214ce-sb dlx bridge pins

[epynn]

Hi, Just bought this new guitar and am very impressed with one minor exception. The bridge pins (which I believe are plastic) are not very well seated in the bridge. No big deal and should be an easy fix when I get the first setup/adjustment done. Just wondering if an upgrade to ebony or possibly bone bridge pins would be a good idea. Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated. Tks, Ernie

[CodeBlueEMT]

Hi Ernie. These are listed on the Taylor website: https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/bridge-pins The ebony pins are shorter than the plastic, but should fit fine. Taylor is having a 20% off entire order Black Friday sale. Good til Novemeber 30th. Promo Code: BLKFRI20.

[Ironhead1977]

I have found in all my guitars no matter what brand, changing the plastic pins to ebony made a better sound. My 214ce included. Don't be concerned about the length of the pin , it just has to be long enough to go just below the bridge plate to push the string ball over.

[epynn]

I've got some ebony pins coming from Taylor. Will be interesting to see (and hear) it makes any difference. Just prefer the idea of ebony rather than plastic anyway. Thanks for the input.

[Guitarsan]

I've heard this complaint before about new guitars and plastic bridge pins. Is it not something that could be resolved from taking the tension from the strings, re-seating the pins, and tuning it back up? And yes, anytime you look at Taylor specs and it says "Bridge Pins - Black" what they mean is plastic.

Regardless, you will absolutely get more sustain and perhaps a tad more volume or dynamics by upgrading to ebony, bone, etc. It will not improve the "tone" per se, though. On a 214, I wouldn't invest in anything more than Taylor ebony pins. You won't get any improvement sonically with another material (bone, etc.) in my judgment. If you want to because of looks or blinginess though, go right ahead. 

[michaelw]

Regardless, you will absolutely get more sustain and perhaps a tad more volume or dynamics by upgrading to ebony, bone, etc. It will not improve the "tone" per se, though. On a 214, I wouldn't invest in anything more than Taylor ebony pins. You won't get any improvement sonically with another material (bone, etc.) in my judgment. If you want to because of looks or blinginess though, go right ahead. 

tone is subjective & not all players will hear a perceptible difference in bridge pin (saddle or nut) material
depending on the material, strings, pick (if used) & more importantly, builder, woods & body shape -
i've heard guitars where switching from plastic to Tusq, bone or ebony did not result in an 'improvement',
but that does not mean other players may hear or describe what they hear differently (they may disagree)

i prefer ebony, or rosewood, pins over plastic simply because, for me, they are easier to remove &
reseat, they generally tend to be more durable & the i'd rather the material match the bridge & fretboard

ymmv

[Guitarsan]

Regardless, you will absolutely get more sustain and perhaps a tad more volume or dynamics by upgrading to ebony, bone, etc. It will not improve the "tone" per se, though. On a 214, I wouldn't invest in anything more than Taylor ebony pins. You won't get any improvement sonically with another material (bone, etc.) in my judgment. If you want to because of looks or blinginess though, go right ahead. 

tone is subjective & not all players will hear a perceptible difference in bridge pin (saddle or nut) material
depending on the material, strings, pick (if used) & more importantly, builder, woods & body shape -
i've heard guitars where switching from plastic to Tusq, bone or ebony did not result in an 'improvement',
but that does not mean other players may hear or describe what they hear differently (they may disagree)

i prefer ebony, or rosewood, pins over plastic simply because, for me, they are easier to remove &
reseat, they generally tend to be more durable & the i'd rather the material match the bridge & fretboard

ymmv

Maybe my mileage does vary. I did say specifically not to expect any difference in tone. And certainly not an improvement in tone. I won't repeat myself, you can read what I did say above.   

I have enough experience with Taylor 100 Series and GS Minis to say that I could tell the difference between plastic and Tusq bridge pins on those guitars blindfolded, per my comments. Enough so that I'd put big money on it, and I'm not a gambling man.  But maybe all couldn't, I'll grant that possibility!

[epynn]

Hi,
Finally got around to replacing the plastic bridge pins on my 214 with Taylor ebony. There is an improvement in sustain. Funny thing, there also seems to be an improvement in tuning stability, not that it was bad to begin with. It was just that I seemed to spend a lot of time fine tuning, like on a fiddle; doesn't seem to be the case now. Anyway, cheap and effective upgrade, don't know why Taylor doesn't use ebony to begin with, the cost difference would be minimal. Tks