Liquid Metal Pins vs Brass Pins

[L20A]

Martin introduced the Liquid Metal Pins a few years ago.
Martin feels that these pins will have a noticeable affect on the tone of the guitar.

For many years, we have been able to purchase brass pins for guitars but
most people felt that brass pins affected their guitars in a not so good way.

My question is this.
How do liquid metal pins differ in how they make a guitar sound when compared to brass pins?

Who has tried liquid metal pins?
What were your thoughts about them when compared to how your guitars sound when other types of pin materials are used?

[fregly]

The price makes me think marketing induced cash grab. Pins just need to be within a reasonable range of lightness. Everything else is bovine end product.

[Italuke]

Disclaimer: I am not in the camp of folks who believe that bridge pins can noticeably change a guitar's tone, for most people. I guess sure, for folks with the hearing of a 12 year old, in a sterile controlled lab setting...MAYBE. I never play in such a setting.

I digress. My understanding and experience is that the harder and denser materials used for saddles, nuts (OPEN STRINGS ONLY!), and sure, bridge pins, the brighter an instrument's tone will be.

So do want your guitar to be brighter? (And is there a fine line between bright and brash?)

[phavriluk]

Originally Posted by fregly

The price makes me think marketing induced cash grab. Pins just need to be within a reasonable range of lightness. Everything else is bovine end product.

Where a player picks a guitar will have a greater influence on its sound than just about any parts swap that can be peddled.

Swap in nice pins (discard the 99-cent pins the guitar came with) and go play.

If magic-beanstalk pins were so transformative they'd be OEM.

[rick-slo]

Not sure about these but on the face of it sound doubtful. The way increased volume with pins was "objectively" tested by them has IMO issues (possible magnetism side effects).

[campfireplayer]

I have liquid metal pins in my Martin DX Johnny Cash. I didn't notice any difference in tone, but there was a slight increase in volume, which was my objective at the time.

[L20A]

So back to my question.
Do Liquid Metal Pins and Brass Pins have the same affect on a guitar?

Has anyone tried both and have an opinion?

[Alan Carruth]

So far as I can tell, any effect on the sound of the guitar would be tied to the mass of the pins. They don't 'transmit sound' from the strings to the top, but the strings have to move their weight if the guitar is to make any sound. Brass pins are about the heaviest you'll normally run into, and have the greatest effect on the sound. Liquid Metal isn't quite as dense, so the pins don't weigh as much, and would have less effect in general.

As always, it's more complicated than it 'should' be. Changing the mass at the bridge alters resonant mode pitches, and it's the relationship between those modes that establishes much of the characteristic timbre of the guitar. In most cases it might not make much difference, but there can be times when it will be more noticeable. There's no way to take all of the variables into account in an ASCII text posting...

[Osage]

Originally Posted by L20A

So back to my question.
Do Liquid Metal Pins and Brass Pins have the same affect on a guitar?

Has anyone tried both and have an opinion?

I have tried both. Brass pins always sound bad to me. They are really the only pins where I notice a difference. They're thin sounding and just not great. The Liquid Metal pins just sound like bone or ebony etc... The claim is that they're 3db louder. This test was done using a K&K pickup and not with a microphone so who knows if it's true in the real world. Even if it is, 3db is under what most people can perceive as a difference so in any situation outside of a lab, most people won't really perceive them to be any louder.