Looking for the best bridge pins for acoustic guitar? Chances are, you will be baffled by the sheer variety of options on the market. Luckily, you have us. On this page, we are going to walk you through everything that you need to know about picking up a good set of bridge pins.
On this page, we will not only include a list of the 5 best bridge pin options but also provide you with a ton of information that should, hopefully, help you to make the right choice when tracking down a set of pins.
Why Quality Bridge Pins Are Important
Most people think bridge pins just hold the guitar strings in place. We suppose they do, to an extent. However, quality bridge pins offer so much more than this. They offer an improvement to your sound.
When you get yourself a quality pair of bridge pins, you may notice a fuller tone. Some bridge pins may even help you to inch closer to that specific sound that has been floating about in your mind for a while.
Of course, bridge pins will also wear down over time. So, they may start to come loose, or you may find that your guitar string isn’t holding its tune anymore. In that case, you will need to replace your bridge pins.
If you have picked up a cheaper guitar, then it may be worth getting hold of some other pins for the acoustic. Most acoustic guitars down the lower end of the price spectrum tend to skimp on the bridge pins, and by buying some quality pins, you can get a better sound for not a lot of money.
How To Choose The Best Bridge Pins For Acoustic Guitar
Before we dive into the various bridge pins that you can use to upgrade or replace the stock pins on your acoustic guitar, let’s quickly go through some of the things that guitar players may want to think about when choosing the best bridge pins for their acoustic guitar.
Guitar and String Size
This is less of a concern nowadays since some guitar companies have decided to standardize the bridge pinhole size. However, it may be worth thinking about the size of the bridge pinhole on your guitar.
Some larger bridge pins may be a bit of a tight fit. This means that, on occasion, if you want to use the best acoustic bridge pins, you will need to head to a luthier. They can ream the hole out a little bit for you.
This isn’t going to be a massive issue with the bridge pins for acoustic guitars that we recommend. We will let you know if a particular bridge pin has been designed with a specific acoustic guitar brand in mind.
Experiment
In a short while, we are going to share five different bridge pin options. All of them are fantastic choices. Both have been known to offer a great sound on acoustic guitars. However, all will sound a little bit different. The tone of your guitar can be shaped by your acoustic bridge pins.
Feel free to experiment to see which bridge pins offer the sound quality that you want. There is no sense in getting a guitar bridge pin upgrade if it doesn’t improve your sound, right?
Wooden, Metal, Bone, or Plastic Pins? – The Best Bridge Pin Materials
Acoustic guitar bridge pins are available in a variety of different materials, and a guitar player may prefer one option over the other.
In our opinion, if you are looking for acoustic guitar bridge pins, then buy either wood, bone, or metal bridge pins. They will offer a change of tone, while also improving your guitar’s aesthetics. Most guitar players will prefer bone. They offer some of the best sustain.
That’s not a slight on plastic pins, though. They are fine. Just fine. You won’t get a bright tone from them, and there won’t be an improvement to your tonal quality. They will hold your guitar strings in place, though. The reason why you would want to go for plastic pins is simply because you are on a budget and you can’t afford other materials.
We won’t be recommending any standard plastic bridge pins. If you are looking for cheap pins at an affordable price, then any plastic bridge pins will be fine.
Our recommendations are only for pins known for improving tone; bone bridge pins, liquid metal, brass bridge pins, and wood pins.
Budget
Because bridge pins come in many different materials, there is something to suit every budget too. You can spend as little as a few dollars for a set of bridge pins, all the way up to $100+. We have included a mixture of both on this list. This is because we know that not everybody reading this is willing to spend hundreds of dollars on their bridge pins.
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The Top 5 Acoustic Guitar Bridge Pins
We have put bridge pin after bridge pin to the test. We reckon that our effort has helped us to come up with the best bridge pins that you can add to your acoustic guitar. Remember, acoustic guitar pins are all about experimenting. You may want to pick up a couple of our choices and see which one helps you fit the tone you want.
1. Power Pins 2.0
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We are going to kick off our list with some rather unique bridge pins. You see, the Power Pins 2.0 are not just a set of pins for acoustic guitar, but a complete stringing system. Although, honestly, this is just a fancier way of saying ‘good bridge pins’.
At the heart of the Power Pins 2.0, you still have the standard pin that you put into the acoustic guitar. However, there is a horizontal ‘plate’ that helps keep tension in the strings horizontally.
The idea is that once these are installed, it helps to protect the bridge plate a little bit. According to the team behind Power Pins 2.0, these guitar pins are so brilliant that you never need to replace them. We agree. Once you have these in place, you won’t have to worry about damage to the pin holes, etc.
The reason why we love the Power Pins 2.0 so much is due to the boost to the guitar’s volume it gives. It will also give a slightly warm tone when you are playing. When we played about with the Power Pins 2.0, we found more clarity in the notes that we were playing. This was apparent even on the cheaper guitars.
They make the guitar a whole lot easier to play too. You don’t have to remove them when you are changing strings, you don’t have to worry about your guitar constantly detuning, and these strings also offer a much softer action, which can help newbie guitar players that are struggling when other pins are installed on their guitar.
There are a few downsides to this power plate upgrade, though. Firstly, the aesthetics are not that great. They don’t look like pins. They look like chunky metal plates. They are also incredibly expensive in comparison to different bridge pins on the market. We are talking tens of dollars more. Although, you do benefit from the fact that you never have to replace them. So, it is an investment.
If you have a Martin acoustic guitar, then chances are that you picked it up because you want the best sound possible. Martin guitars are virtually unrivaled when it comes to the acoustic tone. This is because the company puts effort into everything component it makes. This includes the bridge pins.
