Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

'59

Active member
Has anyone tried these? I don't care much about the touted tonal improvements, but replacing strings faster interests me.

How well do these work and is there any downside other than cost?
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I just asked my luthier friend. I quote:

Just took a set out recently...gives more sustain but kills the tone.
They weigh a lot...last thing you want to add to the top of the guitar is weight.

He just added:
I've seen this kind of crap come and go for years.
;)
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I did notice that the OP said he didn't care about tone, but string change speed. For me, it only takes about 5 seconds to pop out a pin and remove/install the new string ball. It's so much faster than dealing with the tuner end. Other than that, they look like a cool product.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I think it’s interesting how so many people playing acoustic guitars don’t seem to care about tone all that much.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I think it’s interesting how so many people playing acoustic guitars don’t seem to care about tone all that much.

The interesting thing with acoustics I find is that many of the people who play them realize, if I sound nice, so will my instrument. (But on the other hand, the tone snobs are leagues snobbier than in the electric world)

You can't hardly do that with electrics. A Strat through a DS-1 through a Twin Reverb won't ever give you a good metal tone. But a good acoustic can do just about anything it needs to without fancy hardware or gear.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

They always seemed like a bad idea to me. They're not solving any problems, but they are adding weight and will torque the top of your guitar at an angle that I don't like.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I can see one positive benefit of these. If you have an older, or cheaper, acoustic where the bridge is being pulled unglued, these effectively bolt the bridge down. On a really good acoustic, you'd obviously want to have a good luthier repair it properly. But on a cheaper guitar, they would serve that purpose.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

The interesting thing with acoustics I find is that many of the people who play them realize, if I sound nice, so will my instrument. (But on the other hand, the tone snobs are leagues snobbier than in the electric world)

You can't hardly do that with electrics. A Strat through a DS-1 through a Twin Reverb won't ever give you a good metal tone. But a good acoustic can do just about anything it needs to without fancy hardware or gear.

Agreed on all counts. I’m way, way more snobby about acoustic tone. I inherited a bunch of really nice instruments from my dad about a month ago. I just gave away a really nice Ibanez F-5 mandolin because it doesn’t sound as good as the Gibson, and I know I won’t play it. I hadn’t played acoustic guitar in quite awhile, so I put 12s on the Gibson SJ so it’d be easier. The next day, I strung it back up with 13s and suffered for a few days, because it didn’t sound as good.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

Ah yes, the other acoustic challenge, if it doesn't sound how you want it straight out the box, it's almost impossible to tweak it to the same extent as an electric.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

Ah yes, the other acoustic challenge, if it doesn't sound how you want it straight out the box, it's almost impossible to tweak it to the same extent as an electric.

I wouldn't say that it's almost impossible. I'd say it's more expensive, and requires someone with the proper skill and experience. Maybe you meant, "almost impossible to do yourself." That, I would agree with.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I was just looking at these this week. While I can appreciate the ease of use (the string doesn't go through the bridge), I worry about the lessening of the break angle over the bridge not being a great idea for tone. While I think most acoustic guitars should really have pinless bridges, this seems like a solution for...nothing, really.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

I hadn't thought of that. That could be very important for under saddle transducers. They can be finicky.
 
Re: Opinions on the Power Pins 2.0?

Yeah, you have to put a special bridge plate in, so that'll mess with some pickups and prevent others from being installed entirely, which is a big thing to consider.
 
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