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OK, so I'm always a little naturally suspicious of anything that changes the physics of the guitar as we know it.

Recently there's been a decent advertising splash in the guitar mags for "Power Pins" manufactured by Bigrock Engineering, that describe a new way to anchor strings to the bridge.  A big benefit is said to be the protection of the bridgeplate.

In one of their print ads, one benefit is touted as being "decreased string angle" at the saddle, which supposedly helps something?  Interesting that particular "benefit" is missing from the website.  http://www.f1pick.com/bridgeplate.html

Maybe they'd be an alternative to help salvage a really chewed-up bridge plate? ... then again...

I have no dog in the fight... don't own any, never seen 'em in action, nothing.  But I'm curious if anyone here on the board has used them and, if so, what the thoughts might be.   

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(Hi Mike)

So for $54 you can convert your pin bridge to something like the Harmony Sovereign or Ovation and add a bit of mass in the process. As Frank has pointed out, when a string breaks in this scenario, it scars the top behind the bridge. Sounds like a good idea to me...

If I were really worried about plate wear, I'd try a platemate. I just put one in an Epiphone PR5E (?) which had no bridge plate and the ball ends were chewing into the plywood top (already damaged by being drilled out without a backer). That was a good use of the inexpensive gizmo.

 

If I were worried about plate wear...

I haven't tried them, but just on first principles I would agree that it does not seem to be a good idea.  Adding mass to the bridge, and decreasing the break angle over the saddle - has just got to decrease the acoustic efficiency of the instrument. 

I saw their ad in Vintage Guitar Magazine a few weeks ago and toyed with the idea of posting it like Mike did. (THANKS, Mike!!) :)

I recall reading the copy and the word "Bulls#it" kept echoing in my head.

Their logic is as flawed as their product. I agreed with NOTHING in the ad, especially their take on the angle of the string break.

A perfect example of a "snake oil" product. I'm sure it'll will receive the attention it deserves :)

The benefit I derived from the ad was a good belly laugh to start my day, and ya just can't buy that at the corner music store :).

Looks like it has all the hallmarks of a money maker for the repair industry, low angle to the saddle, huge increase in mass/weight to the top plus that special bonus of additional leverage to the back edge of the bridge. Appears to be a whole new take on the "belly bridge". ( And you can use the "snake oil" to slick up the strings.) 

This would make a fine band-aid solution if an uninformed customer absolutely insisted on using it, and refused to listen to reason. Otherwise, pretty dang stupid.

That said, you can just turn the pin around, snip the head off, and use the other half of the bridge plate if you are so desperate as to not want to do any repairs...

Just the name of the product makes me wary.

Well, at least they look kinda neat :p.

Whoa, whoa, whoa there. 

I've never heard of this product, don't know anything about it, yet, and haven't even gone past 10 seconds of looking at the web page. 

I'm awfully curious how at least one of my photos that I took of my demonstration board I made to lecture on this subject ended up on their web page to market their product without my prior knowledge. 

Someone needs and a lesson in business ethics, and perhaps business law and a cease and desist letter as well. 

I'll be looking in to this, and certainly communicating with these folks. Not cool with me at all. 

Okay, looked at the product and claims a bit more, and the final verdict is absolute 100% bunk, snake oil, and ballyhoo.

Yes, this approach should affect reasonable results to mitigate the problems associated with slotted pins. Mounting a tailpiece behind the bridge and forgetting the pins will also affect reasonable results to this regard. Quite honestly I'm not sure which I would call the better of the two. 

Even if I weren't biased against them for the unauthorized and illegal use of my images in their marketing, I assure you I would still quickly dismiss their product and ideas as junk snake oil. 

Does anyone know if these same images appear in any of the magazines you've seen ads in? Dates and names of publications would be much appreciated if you've seen any of these ads. 

Thanks!

Here's the original online posting where my photo was probably taken from. These are photos I took of a demonstration board I made for a luthiers' meeting 5+ years ago, which is currently hanging in our shop behind the customer triage bench.

http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/sreply/748921/t/Brid...

Mighty tacky behavior to use your photo without permission in their promotion.  I hope a quick note to Big Rock will prove to be all that's necessary to correct the situation.  

I always give permission to use my photos if requested, and ask only for appropriate photo credit where applicable.  BUT, there's no way I'd want my material used by someone who makes a product with which I wouldn't want to be associated.

Thanks Frank. I imagine you're right and that a quick note is all that will be needed. I feel the same way about any photos or info I put out on the interwebs (albeit much less volume of knowledge than you've shared). So long as they ask and it's not something I'd rather not be associated with, I'll gladly grant permission.

I think the most frustrating part was noting that in this old original post on the Martin forum where the photos were put out, I even had the decency to give credit to Steve McCreary as my initial source of this tip. Ironic...

David, the ad that I first saw for Power Pines was on page 6 of the "December 2013" issue of Vintage Guitar magazine, but did not include the picture you specifically mentioned. Snake oil, indeed.

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