Bone or Ebony bridge pins? Whats the difference?

[obe-wan]

Hi there guys, considering replacing my plastic pins in my OM-03R and was wondering if anyone can describe the characteristics of Bone Vs. Ebony.

Or point me to an old thread that explains it.

Cheers, Scott.

[eded]

Ebony is (typically) much darker than bone.

Sound-wise, I don't think there is much of a difference.  Actually, I don't think there is much of a differnece between plastic and either. 

I think switching string gauges or material will more of a change in tone.

Ed

[BluesMan1]

   Scott, I just put bone pins on my F-III. It replaced the Tusq pins, which are closer to bone than ebony. I noticed a slight difference, a little more bright & clear. Had asked my luthier the same question last week about the ebony vs. bone pins (I have ebony on my L-10 & SD-50, thus the question). He said even though ebony is a dense wood & the pins are beyond the saddle, where the biggest difference would be heard, it would make more of a difference with the ebony than Tusq. After hearing a change in the sound, though somewhat subtle, between the Tusq & bone, I will have to get 2 more sets for my Larrivees. The Baden can wait longer, but the Larrivees just sound better right now. So any change in them will be for the best. My only problem is looks, since all of the others have ebony tuning buttons, the Baden included. But I'm always looking for sound improvements, looks secondary.
   A quick explanation is the density of the 2 materials, which I'm sure you know already. The bone is much more dense a material than ebony, though it is a very hard wood, thus used for fingerboards & bridges commonly over RW. The ebony is harder than RW & is now becoming a body wood that is used by some builders. The saddle material will effect the sound more, since that is the first contact point of the string. The pins will be more subtle, as I noted, but noticeable.
   One thing I did notice, even though he is well familiar with Larrivees, George, my luthier, told me the set he gave me were a perfect size. Boy, that bone is hard & didn't seat well (Think he gave me a smaller size maybe), and had to hold the pins down until close to pitch. Then push hard on them to firmly seat them. They even made a slight noise when I was pushing on them, like they didn't want to budge to fit the pin hole! Or visa-versa
   Like I said, haven't tried them with ebony yet, just Tusq. But going by what George told me & what I experienced, I'll be replacing the ebony as soon as I have $40 for 2 sets ($20 each). Money well spent, I feel. I would do it. I guess if you Google that question of yours, you'll find alot of tech. data to look @, but first hand experiences are always better, @ least to me!
     Jeff   

[jeremy3220]

I don't like to describe tone but I would say bone pins are brighter/harder sounding/less bassy than ebony. Of course this is assuming there is a difference in tone when you change the pins. With some guitars it won't matter what pins you use. This is the case with my OM-03MT, so my guess is it probably won't significantly matter tone wise what pins you use.

 Then push hard on them to firmly seat them.

Make sure they don't fit too tight, you don't want to split the bridge. If you wedge them in then the humidity drops and the wood shrinks the bridge can crack along a grain line running through the pin holes.

[BluesMan1]

   Thanks Jeremy. Mine, if anything, are just abit too small, thus pushing on them. The noise I hear is the pin, not the bridge. I was careful to watch for that, since the ebony is softer.
     Jeff