bone pins and saddle

I purchased this bone set (saddle, pins, and nut) from Blisstime for under $15 to replace what I assume to be plastic counterparts on my Takamine G340 acoustic that was Crafted in China. I picked this guitar up really cheap at an auction a few years ago because I didn't have an acoustics being that I just play electrics - Strats and Teles are my main pieces of wood, along with a few Gibsons (an LP and SG), Epis (90's Sheraton that's totally cherry and an SG), 90's Jackson Soloist, an Ibanez or two, and a few others. Hey, I like guitars - and tube amps (way too many to list - friends and family think I'm nuts, but I tell them, only the drummers are nuts - hehehe)....I do have my eyes on a few different Martins and Taylors - but will hold off for now. Addictions are a bad thing. The quality of the parts appear pretty good from what I can tell. Initially, I thought the pins were plastic when I first picked them up, but upon holding them in my hand and giving a little shake of the dice, I could hear good clarity with the jingle they made, as compared to the lifeless clinking the original plastic pins made. Lightly dropping the nut and saddle on my tile countertop sounded similar to other bone (and even TUSQ) nuts I've installed before...I dropped them less than an inch to hear them, so no crazy height going on to prevent any damage. Surprisingly, the compensated saddle dropped right in, fitting nice and snug with no sanding necessary as the height was identical to the original. The pins were pretty close to the originals, sitting a little higher in the bridge, but I'd imagine over time, they will settle in as things wear down. I think it's Martin that may have the pins a little larger knowing that they will settle over the years... I lost track of time, but I would guess it took me about a half an hour to sand and adjust the nut for proper fitting and first fret string height. Sanding the width size down took the most time. I initially used 600 grit sandpaper, but then went down to 400 grit to speed up the process being that I didn't know how soft/hard the bone was to begin with. I didn't glue it in yet being that I will make some minor adjustments over the course of the current string's life, totally square it flush in the slot, and intend to pass it a few times with 1000/1200/2000/etc grit sandpaper to polish it up prior to lightly gluing it in place when I change the strings again in a few weeks or so depending on how much I play it. I had just changed the strings this past week after cleaning the guitar, lightly buffing the frets with 0000 steel wool (I apply blue painters tape over the fretboard, just exposing the frets), and oiling the fretboard...MusicNomad F-One Oil works really good for me, btw. And it's made in the U.S.A. I need to write a review for that stuff next.....another side note, the strings I used this time were Ernie Ball Earthwood Light - GC had them crazy cheap a while back so I stocked up on Light and Medium Light - be sure to buy strings near major holidays to save your hard earned $$$ - pro tip. ;) Comparing the sound before and after, I would have to say it sounds a little brighter, yet less tinny, and the lower/wound strings sound a little beefier and more vibrant as they were pushing the air if I had to say. The biggest thing I noticed was the 12 fret harmonics really rang nicely. Actually, all of the harmonics did, especially with the wound strings where it was lacking before. I also noticed that going past the 10-12th frets, the notes sounded more lively and clear where the plastic counterparts sounded kinda lifeless. Overall, I am really happy with the results. I would purchase this kit again for any future guitar I might pick up that has plastic parts. With that being said, I might order the ebony bridge pins to compare them to these bone ones.

This is the real deal. Real bone and it looks great. My guitar seems to like it as well. She sounds great.

I bought this to replace plastic junk on an older Fender acoustic. Saddle fit the bridge slot perfectly. The nut appears to be cut well and did not present any intonation problems. Both the nut and the saddle needed to be filed down to the proper heights. Bridge pins are perfect. Highly recommended.

I purchased this kit to replace the nut and saddle on an 10 yr old Alvarez AD70sc acoustic guitar because i was getting fret noise on the high E string due to excessive nut wear. Watched a few videos and dug in. I used 120 grit sandpaper to sand down the saddle and nut. Going slowly and checking fitment often. The bone sands really nicely. After matching the size on the saddle, I left a bit of room on the nut so that i could cut the grooves on the nut with some cheap finishing files from Harbor Freight. This worked well as i could lower the action on the lower strings to match that of the action on the high E string. The pins were too big for the holes on my bridge. I was able to sand them down and make them work. While the saddle is compensated on the upper strings, it's just tapered on the lower. The result is some intonation issues on the low E string even at the 3rd fret. If you're expecting a transformation in tone from the original Tusq saddle and nut, you'll be disappointed. I preferred the brighter tone from the old saddle, nut and pins. This might differ if you're replacing a plastic nut and saddle. All in all, it's a good price on a quality set. Perhaps i was just expecting more of a tonal difference.

Excellent price for quality guitar parts.

Great price, easy to install, looks and plays so much better. This fit my Fender FA100 just perfectly. I really like the pearl color, and clean bright white. It works great! Good quality and durable.

Had to sand the bridge pens down to fit. The Crosby bridge pens were way to big .the tool kit was OK but not as strong or good as I expected. The Martin strings are awesome.

I was skeptical at first when I saw a nut, saddle, and bridge pin set made of genuine bone for such a cheap price but since I didn’t really like anything else I was seeing, I took a gamble. After inspection under a light, I was pleasantly surprised to discover these are, in fact, bone. I could see the natural “grain” and inconsistencies that bone has and they also have that unmistakable clinky sound when you shake them in your hand. They’re also pretty high quality too. They seem like they’re machined very well. Nothing about them looked or felt cheap to my eye. The pieces sanded down well to fit my Alvarez. But you don’t buy this set and upgrade your guitar for it’s looks. You buy it for the sound difference and let me tell you, other than buying lighter or heavier gauge strings, there isn’t a cheaper way to improve the overall tone of your guitar than to upgrade to bone. This set madr my guitar sound brighter, a little louder, and has much better resonation. I can even feel the increased vibration of the guitar against my body as I play. You don’t realize how much a plastic nut, saddle, and bridge pins can muddy up the sound until you switch to bone. The craftsmanship on the abalone inlays on the bridge pins are just okay. I’ve seen better but you really can’t tell unless you’re really inspecting them closely and for the price, you can’t expect a set of Waverly quality pins. From afar they look fine. One thing I wish Blisstime would offer is an unbleached set with a black dots on the pins. I was trying to find white pins with a black dot, as I like that traditional look, but that proved to be harder to find than I thought so I settled for these. And the stark white is okay but I’d prefer that natural off-white look of unbleached bone. All in all it’s a great purchase. Expect to sand everything at least a little bit to custom fit your guitar

Really great quality! Bone is fairly easy to work with. It sanded down to the exact size I needed quite easily. For the money I don't know why anyone wouldn't upgrade to a bone nut, bridge saddle and pegs. Absolutely worth it! And so easy to install.

Huge sound improvement. If you have lower cost solid wood guitar the maker may have cut costs to make it happen. I have a Yamaha all wood higherish model that can me had for little money used. It’s a perfect beater guitar. Adding this made a huge sound improvement

Great value for the money. The quality is very nice.

Easy to install, and looks beautiful

As long as you understand that you need to sand down to size and file the slots, these are great. The bridge pins alone are worth the money. Adds a clairity to the sound over to lasting or even the Tusq nuts.