[billy16]

I was looking through my musicians friend catalog today, and saw these brass bridge pins. It said they helped with tone, sustain, and clarity of the sound. Do they really help out with all that? And how so?

[dadfad]

I wouldn't buy them for that purpose. Maybe for cosmetic reasons, but with a properly mounted string, the ball-end is pulled tight against the underside of of the top, not the pin. The bridge-pin does little more than keep it from slipping out during playing and when changing strings. (For example usually you could pull all the pins right out of a tuned-up guitar and the strings would remain in place.) Their effect would be minimal, if they had any effect at all.

[billy16]

Ok, didn't think they'd do too much. I'm still replacing the bridge pins, because they are cheap plastic, and since I don't have a bridge pin puller yet ( I am buying one though ) they are cracking up a bit because of the ways I'm pulling them.

Hopefully, by the end of the summer I'll have a nice Alvarez acoustic instead of my Wal-Mart one.

[adds]

Id agree with dadfad here.Its not going to make a notichable difference if at all.They say ivory is the best for pins saddle nut.But id like to record a piece of music twice with a guitar with bone nut,saddle,pins and then again with the same guitar only with ivory pins ect and find a bloke that can tell me whick ones which.Ive always said if you cant tell just by hearing and not seeing then the difference is so minimal its not worth a candle.

[epearson]

There was a whole fad in the seventies of brass bridge pins and nuts, people thought they made things sound better, it's kinda passed now.

[mrbreeze]

Ok, didn't think they'd do too much.      I'm still replacing the bridge pins, because they are cheap plastic, and since I don't have a bridge pin puller yet ( I am buying one though ) they are cracking up a bit because of the ways I'm pulling them.

Hopefully, by the end of the summer I'll have a nice Alvarez acoustic instead of my Wal-Mart one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you should have one in the kitchen....a butter knife does the trick. Just be careful.

[billy16]

Ok, didn't think they'd do too much.      I'm still replacing the bridge pins, because they are cheap plastic, and since I don't have a bridge pin puller yet ( I am buying one though ) they are cracking up a bit because of the ways I'm pulling them.

Hopefully, by the end of the summer I'll have a nice Alvarez acoustic instead of my Wal-Mart one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you should have one in the kitchen....a butter knife does the trick. Just be careful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I've been there. Works good unless it slips. Then it hurts. When I get a bit more cash, meaning I don't have a car to pay off, maybe I'll just invest the $2 for one.

I've been using pliers to take them out. I take some of the foam from these things you sleep on when you go camping. The sleeping bag mats. I cut a piece out and take pliers and gently pull it out. So far, not a scratch. But before I break one, I want to get something made for taking them out.

[dadfad]

Ok, didn't think they'd do too much.      I'm still replacing the bridge pins, because they are cheap plastic, and since I don't have a bridge pin puller yet ( I am buying one though ) they are cracking up a bit because of the ways I'm pulling them.

Hopefully, by the end of the summer I'll have a nice Alvarez acoustic instead of my Wal-Mart one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you should have one in the kitchen....a butter knife does the trick. Just be careful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I've been there. Works good unless it slips. Then it hurts. When I get a bit more cash, meaning I don't have a car to pay off, maybe I'll just invest the $2 for one.

I've been using pliers to take them out. I take some of the foam from these things you sleep on when you go camping. The sleeping bag mats. I cut a piece out and take pliers and gently pull it out. So far, not a scratch. But before I break one, I want to get something made for taking them out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Take an old dinner-fork. Remove one of the prongs from inside. Now it should fit around the peg. Put a piece of paper under it to protect the finish maybe, and just pop the peg up. It's what I used for lots of years before they started making string-winders (and then put the little puller-notch on the bottom).

[billy16]

The fork idea sounds good. I'll try that tonight.

[improviduto]

I use a pair of needle-nosed pliers because i can pull the strings and cut the excess. just be careful about scratching the finish!

[billy16]

When I'd use pliers, I'd either use foam, or I'd take a sock off and use that. Works ok, but now about 90% of my socks have a hole in them somewhere.

[improviduto]

the notch in the dean markley turbotune works nice, too. I have one

[billy16]

I don't plan on changing my strings for a long time yet, so hopefully by then I'll have something. My strings are going to be on for almost 6 months total. My last strings were on for almost 8 months before I changed them.

[olduvai]

I don't plan on changing my strings for a long time yet, so hopefully by then I'll have something.      My strings are going to be on for almost 6 months total.  My last strings were on for almost 8 months before I changed them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That seems like an awfully long time to use a set of strings. By 8 months the crispness of tone must be long gone.
I change every 4 months or so and, am always surprised by the returning clarity that I did not know I'd lost.

[billy16]

Yeah, but I'm usually too poor to afford strings. So I keep them on for a long time. I usually get Elixirs just for the fact they last so long. The tone is gone by the 5th month or so.