Nut Saddle Pin Material 1971 D40

Stuball48

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Have a 1971 D40 that bought last winter and just changed strings on it. I rotate my guitars weekly so don't get bent out of shape over strings not being changed enough.
While changing strings, I noticed the nut, saddle, and bridge pins to be old plastic. I got no complaint as to how it sounds just wondered if old D40s came with plastic? Would bone give it a better or just a different sound in your opinion?
 

Guildedagain

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Bone makes a huge difference at the nut, bridge, probably pins as well. It's all about transfer of energy, transfer of vibrations from strings to wood to make the top amplify, but some of the sound coming out is just strings, regardless of woods and plastics?

Lots of guitars still sound fantastic regardless of this, and also some other "requirements" for great tone. Like my 1st acoustic, red label Nippon Gakki Yamaha FG-75 with laminate top, I'd probably fall in love with it today all over again.
 
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gjmalcyon

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Bone makes a huge difference at the nut, bridge, probably pins as well. It's all about transfer of energy, transfer of vibrations from strings to wood to make the top amplify, but some of the sound coming out is just strings, regardless of woods and plastics?

Lots of guitars still sound fantastic regardless of this, and also some other "requirements" for great tone. Like my 1st acoustic, red label Nippon Gakki Yamaha FG-75 with laminate top, I'd probably fall in love with it today all over again.

I still have my first acoustic (courtesy of mom and dad) - a '69 red label Nippon Gakki FG-110. It got the bone nut and saddle treatment from Pete Brown several years ago, and if circumstances so dictated, I'd be happy again with that as my only instrument.

I did the bone nut and saddle and setup treatment on the early-to-mid-90's D4 I gave to my wife. It made a noticeable and significant improvement in a guitar that was already pretty good. In order of priority, I'd do saddle before nut.
 

adorshki

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Have a 1971 D40 that bought last winter and just changed strings on it. I rotate my guitars weekly so don't get bent out of shape over strings not being changed enough.
While changing strings, I noticed the nut, saddle, and bridge pins to be old plastic. I got no complaint as to how it sounds just wondered if old D40s came with plastic?
"Micarta" for nut and saddle to be precise but Hans corrected me a while back about when it got used on a specific guitar (and think it was a D40).
I thought it was "Always" but apparently not, and can't remember which era I thought used it but didn't...'60's? Or maybe he meant "yes", they were actually plastic?
Would bone give it a better or just a different sound in your opinion?
Bone saddle & nut improved volume and sustain on my D25.
A bone saddle affects everything all the time and a bone nut improves sustain on unfretted strings so helps balance the overall output.
Subtle but discernible.
Recently another member mentioned they actually preferred Tusq after searching for something to replace their nut and saddle.
Pins have been discussed in past and I believe folks who say they can hear a difference.
I just think it's due more to the mass of the material itself as opposed to imparting any actual tonal qualities:
I subscribe to the school that says total bridge mass has a bigger effect on energy transfer to the top than pin material, and since seated pins essentially become part of the bridge mass, if you go to a substantially denser material you are in fact increasing bridge mass to some degree.
 

adorshki

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Brass pins? ;)

Mega-dense = mega-mass.
And yeah in that case the close match of metal densities between string and pin might have a more extreme effect on string's voice than the usual materials.
But still 99+% of the string's "voice" is already stopped at the saddle, minimizing whatever effect pin material might have on it.
Which reminds me of a buddy who had his Yamaha fitted with a brass nut.
Insane sustain.
 

nielDa

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Experimenting with different pin materials a while ago, I was surprised at the difference they made. If you can get hold of some different pins it’s easy enough to switch them out. (Nut and saddle make a difference too, of course, but the pins were surprising and easy to swap.)
 
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