They include seven bridge pins and one end pin. I have done this to all guitars I have bought with tusq saddles and always thought it a worthy upgrade. 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? The opposite case, TUSQ in a guitar with strong voicing of overtones may become "harsh" because it rings the overtones at amplitudes too high to be complementary of the fundamentals. × The six-piece set is perfect for Martin 2mm and is white with a black dot. 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. Same story with my J45 Custom. Beyond that, bone is dead as a doornail, so it passes no higher order string harmonics to the body for voicing. I thought I would give the bone saddle a try since it is relatively inexpensive. × Created by Dave Dunwoodie of Graphtech in the 80s, Tusq is a synthetic material (a high-quality polymer) that attempts to not only emulate but improve on bone and ivory for not only nuts in guitars but also saddles, and bridge pins. Gibson Brands, Inc. respects your right to privacy. 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. yes i was refering to it more so used as a nut. 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. Cheers. Privacy Policy | Luthier's Guitar & Bass Technical Discussion. Your previous content has been restored. I think this is why TUSQ sounds better on Gibsons; it creates a little ringing of higher order overtones, where bone would not deliver those overtones to the body in the first place. Paste as plain text instead, × What about as far as sound is concerned, how far is it from bone if i might trouble you a little farther? Bone varies in density, even quality bone, and that can affect the string-to-string balance. Their effect on the sound of an acoustic guitar is still an improvement over stock pegs. I can't see any reason to go with Corian for a Strat nut. There's a reason Tusq sounds so good on our Gibsons :). There are those who are habitual naysayers (not on this forum) who scoff at any audible difference in bridge pins, period. As far as the acoustic tone without piezo....it's a mystery- but my ears hear it! Changed back to stock pins n saddle. The product includes the same pins that are used in Martin guitars. Well, if you're talking about the unplugged sound, I'd suggest first and foremost that you not use and under-saddle pickup. Needless to say I quickly swapped it back out for tusq and that great tone was back. I had a Gibson L-130 for a while and got better sound when I had my luthier make a bone saddle for it. Cheers. The one no brainer is replacing plastic bridge pins with ebony, tusq, bone, heck I don't care. JavaScript is disabled. Same on my L-130...although I haven't swapped back to Tusq. I've replaced plastic bridge pins (in Taylor's 100 series, possibly others?) The j-45, for example, is voiced with very low amplitudes of overtones, where guitars known for their brightness voice those overtones very strongly. The bone pins look great so they are staying. Corian has been good enough to stay on the Warmoth menu for some time. Hi brixa, glad it's not just me that's it has happened too. Upload or insert images from URL. Tusq nuts have gone on to become standard in high quality guitars from manufacturers such as Taylor, Gibson and Tacoma. With correctly-sized slots that have been polished and lubricated, you get the same free-sliding effect as a graphite nut, but with better tone. Who will refuse to watch "The Pedal Movie" on principle alone. Martin Acoustic Guitar Bridge pins . So do you know why that is?? I decided to replace the tusq bridge and plastic pins on my new J-15 with bone ones from Bob Colossi. 3. 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. Like bone pegs, they improve clarity, treble and sustain. The problem with Bone and Ivory nuts & saddles is that they are organic materials. TUSQ. But I digress. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I can help with that. Brittle sound. I had a Gibson L-130 for a while and got better sound when I had my luthier make a bone saddle for it. 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. You can post now and register later. Out of curiosity I called Gibson and asked why a guitar that retailed originally for something like $1,600 didn't have a bone saddle. Factories will typically use bone that comes from a machine that takes cows in one end and spits out hamburgers, boots, and guitar saddles from the other side, so it's understandable they run in to more quality issues. Hamburgers, boots and guitar saddles. Some guitars won't voice those overtones very well anyway. I am not trying to be contrary or a smart a$ I truly do not know why that is ?? Still have much to learn yet. Tusq bridge pins offer an ethical alternative to those who don’t want to use animal products. To me, pins tend to sound much the same unless they're of radically different material, like putting brass in there, which probably effects the entire bridge assembly in horrible ways. Terms & Conditions | Registered Trademarks. Logged 2012 Taylor 414ce 2013 Taylor GS-Mini Mahogany. Ivory Bridge Pins. taking out the original rosewood pins, and no difference was noted. Jalex, January 23, 2016 in Gibson Acoustic. 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. That said, major pickup manufacturers have always recommended artificial materials for saddles, for the reason stated: consistency. So is there a synthetic that sounds like bone? 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. 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. Wow great job spectrum, very interesting and thanks for taking the time to explain all that. You cannot paste images directly. Does anyone have experience with the black buffalo horn as a nut material for an electric guitar? If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Bone could cause variations that the pickup magnified. i've had reasonable success with bone and USTs by shining a flashlight through the blank and looking for even translucence, in the hope that it translates to even density. Anyone else had this happen with their J-15 or any Gibson model have you gone back to tusq after trying bone? Bridge bone pins increase the purity of the essential notes, which helps out cheap guitars with bolt-on necks. Cheers. That's funny David. In a production factory I'd say there's some truth to that. with tusq and there was immediate improvement in sustain and a bit in dynamics. I put the same pins on my J-45. I didn't knowbone could vary but i am learning more and more everyday. You must log in or register to reply here. Clear editor. I was originally after some "fancier" bone bridge pins with ebony and abalone inlays. Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead, × My son ran into Rev. Bone, Tusq, fossil ivory, etc., all differ only slightly, and most of it is noticeable only in quiet room a/b tests, not in real life. I compared the frequency responses of bone and TUSQ, and I found that through the fundamental pitches, bone and TUSQ are nearly identical. I decided to replace the tusq bridge and plastic pins on my new J-15 with bone ones from Bob Colossi. There's just something wrong with humans ain't it?