Ever placed bone saddle / pins on your beater ?

[GibbyPrague]

So based on your suggestions Im taking my Cort to my luthier tomorrow for a full bone 'make over' - nut, saddle and pins.

Ill also get my Furch to have a bone nut to go with the bone saddle and pins it already has.

Exciting :-)

[ydnew01]

I recently acquired a Martin 000-28EC (the production Eric Clapton model, not the uber-cool run of 461 hand-signed ones) and replaced the plastic pins with bone ones from StewMac. I don't know if the new pins improved the sound as I didn't have the guitar long before the change but the plastic ones just bugged me. I did the same with a 1972 D-18 but used ebony pins in that one and they definitely made a difference.

Why Martin cheaps-out on things like this, I'll never know. The resulting increase in price wouldn't be significant.

Wendy

[GibbyPrague]

Thats the same issue I have with Gibson.

They put bone nut and saddle on some of the more high end guitars but ALWAYS have plastic pins, the mind boggles why.

Anyway, all my Gibsons are now 100% bone and the difference has been signficant. Much more sustain and projection, greater clarity.

Definitely worth the investment.

Originally Posted by ydnew01

I recently acquired a Martin 000-28EC (the production Eric Clapton model, not the uber-cool run of 461 hand-signed ones) and replaced the plastic pins with bone ones from StewMac. I don't know if the new pins improved the sound but the plastic ones just bugged me. I did the same with a 1972 D-18 but used ebony pins in that one.

Why Martin cheaps-out on things like this, I'll never know. The resulting increase in price wouldn't be significant.

Wendy

[Gypsyblue]

Originally Posted by ydnew01

I recently acquired a Martin 000-28EC (the production Eric Clapton model, not the uber-cool run of 461 hand-signed ones) and replaced the plastic pins with bone ones from StewMac. I don't know if the new pins improved the sound as I didn't have the guitar long before the change but the plastic ones just bugged me. I did the same with a 1972 D-18 but used ebony pins in that one and they definitely made a difference.

Why Martin cheaps-out on things like this, I'll never know. The resulting increase in price wouldn't be significant.

Wendy

When I get an acoustic guitar that's new to me, I always change the plastic pins to something nicer (FWI) and I think I hear a very small improvement...very small. I do it mostly for aesthetics.

It's changing out plastic saddles for bone where you're going to hear the biggest improvement - that change can be dramatic.

[Gypsyblue]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

My wife gave me Amber pins (Water Buffalo Horn) for my Olson for Father's Day 2005, and they look classy. No change in tone though…and I have never had anyone comment on the looks of them. I just liked them better...love how the light 'glows' through them.

Wow - how cool is that? They're not all seated all the way though. Is that intentional?

[ydnew01]

Originally Posted by Goldenbird

When I get an acoustic guitar that's new to me, I always change the plastic pins to something nicer (bone or FWI) and I think I hear a very small improvement...very small. I do it mostly for aesthetics.

It's changing out plastic saddles for bone where you're going to hear the biggest improvement - that change can be dramatic.

Thankfully, the saddles & nuts on my guitars are bone. I'm sending the '72 D-18 to Brian Kimsey this summer (he's back-logged) for the whole enchilada. I'm anxious to hear the improvement that'll bring, but that's material for another thread.

Wendy

[stratokatsu]

Originally Posted by TaylorPrague

So based on your suggestions Im taking my Cort to my luthier tomorrow for a full bone 'make over' - nut, saddle and pins.

You might want to reconsider the nut since every note you fret will eliminate the bone nut from the equation.

I've tried bone and various pin materials in practically every guitar I ever had, cheap or expensive. Oddly enough, a couple guitars I didn't like bone in were a Martin dread and a Taylor jumbo. I returned them to the Micarta and Tusq they came with.

On the other hand, I have an Epi jumbo that was dirt cheap and with a bone saddle, it gave me back the most obvious gain in volume and improvement in tone of any guitar I've ever seen.

BUT, and this is a big but... There is bone and there is bone. I bought some bone blanks from Stewart McDonald and I thought they were OK... until trying some experiments, I tried one of my Colosi bone saddles in a guitar that previously had a StuMac saddle in it.

BIG DIFFERENCE!!!

[wthurman]

Saddle yes, pins, only with ebony. Pins don't make enough of a difference to justify the cost of more exotic materials.

[jeastman]

Originally Posted by Goldenbird

Wow - how cool is that? They're not all seated all the way though. Is that intentional?

That must be his beater Olson

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Goldenbird

Wow - how cool is that? They're not all seated all the way though. Is that intentional?

Hi GB…
Actually they are slotless pins, and just go in finger tight, so wherever the pin seats nicely is where I let each pin rest. I never force them.

And since I use several brands of strings with slightly different string diameters, and they seat differently with different weights of strings.

[riorider]

As I mentioned on GB's thread, I replaced the Tusq saddles on two Baby Taylor Ms (mahogany top) with bone from Bob Colosi, and they both were significantly improved. Sustain and "richness" primarily.

I also replaced the plastic (definitely plastic) saddle on an entry level Alvarez I bought for a camp guitar with bone. Clear improvement. I also replaced the pins with bone - but for the visual rather than tone. Bob will tell you - and it's been my limited experience - that a saddle change will produce the most tonal change, pins not nearly so much (maybe hard to tell at all) and nut about the same as pins.

I'm intrigued by AlohaChris's suggestion on the wider fully compensated saddle for a 12 string. Since I just sold my Taylor GS 12 I (and probably won't get another) I won't pursue that - but it certainly makes significant sense. The Taylor T5-12 has a "height compensated" saddle (carved a bit more deeply for the wound strings) but I don't think it's fully compensated fore and aft so to speak. I've not played one, but was told they were butter-like to play.

Anyway, to the point - yes, a bone (or ivory) saddle will make a difference - even on, and maybe especially on - a "beater". I just yesterday ordered a bone saddle from Bob for my new Rainsong OM. I hear the same strong trebles and flat midrange and "soft" bass on the carbon OM that I do on smaller bodied Taylors, so I'm expecting the same bell-like tonal and sustain improvements on it.

Cheers,

Phil

[Big.Al]

I put a bone saddle in a cheap all laminate Chinese Alvarez steel string folk-model guitar once. The improvement in tone was huge . . . but the factory saddle was junk . . . made of some softer plastic than most. I think even changing it to a more typical hard plastic saddle would have been a big improvement.

[Glennwillow]

Hi TP,

I put a bone saddle in my Voyage-Air VAOM-06 guitar and for my tastes it made a nice improvement over the original Tusq saddle. I did not change the pins.

Regards, Glenn