Bridge pin damage to an ancient guitar

[Kerry Krishna]

[Allen Chance]

Im sorry that you see it that way, i feel like  im possibly helping a situation that could be very costly to repair(perhaps not), with an inexpensive and non invasive fix, to an old and valuable instrument. If im wrong, i want to know it, and why, i dont know everything, never claimed to, thats why i ask questions. I have very little hopes of selling anything here, but it is a valuable resource to me, but as a promotion, its virtually worthless. I think im allowed to ask relevant questions, its your choice as to engage in a conversation, IMHO. Promotion would be offering him a discount to buy them,.

[Frank Ford]

Allen -

First, as I mentioned, I don't think that repairing the bridge plate is particularly important on this guitar.  It's probably strong enough as it is to handle the low tension of nylon strings, and there are so many other parts of the instrument that could use attention.  If you're taking things apart to work on the inside, then replacing the plate is logical and easy.  Otherwise,I'd bet that it can handle the tension of nylon strings just as it is.   

So, no, I wouldn't consider Power Pins here - they are obviously from a different era and would look pretty nasty on such an antique.  Since there isn't a problem for them to solve, I see no benefit possible.  In my opinion, such a visible modern addition violates the only thing the instrument has to offer - antiquity.  

You mention that  you offer a noninvasive fix to a problem on an old and valuable instrument.  You might be interested to know that while the majority of these Romantic era production instruments are indeed antiques, they are not generally of high value, even in excellent condition.  So, we often let them appear to suffer with injuries that might ordinarily be compelling to fix on a ten-year-old lower-end Martin guitar.  Because they are basically obsolete, as a population, they get very little if any real playing time. So, while the Power Pins could easily be removed, their basic function isn't likely to be needed in any real sense.

Also, I wonder about using nylon strings with Power Pins, whether they are the sets with ball ends or plain ones on which you'd tie big knots or beads.  Seems unlikely to be easy to handle.   Is there a nylon string guitar application for Power Pins?

[Ned Knepp]

I've delved into these antique guitars a bit and the guitar's I've had are a good example of age NOT translating into high prices. They can be fun but they don't have the volume and play-ability of a more modern design and I wouldn't want one as my primary player. I think they can make good, fun "couch" guitars for noodling around but not generally something I'd use for a audience. They're not a "toy" ( anymore than any other guitar)  but, I think,  not all that removed from there either. I'm sure that some of them are much more than that but I can't afford to play around in that price range.  

In my case, I pay low purchase prices and keep my repair cost low too. I figure that I should be able to returned one to playable shape with not more than  $100-$120 total investment or I've over done it.  My guitars MIGHT be worth a couple of hundred at most when I'm finished. Of course I'm not figuring time in the total cost since this is a hobby for me. If I did, I'd probably make 25-50 cents an hour for my time IF I could sell one for "top" dollar.  

In my case using the Power Pins to fix a bridge plate problem would blow my budget.  A bridge plate does more than just hold the ball end of the strings and most of the instruments I've dealt with require a new plate for structural reasons so even a set of Power Pins at half the cost wouldn't help me anyway.  

I don't hesitate to modify one of my purchases if I think it will make it more playable. They will probably never be worth much so it's not a great loss to the world of guitar collecting and, I like to think, may enhance the world of guitars just a bit by making a guitar usable again even if it's no longer original. Because of that attitude, the idea of using a modern device like the Power Pins on an antique doesn't particularly bother me. That said, I doubt if I would do it simply because I wouldn't like the look very much. I also think the volume of these small guitars is inhibited enough without lowering the string break angle so my personal take would be to just fix the bridge plate and keep the regular pins. 

[Allen Chance]

Ned, I completely understand, at least this opened my eyes to something ive never seen.

[Allen Chance]

Frank, Thanks for the info, i wasnt sure if it was a relevant fix, due to as you say the antiquity aspect. I also didnt realize that they arent that valuable. The nylon string issue is something that was never considered,  and now that i see it, it probably could work, i may have to find a guitar like that and try it. Thanks again