As far as the acoustic tone without piezo....it's a mystery- but my ears hear it! They include seven bridge pins and one end pin. Bone could cause variations that the pickup magnified. I've replaced plastic bridge pins (in Taylor's 100 series, possibly others?) The Gear Page is the leading online community and marketplace for guitars, amps, pedals, effects and associated gear. The six-piece set is perfect for Martin 2mm and is white with a black dot. Luthier's Guitar & Bass Technical Discussion. That's funny David. Tusq bridge pins offer an ethical alternative to those who don’t want to use animal products. If you are selecting good quality bone however, I've not run in to any real inconsistencies in pickup signal - it just takes a bit more hands on time for quality material selection. That doesn't mean that bone saddles can't work well with under-saddle pickups; I can certainly imagine being so lucky as to have a saddle with a dead spot just under the string that wants to be too loud through the PA. Bone varies in density, even quality bone, and that can affect the string-to-string balance. Your link has been automatically embedded. I said that bone passes no higher order string harmonics, but TUSQ is unresponsive for a few octaves above the fundamentals, then becomes responsive again for a few octaves. I was originally after some "fancier" bone bridge pins with ebony and abalone inlays. This therefore means they will have inconsistent soft or dead spots because of their natural grain. Kelly.......When I've asked the people at Gibson the answer I received was the density of Tusq saddles transfer the string vibrations better than bone....especially for an under-saddle piezo pick up. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I can't see any reason to go with Corian for a Strat nut. Bridge bone pins increase the purity of the essential notes, which helps out cheap guitars with bolt-on necks. They're not exactly known for cheaping out on materials. Corian has been good enough to stay on the Warmoth menu for some time. Tusq nuts have gone on to become standard in high quality guitars from manufacturers such as Taylor, Gibson and Tacoma. So do you know why that is?? However, as a repairman I don't want to chance my reputation on how many calcium supplements the poor aul' cow in question did or didn't take before getting into the guitar business the hard way. Jalex, January 23, 2016 in Gibson Acoustic. 3. What about as far as sound is concerned, how far is it from bone if i might trouble you a little farther? I have done this to all guitars I have bought with tusq saddles and always thought it a worthy upgrade. Billy G. last night!!! My son ran into Rev. There are those who are habitual naysayers (not on this forum) who scoff at any audible difference in bridge pins, period. Scriptor. Brittle sound. Anyone else had this happen with their J-15 or any Gibson model have you gone back to tusq after trying bone? Out of curiosity I called Gibson and asked why a guitar that retailed originally for something like $1,600 didn't have a bone saddle. Factories will typically use bone that comes from a machine that takes cows in one end and spits out hamburgers, boots, and guitar saddles from the other side, so it's understandable they run in to more quality issues. Paste as plain text instead, × × Also better intonation. By submitting this form you are agreeing to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. The Tusq bridge pins are ideal for moderate treble and volume to the Martin guitars. Sandwiching a piece of soft material, like a pickup, between saddle and bridge is bound to have a negative effect on the tone of the instrument, as the soft material will damp vibrations. I had a Gibson L-130 for a while and got better sound when I had my luthier make a bone saddle for it. Your previous content has been restored. I put the same pins on my J-45. There's a reason Tusq sounds so good on our Gibsons :). Same story with my J45 Custom. Cheers. They are also increased to add a more focused singing up in higher harmonics and ring off the top voice. It's hard to get past the basic truth of Tusq saddles on production guitars, which is that they are WAY cheaper than paying someone to stand there and make bone saddles. But I digress. However after installing the bone saddle on my J-15 I was really disappointed with brittle sound of the guitar, what happened to that great sound? Still have much to learn yet. Three that come to mind quickly are Taylors, some Seagulls, and the Epiphone AJ220s, which demonstrates the strongest and clearest overtones of any guitar I ever analyzed. So do you know why that is?? Their effect on the sound of an acoustic guitar is still an improvement over stock pegs. × Changed back to stock pins n saddle. You cannot paste images directly. with tusq and there was immediate improvement in sustain and a bit in dynamics. Beyond that, bone is dead as a doornail, so it passes no higher order string harmonics to the body for voicing. Who will refuse to watch "The Pedal Movie" on principle alone. For those who are concerned about not affecting the acoustic tone of their instrument, I recommend soundboard-style transducers. Copyright 2019 Gibson Brands, Inc. All rights reserved. taking out the original rosewood pins, and no difference was noted. JavaScript is disabled. Hamburgers, boots and guitar saddles. Corian has a ceramic-y hardness, still a bit softer than a good, glassy piece of dense bone, better than a chalky, crappy piece of bone. So is there a synthetic that sounds like bone? Ivory Bridge Pins. I thought I would give the bone saddle a try since it is relatively inexpensive. Privacy Policy | I didn't knowbone could vary but i am learning more and more everyday.