Saddle and Nut Material

West R Lee

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:?: Can anyone out there tell me what material was used for the saddle, nut and bridge pins on my guitars? I'm also curious as to what the standard materials used were on the various models through the years, and at which models the materials changed.

For instance, in '79 was the standard material used on the D-25 plastic? And as the models progressed, did Guild go to bone on say the D-50, F-50, etc? Were there any ivory nut, saddle and pins used in the high end models?

West
 

Darryl Hattenhauer

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Wester,

I hope somebody answers this, and also talks about end pins.

It seems to me that there are so many miracle composites now that you can hardly lose. Nowadays you don't have to do anything to a nut except fill the slots and re-cut them. In the old days, if you went from 13s to 11s, you had to buy a new nut and pay to get it grooved. And if you did it yourself and the slots were to wide or deep, you had to get a new nut. You couldn't fix it. (At least I couldn't, not with my talents.)
 

West R Lee

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The Darrylmeister,

I've been really curious for a while, just never got around to asking. I know the pins in my D-25 are plastic and I would assume the nut and saddle are too. But as many maunufacturers now place bone or ivory in there top of the line instruments, I'm curious about the DV's or the D55 for that matter. Maybe Hans or someone can enlighten us.

West
 

Darryl Hattenhauer

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West,

I imagine the old plastic isn't as good as all of these new things, but I really don't know. I also doubt if the bone and ivory is better than all of this new mycarta etc. I'm just so amazed at how good luthiery is now, especially after the downturn of the 70s.

My 63 F50 came with brass pins. I've never tried them. I've never even heard of them before.

Darrylscheister
 

dklsplace

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Brass pins have a very unique quality. Hard to describe, rather nice, but not for every occassion. Cross a piano with a quality set of orchestral bells & you're getting close.
 

Darryl Hattenhauer

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I'll try 'em when I get a chance and tell you what I think.

Anybody out there tried 'em? Coastie could probably figure out how to use them on his bluesboid.
 

West R Lee

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Still nothing on the nuts and saddles. This is getting frustrating. Come on in there anybody with some info.

West
 

coastie99

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I recall reading somewhere-or-other that brasspins are a no-no. Apparently they tend to muffle the bass strings, while adding quite a bit of "ping" to the top strings. Of course in some situations, that could be just what one desires.

I outfitted the F47R I briefly owned with Fossilised Walrus Ivory nut/saddle/bridge pins, and to me, it sounded gorgeous. Mind you, I'm only a beginner, and I certainly "wanted" to hear a difference after having spent all that dosh.
And without being able to compare a modded guitar directly with a "standard" guitar, how can you really tell - the ear doesn't "remember".
I certainly think that higher end instruments should have something fitted that's better than grotty plastic !
 
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Whale peni

OK - I know that they sell whale penus (I think it's some sort of bone) for sgian dubh parts (that's the sock knife for all you non-Highlanders). But, all kidding aside - and only Hans can say for sure - but I believe that most of the end pins, bridge pins, nuts and saddles were/are plastic coming from the factory. The 1990 GF25 I just bought had all plastic and several others were all plastic, though I believe my '75 G37 came with plastic bridge pins, plastic end pin, but bone saddle and nut - but that's been too many years to accurately say.

Several years ago, I got into a wee bit of a ritual. Whenever I would get a new guitar, I would immediately replace the nut and saddle with bone and use ebony bridge pins. I have a box full of plastic bridge and end pins, but I can't say why I keep them. 'Parts is parts.'

Like Don, I tried brass on a D25 I used for slide work. The brass pins seemed to really give it a brightness and ring. I liked them, but not for those I didn't play slide on. I favor bone over mycarta and some of the other composites and I even tried an ebony saddle one time, but it had somewhat of a duller sound on the high strings than I wanted.

So, I think they all pretty much came with plastic, but I swap them immediately for bone - what lovely ring it has. And....I've never actually tried the whale penus. dbs
 

West R Lee

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People,

Personally, I prefer Petrified Pachyderm Penus purely for it's pitch producing performance. Properly polished and placed PPP produces pitch parameters pleasing to the palate. Proper preperation and precautionary planning prevent piss poor performance in placing the piece precariously perched in it's place, thus pleasing the perfect professional player.

West :p
 

Darryl Hattenhauer

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How am I supposed to follow that, West?

But speaking of plastic, wouldn't today's plastic be better than it was 20 years ago, and therefore maybe as good as bone and composites etc?

And speaking of fossilized walrus, I don't want anything at home that reminds me of the bitches I work with.
 

coastie99

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West, do you live at high altitude over there ? My guess is that the air's a bit thin where you are.
The F47R had all plastic bitties. Pretty scungy really. If nothing else, FWI is certainly a vast improvement aesthetically. Not cheap though.
The F47R was a lovely piece of kit, but I didn't really feel comfortable with it
- it needed an owner who could "use" it. I'm a mere beginner.
 

dklsplace

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I can see them causing trouble on "other" guitars, but I didn't have the bass muffle problem, or ping with my Guild, & as far as the highs are concerned, the only way I can describe it is chimey.

Hmmmm, wonder if you put brass pins on a doinky Taylor....Poinky?

With the heightened EPA regs, I would bet there is a difference in the plastic pins made these days. Better or worse can only be discerned by the individual with a hands on test.
 

West R Lee

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Darryl,

I've always felt like it boiled down to how much vibration is transmitted through the material from the strings to the soundboard. If that's the case, I would think plastic would somewhat muffle that vibration, compared to bone or ivory.

West
 
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