to the guitar so they don't dampen the tone the way brass ones do. Wood pins are also much harder than the plastic pins so they make it easier to string your guitar the right way, and if you don't string it the right way they still help it sound better than the plastic. So with wood pins you get some of the benefits of the plastic and the brass. The best of both worlds.

The best pins you can get are bone or ivory. They are really hard and they are pretty light, but they cost a lot and I don't think they are worth it. If you string your guitar correctly then they won't do anything that wood pins wouldn't do.

He is definently the authority on acoustic guitars as he builds them.

Bry"