Bridge pins don't fit right!

[stuco]

 

Hello, I just spent good money on a set of ebony bridge pins from larrivee as well as a "bone nut" for the guitar.  First of all they charged me around $20 for a tusq plastic nut which is already stock on the guitar.(can't get a response from larrivee yet)  So after getting the wrong nut I looked at the bridge pins and they looked great.  I put them in the guitar and they sat way higher off the holes and strings than the stock ones.  I didn't like this so I put some old bone pins in that I had laying around(much better, they were from elderly if anyone is interested)   Are these pins supposed to fit like this? It seem that the groves in them were not cut deep or long enough.  Has anyone who has replaced the 03 pins with ebony larrivee ones?  Are they like this on the 05 and 09 series?  If larrivee won't refund my money I am willing to sell a set of used(for 5 minutes) abalone dot ebony bridge pins.  I will sell them for $12.50.  This is basically $10 for me after paypal charge and shipping. 

[stuco]

 

BTW the pins I will sell are $22 and they are direct from larrivee.  12.50

[jeremy3220]

don't sell them!

It's easy to sand them down. When you order bone/FWI pins from Colosi you have to sand them. It's so you can get the best possible fit. I don't know if Larrivee's are designed to be direct replacement or not, but it doesn't matter.

[pickngrin]

Stuco, I'll take the pins off your hands. I just sent you an email.

Thank you.....pickngrin

[stuco]

 

Pikingrinin, I just returned your e-mail with directions where to sen the money. thanks.

[emmonsh]

Pikingrinin, I just returned your e-mail with directions where to sen the money. thanks.

i had bought some and they fit perfect. but i got rid of them for 15 shipped on this site. decided to go with bone from colosi and they fit perfect too. no problems. but they can be sanded down

[LittleBrother]

Stuco,

There are a mess of standard pin sizes and manufacturers often use more than one size over the years due to a variety of reasons I cant answer. Most pins use a 5 degree taper and some use a 3. I must admit I would not sand them. In fact if you really want to upgrade the Larrivee and truly get a professional result dont order stock snap on lego parts from a mfg. Go to a place like www.stewmac.com and order a set of nice UNslotted bone pins for 20.00 and they are so hard and shiny they tinkle like glass rolling around in your palm. Go to a luthier or great repair shop and have them use a 5 degree reamer they custom fit those holes to this industry standard pin. The result is a string that fits in a tiny precision slot up through and over the bridge and the pins all interchange perfectly and you'll have the kind of setup that's found on a 10,000 dollar show guitar for less than 50 bucks. You'll thank me once you do this and see all the benefits and the superior tone and contact the strings make. In fact you can pry out a pin and the string wont even come out and you can still play. The pins do become a little less a part of the tone but the result is a whole superior system to a factory job. They cant give this type of setup for the prices they charge for guitars but this and a custom bone nut made from a true blank can transform a guitar. Also a custom fit bone saddle. That way your not ruining and blowing money on premade parts that with one wrong stroke of a file or 2 strokes too much with sandpaper and they are garbage. Sure dont want to force some idea on you but at least be aware this is what many pros would do and the costs are sometime less than all the postage and gathering hassles you go through. One cheat way to find a good tech is to go to the Martin web site and find the closest skilled and CERTIFIED warranty center. They make those guys certify and take classes and you have a much more reasonable chance of finding a really skilled person. We're talking about 100 dollars that can completely bring your setup, nut, saddle , pins to a whole other level. Good luck.... Oh yeah and I dont like the bone saddle and nut blanks from Stewmac but the vintage 5 degree bone pins are amazingly good. Saga catalog has the hardest, most beautiful bone blanks for nuts and saddles and they are dirt cheap. Like 1 dollar each for a pack of 12. 

To get some idea how many different standards there are see this PIN size guide chart on Robin's guitar gallery site
http://www.guitargal.com/vvpin.html

Might also check out tips and things from www.frets.com

FYI, also when people order the pins on stewmac the reamer matched for that pin costs about 10.00 I think. Nothing like using a tool matched for the pins. I've done this work myself and it's painfully simple but you might want a pro to do it. They can usually install unslotted pins while you wait.

[Steve]

FYI, also when people order the pins on stewmac the reamer matched for that pin costs about 10.00 I think.

Actually the 5 degree reamer needed costs almost $50 and you must buy in separately from the pins.

Steve  :GRN>