HEllo All, I have a question for you all. I am thinking of buying FWI Bridge Pins and saddle for my guitar. But I am unsure about what to buy. I am wondering if the bridge pins are worth the steep price? Which gives the biggest difference in sound, the pins or the saddle? Could I just buy a new saddle and tell a big difference, or do they both just have to go together? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Brandon.

Welcome! I installed FWI bridge pins on my Collings OM-2H and have never looked back. It's a tough thing to compare the sound with/without... I tried recording the guitar with FWI and then with ebony and found that I liked the sound better with FWI. This is very subjective. I bought mine used, so I felt it was a worthy investment, but a steep one if you go new. What type of guitar are you wanting to install these on?

A blueridge BR-160. Now I know this is the part when you tell me that its not worth it right? Naw, I really like the sound of my guitar, and to my ears it sounds reamrkably different than most Blueridge BR-160's ive played. Its an older one. Also what is your opinion on the benefit to the sound of a FWI saddle as well? Thanks

Brandon, okay, Blueridge, never played one except I owned a Gibson Blueridge back in the 70's.. that was the model name.

Sound of FWI saddle, dunno... don't have one. But there is a thread called "Bridge Pins" in the tech department you should check out. I believe that someone said the saddle is more bang for your buck.

Welcome Brandon. I thought i'd weigh in with a different point of view. There is a lot of controversy around the subtle and not so subtle differences in tone by changing saddle materials and bridge pins. Some things worth thinking about include the overall value of the instrument. If your Blueridge is the keeper then you might justify spending almost $200 on FI pins and saddle. As always these don't necessarily transfer over if you change guitars. The best bridgepin fit is not generic. If you go to sell your guitar you won't get $200 extra back out of it. If you consider that you may be saving for another guitar sometime in the future that $200 is a good place to start. I think the difference between bone pins & FI is subtle and depends alot on the instrument. My friend and I each have Collings Braz/Ad dreadnoughts. I have bone pins and an elephant ivory saddle and he has walrus ivory pins and a FWI saddle. The differences in sound between the 2 guitars is subtle and it's not possible to say this one sounds better than that one. Tony Rice uses ebony pins and a bone saddle on his old bone.
Speaking for myself I don't think on your Blueridge that you will hear $100 bucks difference between the bone pins and the FWI although you'll probably hear a marked difference between ebony pins & either bone or FWI (generally more ringing sustain) That's purely my opinion. Another thing to consider is whether the pins are slotted or not. You might want to checkout the lutherie page of http://www.bryankimsey.com. Bryan is a thoughtful and well-respected "guitar doc" with lots of good ideas on improving guitar sound. Good Pickin'
Doc

I am one of those people that feel the upgrade from a synthetic material to Bone or Ivory is an improvement, regardless of how subtle. Many quality guitars already come with bone or Ivory saddles, and they do not need replacing per say. I doubt your Blueridge does though. In your case, I think the saddle change to bone would be a noticable improvement for you.
The pins are another matter. The changes are sublte and vary from guitar to guitar, and also what you are trying to achieve. I like Ivory pins and use them a lot. I recently bought a new OM2H Collings. I took a set of Ivory pins with me when I picked it up. (Elephant Ivory)
I played the guitar some, then we changed out the pins. The shop owners both could tell a difference right away, mostly in sustain. Even the drummer (gasp) could hear the difference at once. But again, subjective.
In the case of your Blueridge, I agree with many that the cost of a set of Ivory pins and saddle would not be worth the money. Try a bone saddle for now, and see what that does.
They are cheap and easy to install. A great sorce for them is Bob Colosi at guitarsaddles.com. He will put you in the right direction.

I'm a fan of the extra brightness and sustain of an FWI saddle, but the bridge pins do nothing for me. I woudn't waste your money on pins.

But if you feel like your guitar could use a bit more sustain (every Blueridge I've played, including the one I own, needs better sustain), and a slightly brighter sound, I'd highly recommend a saddle.

I've dealt with Vintage Ventures quite a bit in the past and they're a great company. Some of the best folks in the guitar business. Their price for a customized saddle was very reasonable. http://guitarivory.com/

I took a long time(2hrs) doing a series of blind tests using plastic, water buffalo, bone, & FWI. I listened to all four at random, several times around and stated how I rated(1-4) each one along with the characteristics that set each apart. Then I played while my dad listened and had him do the same thing. Lastly I had the store owner with over 35yrs experience follow the same protocol.

I would say that each of our ears are at 3 different levels of sophistication but when the dust settled, we all rated the FWI pins at #1, bone at #2, plastic at#3, and water buffalo at #4. The water buffalo was the loudest with easily the most sustain of the four and we all agreed it was thinner sounding than the rest.

I could get more into the whole breakdown but I'll save you.

I do believe, however, that not all guitars are put together in such a way that it will be as noticable a difference, and it goes without saying that not everyone's ears will hear the difference. I KNOW mine do.

If you can get into a shop, I would suggest doing something like I did. Maybe you'll find that your ears prefer the crisper more fundemental affect of bone, or even the thinner affect of water buffalo. I found the FWI to be lush, complex, great sustain & brighter in the best ways more like better presence overall.

But that's my ears on my guitar. Well, it was the 6 of our ears on my guitar actually.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rocknrollrjm,

I wanted to add that my guitar has a bone nut and saddle and from what I experienced I think going with FWI on the saddle & nut would be too much of a good thing. Conversly, it would be interesting to see if/how the tone would compare if I changed to a FWI nut & saddle and bone pins...uh ohhh