These acoustic bridge pins are not going to be cheap. They are only going to fit Martin guitars perfectly too (although, you may find that they work in other acoustic guitars, with a bit of tinkering). However, for quality of sound, they are absolutely unbeatable, and we would argue the best bridge pins money can buy for Martin guitars.
These bridge pins can help to brighten the tone of your sound, and even boost the volume. They can also help to add a lot more sustain to what you play. This is all thanks to the material they are made from; Liquidmetal. This material has fast become the go-to material for a variety of jobs in music. This is because it reflects sound back rather than absorbing it. This is why the tone sounds brighter when you use the bridge pins.
The downside is the price and the fact that they may not always work with a guitar that isn’t Martin. They are a bit on the larger side. Some people may also not be a fan of the aesthetics. These have a red dot on them, and they are black. Some people think this works against the whole traditional feel of the Martin guitars. Still, we think they look amazing.
Quality bone pins are becoming tougher to track down, especially at an affordable price. This is why we love that we stumbled across these cattle bone guitar bridge pins from Donner. You will probably love them too.
These are 5mm pins, so they should be fine for the vast majority of guitars. The second you put these real bone pins in your guitar, you will notice a huge improvement in your guitar’s sound. You will see why so many major recording artists favor bone on their guitars. Bone bridge pins really are the best for improving tone and volume.
Donner has thought of everything with these pins too. You get a decent bridge pin puller included, but also some sandpaper. So, if these are a touch too large for your guitar, you can sand them down. They fit all our guitars, and they have been there since the day we found them.
Do you know what we love about them the most, though? It is the aesthetics. If you look closely, you can still see the bone fibers there. They look brilliant. It is a shame that the audience won’t see that quality when you are up there, strumming along on stage. Still, at least they get the benefit of your sustain.
For the price, these are probably the best bone bridge pins for steel-string acoustic guitars right now. Buy them, and see why hundreds, if not thousands, of other players are using these daily.
4. DISENS Abalone Ebony Acoustic Guitar Pins With Abalone Inlay
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Out of all the options for wood bridge pins, ebony pins are the best there are. Not only does this bridge pin material look great, but it sounds great too. The DISENS ebony pins are some of the best we have found.
If you have a cheaper guitar kitted out with plastic pins, then pick these up. The instant improvement in tone will blow your mind. In fact, if you have been using other pins and never tried ebony, then try these. The sustain is fantastic, but the volume improvement is unbeatable.
It helps that ebony looks fantastic too. We love the dark, rich color. It really complements acoustic guitars that have been made from darker woods. Although, it can also pop on the lighter wood acoustics too.
If you are a fan of inlays (who isn’t a fan of inlays?), then each of the pins has an abalone dot on top, really helping to complete the look of the pins.
If you have been searching for the right bridge pins for a while, then we reckon the DIESENS ebony acoustic guitar pins may be the right choice for you.
These brass end pins haven’t been produced by a well-known manufacturer, but don’t let that put you off. We have used them a lot, and these are probably the best brass pins we have ever used.
The second you have these in your hands, you can feel the quality. People love brass pins because they can never break. You don’t have to worry about wearing them down. You don’t need to worry about them rusting. You could be using these for the rest of your life, and other than a slight loss in their color (it will dull a little), these will be just as great as the day that you installed them.
Brass is also great for those that want to see an increase in sustain and clarity in their tone. Strum a chord with these installed, and you will hear each and every note. It is beautiful.
It helps that these look stunning too. They aren’t expensive, but they have the look of something that you have spent hundreds of dollars on. In reality, you would have spent a fraction of that.
The only real issue we had with these pins is that it can be a bit fiddly to change your strings. You will get used to it, but the first few times, it may cause a few headaches. This is because they are not hollow.
The right bridge pins for one person may not necessarily be the right pins for another. It is all about the type of sound that you are after. In our opinion, if you are after the best sound at an affordable price, then the Donner bone pins are the best route to go down. If you are looking for something unique, but at the upper end of the price spectrum then the Power Pins 2.0 may be worth paying attention to.
All the guitar pins on this page are great, though. We wouldn’t have recommended them otherwise. It may be worth picking up a couple of them. This way, you can see which ones you love the most.
FAQ
Should You Upgrade the Bridge Pin On Your Acoustic Guitar?
It depends. If you are happy with the sound and your strings are holding their tune, then you may not need to upgrade. However, looking into a few other bridge pins for acoustic guitars and experimenting may help you get a better tone.
Is a Metal or Wooden Bridge Pin Better?
Wooden bridge pins, especially solid ebony, tend to be preferred over metal. Although, both are great. However, if you want the best sound quality, then genuine bone is probably the route to go down.
Are Acoustic Guitar Bridge Pins Universal?
Not really. Bridge pins come in a variety of different shapes. Most bridge pins will probably fit your acoustic guitar, but it may not be a perfect fit. If you want to get specific pins on your guitar, then a luthier can help change the size of the hole.
My name is Howard Matthews and I have been playing the guitar since I was knee-high. My parents like to joke that I was pulling the strings even before I was born. In fact, one of my earliest memories is sitting on the couch with my dad’s guitar, wreaking havoc on the chords.
Now, 40 years later, I can attest that I play them much better than I did back then. I have followed in the footsteps of both my parents – much to their delight – and have been the main guitarist in my band for the best part of three decades.
Music has always been my passion, and until recently my life has been so consumed with it that I haven’t had a moment to have a breath (and I wouldn’t have it any other way)!
