where can I Buy Guild bridge pins?

[chazzan]

Since I just sold my National, I have a little $$ I can spend on guitars, hence a recent thread on non UST pickups.

I wanted to ask additionally, where can I buy bridge pins to fit my Guilds ie 74 f-112, 78 f-30, 83 f-20 all the bridge pins are worn and very bent! I put some plastic pins on the 12 but they don't fit perfectly.

I see pins for sale all the time but how do I get them to fit? In trying some at my local guitar store, not all of them fit the guild, the only ones that did was the cheap plastic that was not a perfect fit.

Do I need to sand the pins down- I don't want to touch the guitars in amy way.

Also which pins are the best plastic? wood? bone? I have read the previous threads about pins and if they make a difference in tone, but I am wondering about overall functionality than fine details of tone.

Ideally it would be great to find pins I can put, out of the box, onto the guitar with minimal work from the luthier.

 

[FNG]

I have had great luck with this guy www.guitarsaddles.com

He doesn't make a generic Guild pin, but if you send him one off your guitar, he will make a copy with a speedy turnaround. Might think about a bone or other saddle while you are there.

 

[GardMan]

Chazzan,
My (now) six Guild dreads have come to me with 3 or 4 different pin sizes. While some of this variability may result from differences from the factory thru the years, I don't doubt that some of it comes from changes made by the guitars previous owners. You can see the variety of pin sizes used by various guitar makers here.

Without getting into whether different pin materials have tonal effects (or not), the route I have gone is to have custom pins made to fit my guitars well, w/o having to modify the guitars at all. I either measure the pins carefully with a digital caliper, and send the measurements to Gordon Orth, or more comonly, send him the pins from a specific guitar to copy. Gordon's bone pins with 4mm dot inlays run ~$35. They look great, and fit when they arrive (usually withn 7-10 days).
Dave

 

[Jeff]

I suspect the tapered holes for the pins expand with time & use.

Gordon Orth makes nice pins, thousands of em. Here're the bone pins with tortoise dots he made for my GF60.

I used a caliper to measure the existing pins & sent the pics to Gordon. Inexpensive Calipers are available at places like Harbor Freight tools & are useful for other guitar issues as well, like measuring string guage when in doubt.

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisear ... rd=caliper

 

[12stringer]

I got some bone pins from our very own Don (dklsplace) for my F112...they fit just right.
Here is what they look like http://www.allparts.com/store/bridge-parts-bridge-pins-bp-2854-000,Product.asp
Hope this helps.

 

[carscratchmelt]

You can get Martin pins or Planet Waves pins (made by D'addario). No one will know the difference and the taper is pretty close. They should fit. I have been doing this on Guild Guitars for years. Most of these pins come from the same trough anyways...wink wink!

Jack Wilson
*Fender Certified Repair Tech*

 

[chazzan]

Thanks for the info- I will have some ideas when I go to the music store!

Depending on what prices/ product they give I may go for the custom pins- the only downside is that I will have to send them a pin from my bridge- and wait- still I have 4 other guitars to play- life could be worse.................

 

[carscratchmelt]

Seems like that money is burning a hole in your pocket... Seems like a waste of money to get "custom made' pins for those 4 guild guitars. That will get pretty pricey and well... it just seems like a waste.
Working for George Gruhn for a couple years I learned... If the guitar had plastic pins...replace it with the same. The pins bent because you may need bridge plate work. I suggest spending your money on a "plate mate"... elderly instruments has them... they are $20.00 each and get some new plastic fluted pins. You can get some custom pins made but, when your pin holes get wallowed out you'll wish you took my advice and you'll wish you saved your money so you can afford to get the bridge plates removed and replaced. This is a lot of dough and a time consuming job. Your ideal acoustic sound is made when you have optimum contact from the string to the bridge/top/bridge plate. A properly made guitar does not use the pins to hold the strings in... the pins are intended to ensure that the string contacts all these points. Your bent and boogered up pins indicate that this is not being done. To hell with spending money on bridge pin materials like bone and ivory... they make no real difference unless the nut and saddle are done too...and even then it is subjective. Try warther museum...to get some real elephant ivory... that's the real ticket. But, if you wont go that route...stick with the plastic. I look at it this way... if Guild intended for their guitars to have bone pins, ect., they would have maintained that feature... but, they didn't. If you want to spend some cash on something worthwhile... I have a Guild D4 w/case I need to unload... $475.00 shipped. Otherwise, take my advice. I have been building and repairing for over ten years. I worked for Gallagher Guitars, M.I.R.C., had some dealings at the Guild Custom Shop and worked at Gruhn Guitars. I am also a certified Fender repair technician. I also do warranty work.

