Members Killa J Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 I'm about to order a D-3R from Guitar Adoptions. I'm pretty excited, I've only owned low end acoustics so far. I was wondering about upgrading the saddle, nut, and bridge pins. The nut and saddle are Tusq, and the pins look to be ebony. I doubt that the guitar will really need to be upgraded, but I'm the kind of person who hates leaving things exactly as they are from the factory. I've been looking at guitarsaddles.com to get some ideas. I'm thinking fossilized walrus ivory for the saddle and pins, and hard ivory for the nut. Are they worth the price, or is plain ole' bone the way to go? Or would you recommend something else (other than not changing anything)?
Members knockwood Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 Congrats! What I would do is sit on the guitar as-is for a while, until you've familiarized yourself with it to the point where you have a handle on what you like just fine about the guitar and what you might want to tweak. All the changes you're talking about will run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $320, if you factor in the professional tech help you'd need to work the nut (the material of which, IMO, will have the least - if any - qualitative impact of all the parts you're thinking of upgrading). Largest potential impact? Probably the saddle. Also a relatively easy, do-it-yourself kind of switch, and the least costly of the upgrades you're considering. Guitarsaddles.com is a great business run by a helluva nice guy, and Colosi saddles will come with instructions. Bear in mind, differences - if noticeable - will not be night-and-day dramatic and may not even be preferable. I've lately been swapping bone and Tusq saddles between a couple of my guitars (Martins identically slotted) and I'm finding, to my surprise, that I actually prefer Tusq... Pins... $150 for a set of Walrus pins... I don't want to get get in a beef with Babablowfish, but frankly I haven't found pin material to have any discernible tonal impact whatsoever. Brass pins - used by local hero Baba - may be a departure in that they are significantly heavier than bone/ebony/plastic, but I've never tried 'em. I happen to like ebony - which will come standard on your 03 - for looks. Get a feel for the guitar first, then figure what kind of buckage you want to throw at it for pimp juice.
Members Killa J Posted January 1, 2007 Author Members Posted January 1, 2007 I am going to wait a while to make any changes to it. I'm not going to have much cash after buying the guitar. I did notice that they have vintage bone pins with tortoise inlay for much cheaper than the walrus. I like the look of the vintage bone and the tortoise inlay would look good with the tortoise pickguard. I'll probably wait and get it all changed at once and set up at the same time. There is a local guy around where I live who charges around 2x what most people charge for work, but everyone says he's definitely worth the extra cost. Oh yeah, what is the best solution for using a strap with an acoustic with only one strap button? On my cheap acoustic, I just have it tied to the headstock, but I've heard that's bad for the neck.
Members Cripes Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 I'm assuming you haven't played this guitar yet - hence the mail order. Or, GA is giving you a better deal. Either way, I'd take Knockwood's suggestion about becoming familiar with the guitar first. The idea of upgrading a guitar is something that it tells you, not the other way around. Bridge pins of similar density (mass) like plastic, wood and bone may not give any "remarkable" return on the experiment. I used brass pins on a Larrivee OMV-09 and I thought there was an enhancement. I never changed out the nut and saddle because I thought the materials of choice were just too close in mass to yield significant results. The results may even be less than you might hope for. The most effective way to enhance any guitar's sound, IMO, is through string brand/gauge experimentation. Do that first.
Members emmonsh Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 i have a d-03 and replaced the nut, saddle and pins with bone. love the sound even more. i also replaced the ping tuners with gotoh 510. they are drop in. for about 200 in upgrades def. a 2000 guitar now.
Members SongMan Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 You should rather get a D-09 if you are going to do all that modifications.
Members knockwood Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 Originally posted by Cripes The most effective way to enhance any guitar's sound, IMO, is through string brand/gauge experimentation. Do that first. +1. Important point. In addition to the huge variety of gauges and compositions on the string market, your D-03R will come strung with coated strings. Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, there will be a huge difference between these and uncoated strings. There are so many differing opinions on what is optimal, the only way is to experiment on your own with different strings. It can sometimes take years of noodling to find something you love, but the experimentation is fun. Excellent, excellent, excellent choice of guitars, btw. Hope you love it.
Members Killa J Posted January 1, 2007 Author Members Posted January 1, 2007 I've considered the D-9, but it seems like most of the extra cost is just the guitar looking nicer. It does have a bone saddle, but still a tusq nut and ebony bridge pins.
Members Killa J Posted January 1, 2007 Author Members Posted January 1, 2007 I didn't realize strings made a big difference. I play electric almost exclusively, and other than coated strings, I never notice a big tonal difference between string brands. Is there a brand or type I should definitely try or stay away from?
Members Cldplytkmn Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 strings are a bit of a crapshoot... every set of ears likes what they like... but you will notice the difference between strings... first you gotta decide if you like Phosphor or regular broze... pick a guage, then a brand... i guess you could do those three in any order... changing the nut isn't really a big deal... that'd be the last thing i'd change of the things you mentioned... saddle first, pins next (don't expect much in the way of tonal change)... but don't feel the rush to start swapping stuff around, you're getting a great guitar right out of the box...
Members rjoxyz Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 Originally posted by Killa J I didn't realize strings made a big difference. I play electric almost exclusively, and other than coated strings, I never notice a big tonal difference between string brands. Is there a brand or type I should definitely try or stay away from? As others have mentioned, changes in strings, in terms of brand, composition and gauge have a big influence on an acoustic guitar's tone. They can also affect playability. At the moment, my favorite non-coated string for most of my guitars is the DR Sunbeam 13-56. They are round core, with less tension than hex core. The difference is noticeable. Subjectively, I also like the tone. I would definitely experiment with strings until I settled on a favorite, and only then consider saddle/pin mod's. I just bought an L-03 with TUSQ saddle and nut. I have found TUSQ to be somewhat comparable to bone. I am in no hurry to swap out the saddle.
Members kwakatak Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 +1 to trying out different strings. As for the saddle, upgrading to bone only costs $20 and a half-hour of work and the TUSQ can always be reinstalled. In my case, I was completely underwhelmed by the TUSQ and feel that the bone saddle helped bring out more clarity.
Members Dan Hall Posted January 1, 2007 Members Posted January 1, 2007 Originally posted by Killa J I didn't realize strings made a big difference. I play electric almost exclusively, and other than coated strings, I never notice a big tonal difference between string brands. Is there a brand or type I should definitely try or stay away from? String your electric with a set of GHS Nickle Rockers and say that. :D
Members emmonsh Posted January 2, 2007 Members Posted January 2, 2007 Originally posted by SongMan You should rather get a D-09 if you are going to do all that modifications. you cant buy a d-09 for the 1100 i have in the d03 upgraded.
Members Cldplytkmn Posted January 2, 2007 Members Posted January 2, 2007 yeah... a D09 won't get you where you're trying to go with the upgrades... the saddle will be bone out of the box, but that's about it...
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