WM45 comes back to life

[livemusic]

I thought I'd share this with Gibson owners. I wasn't quite satisfied with the sound of my very cool (used) WM45 and could not for the life of me figure it out. I was distraught that perhaps it just didn't have 'it.' It was almost like the intonation was VERY slightly off or something. I was thinking of changing bridge pins. Then, I noticed that, in the case, there were white plastic bridge pins in a bag. So, the former owner had changed these original white, plastic pins for black pins with abalone dots, so as to improve it cosmetically to sell. And I remembered reading some forums where people said plastic pins actually sound best on most guitars. I changed back to the original plastic pins and Voila! My WM45 sounds great!

[Buc McMaster]

What were the black pins made of? Bit odd that a change of pins could make a dramatic different in tone. I suppose if the pins were wood (ebony) they could have a bit of a dampening effect on the strings. An intonation problem would be a function of the saddle, not the pins. But anyway, glad to hear you're happy with it now! Rock on!

[livemusic]

What were the black pins made of? Bit odd that a change of pins could make a dramatic different in tone. I suppose if the pins were wood (ebony) they could have a bit of a dampening effect on the strings. An intonation problem would be a function of the saddle, not the pins. But anyway, glad to hear you're happy with it now! Rock on!

 

Buc, I don't know how to tell what the black pins are made of. As for describing what was 'wrong,' I can't find the words. But it was slightly off. Using the word intonation is probably a poor choice. Whatever, it's 'normal' now. Other people on other forums have noticed similar results. Some have even done tests. Surprisingly, plastic won out more often than you'd think.