 

[dklsplace]

The pins bent because you may need bridge plate work. I suggest spending your money on a "plate mate"... elderly instruments has them...

Is this mainly for maintaining a consistent hole size, or are there other benefits?

 

[GardMan]

Don,
Platemate is a metal plate with the correct hole spacing to line up with your bridgepin holes. You attach it to the bridgeplate inside your guitar... and it keeps the balls of the strings from gouging holes into the bridgeplate. If your plate is already dinged up, it can give you better string contact... But, putting a piece of metal between the string and bridge plate could certainly change the tone of the instrument. Haven't tried one, so don't know if it does, or not.

However, I don't think bent pins necessarily equates to bridge plate problems. I have taken some pretty bent up pins out of guitars which a mirror reveals to have a pristine-looking bridgeplate. Plastic, as its name implies, is plastic... that means it gives under pressure. The ball end of the string, with time, can bend the pin backwards, even if your plate and holes are good. Bone is a bit stiffer material, and shouldn't bend the same way (I am hoping that's the case!).

I don't want to argue whether or not pins change the tone... just point out to the OP and CSM that the pin holes on different guitars vary, either from useage, from someone reaming them larger, or even just from the factory. My six Guilds came to me with three different sizes of pins: 0.207" max shaft dia, 0.215" max shaft dia, and 0.220" max shaft dia. Clearly, a 0.220" pin wouldn't fit into a 0.207" hole. So, to get the pins I wanted that fit the way I wanted, I went for custom bone pins.... they also just look good (Gordon Orth actually turns the ivory pins for Warther).

added: one of my pet peeves is that many vendors selling pins don't actually tell you the shaft diameter or taper. I don't even think Jon Pearse pins listed in Elderly's on-line catalog give the size/diameter... so you are left guessing.
Dave

 

[chazzan]

I Agree GM!

My bridgeplate if fine- the pins are old, chewed up and worn out after 30+ years! Yes I wish the manufactures would list the measurements of the pins they make so I know which ones I can buy. This is why I asked the origonal question. I'm not going to file on the bridge just to fit a few plastic pins. Maybe I will try to find some rosewood pins I can sand if they are to big to the holes.............

 

[Jeff_L]

I look at it this way... if Guild intended for their guitars to have bone pins, ect., they would have maintained that feature... but, they didn't.

I beg to differ - my 2007 F50R came with bone nut, saddle, and pins.

Jeff

 

[carscratchmelt]

I recommend you try "Warther Museum". He is a great guy in amish country. He can make anything you need for a decent price. Tell him what taper you need etc. I think under your circumstances... I would get the pins "fluted". Other-wise... you will have to modify the bridge and the palte...and you don't really want to do that. I would go with real authentic pre-ban elephant ivory. Elephant ivory is "self-lubricating"...it is something in the chemical make up of ivory that cannot be replicated in bone, plastic, or mammoth.

His name is David Warther.

Get your nuts and saddles replaced as well...I mean while you are at it.

I can give you testimonials all day on the incredible differences that elephant ivory makes... but, I wont.

The plate mate is a good idea no matter what. Very few guitars do not have slightly damaged bridge plates...because when the holes are drilled the plate is already installed in the top and the body is already assembled... the drill bit has a tendency to tear out the maple or ebony that the plate is made of. As a result, the balls of the strings have a place to begin digging into the plate... after several years... you end up with plates that become shot. ie. every Martin I have ever seen that has been really played.

Let me know if you call David Warther...

You can also, buy any pins you want and take a hand reamer and resize the holes to fit the pins. Builders don't build guitars to fit the pins... they make the pins fit the guitar. Buy the pins you want and any luthier worth his weight in salt (the romans invented this phrase) will do just this for you. Fit the pins to the guitar.

Jack

 

[Jeff]

I recommend you try "Warther Museum". He is a great guy in amish country. He can make anything you need for a decent price. Tell him what taper you need etc. I think under your circumstances... I would get the pins "fluted". Other-wise... you will have to modify the bridge and the palte...and you don't really want to do that. I would go with real authentic pre-ban elephant ivory. Elephant ivory is "self-lubricating"...it is something in the chemical make up of ivory that cannot be replicated in bone, plastic, or mammoth.

His name is David Warther.

Get your nuts and saddles replaced as well...I mean while you are at it.

I can give you testimonials all day on the incredible differences that elephant ivory makes... but, I wont.

The plate mate is a good idea no matter what. Very few guitars do not have slightly damaged bridge plates...because when the holes are drilled the plate is already installed in the top and the body is already assembled... the drill bit has a tendency to tear out the maple or ebony that the plate is made of. As a result, the balls of the strings have a place to begin digging into the plate... after several years... you end up with plates that become shot. ie. every Martin I have ever seen that has been really played.

Let me know if you call David Warther...

You can also, buy any pins you want and take a hand reamer and resize the holes to fit the pins. Builders don't build guitars to fit the pins... they make the pins fit the guitar. Buy the pins you want and any luthier worth his weight in salt (the romans invented this phrase) will do just this for you. Fit the pins to the guitar.

Jack

Jack,

Warther does has some very pretty Ivory pins & strap buttons, some pretty Ivory things in general. Inquiries at Warther got me the referral to Gordon Orth,

Gordon, at the time anyway, was making pins for Warther.

 

[chazzan]

Just wanted to update everyone...... (i'm sure you were all hanging on the edge of your chairs wondering what pins I would finally buy!)

I went to the guitar store, a small well known, very reputable shop, the pins that wound up fitting the best were the black Martin pins........SOLD

I tried a few sets 5-6 of the other pins they carried but those were the only ones that fit. And yes CSM there is no way I would modify the guitar to fit the pins- that's like going on a diet so you can fit into smaller clothes........right, right...........

For those who wrote at length about bone pins (Jeff)- they sounded good, but it was much easier to get the martins- a bone nut and saddle however are well worth the trouble!

 

[12stringer]

Glad to hear you found some good pins that fit "right off the rack" so to speak...martin pins...I'll file that in the "Good to know" file :wink:

 

[carscratchmelt]

I told you the Martin pins would fit... (see my Oct. 27th post)

Good for you... Glad you are happy!

Jack

 

[tjmangum]

Goron Orth? I found a local story for "Cheyenne County" referencing he and his wife having a cottage industry of making "guitar parts" but could not find a reference to how to reach him.
Thanks for the help,
tj

 

[gilded]

Goron Orth? I found a local story for "Cheyenne County" referencing he and his wife having a cottage industry of making "guitar parts" but could not find a reference to how to reach him.
Thanks for the help, tj

Gordon can be found at:

Hobby Music
516 South Francis St
Saint Francis, Ks 67756-3552

Phone: 785 332 2540

Email orth@kans.com

 

[GardMan]

I have had 5 sets of pins and a couple of end pins "custom" made by Gordon. He is a pleasure to deal with... and his work is top-notch. Dave