• Home
  • Best Guitar Picks
    • Best Wooden Guitar Picks
    • Best Metal Guitar Picks
    • Best Ergonomic Guitar Picks
    • Best Stone Guitar Picks
    • Best Ukulele Picks
    • Best Fingerpicks
  • Pick Reviews
  • Guitar Gear
  • Guitar Lessons
  • The Complete Guide to Guitar Picks
  • Contact

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot

How to Read Guitar Chord Charts and Diagrams

January 27, 2023

All Types of Electric Guitars Explained

January 23, 2023

Dunlop Flow Picks Collection – Full Guitar Picks Review

January 20, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Guitar Pick ReviewsGuitar Pick Reviews
  • Home
  • Best Guitar Picks
    • Best Wooden Guitar Picks
    • Best Metal Guitar Picks
    • Best Ergonomic Guitar Picks
    • Best Stone Guitar Picks
    • Best Ukulele Picks
    • Best Fingerpicks
  • Pick Reviews
  • Guitar Gear
  • Guitar Lessons
  • The Complete Guide to Guitar Picks
  • Contact
Guitar Pick ReviewsGuitar Pick Reviews
Home»Guitar Gear»Power Pins 2.0 – I’m Not Impressed – Full Review
Guitar Gear

Power Pins 2.0 – I’m Not Impressed – Full Review

Guitar Pick ReviewsBy Guitar Pick ReviewsSeptember 22, 2022Updated:September 22, 2022No Comments7 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Power Pins 2.0 Review
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Pinterest Email

Power Pins 2.0 are made by BigRock Engineering. They are essentially a replacement kit for the bridge pins in an acoustic guitar. I got to play a guitar that had them on before, but never got to really test it on my own guitar, which I know very well. So that’s what we’re going to do today.

This review was written and ready more than 6 months before I decided to publish it. I usually avoid writing bad reviews, so my first instinct was just to keep it to myself. I can’t really blame a product for not fitting my way of playing. If my action was higher I’d probably keep them on for a bit longer. The thing that pushed me toward publishing it was the unfair pricing and poor build quality, which you can read about below.

Table of Contents

  • What Are Power Pins?
  • What do they do?
  • How Do Power Pins 2.0 Work?
  • What’s Included with Power Pins 2.0?
  • How to Install Power Pins?
  • Pricing
  • My Impression of Power Pins 2.0
    • Ease of Changing Strings and Tone Improvements
    • Tuning Stability
    • Build Quality
  • Conclusion
    • Related posts:

What Are Power Pins?

Power Pins are an acoustic guitar modification that offers an alternative to the bridge pin system in use on most acoustic guitars. Power Pins are claimed to simplify the process of changing strings, as well as to increase the guitar’s tuning stability. The installation is not permanent and doesn’t suppose to harm the guitar in any way. Sounds perfect.

What do they do?

BigRock Engineering says that they make it easier to replace acoustic guitar strings, as well as keep the guitar in tune longer. Some of their resellers, though, claim that they improve the tone and increase the volume of a guitar, too.

How Do Power Pins 2.0 Work?

Power Pins 2.0 works by replacing the traditional bridge pin system with a string locking mechanism that is parallel to the body. That way, each string slides to its place a lot easier. They are bolted to a metal plate placed inside the body to make sure they don’t move and are secured to the body.

See also  29 Best Guitar Accessories You Will Use Every Day
How do Power Pins work
Power Pins work by replacing the traditional bridge pin system with a string locking mechanism that is parallel to the body.

What’s Included with Power Pins 2.0?

When you first open the box they come in, you ask yourself if what you have in front of you is really worth the amount you paid for them. And to that, I must say that it doesn’t, but more on that later.

The package contains:

  • 6 Power Pins (2 marked with B, 2 with M, and 2 with T)
  • Some washers (3 per pin)
  • A metal plate
  • 6 screws
  • An Allen wrench
Everything included with power pins 2.0 arranged on an acoustic guitar. An Allen wrench, metal plate, 6 power pins, washers and screws.

How to Install Power Pins?

The installation is quite simple and is one of the things I like the most about them. It requires some work, and they are an actual modification. So they open the door for other, more advanced things you can do.

To install the Power Pins you need to unstring the guitar and remove the bridge pins. Get all the parts you got in the kit sorted out and let’s get to it.

  1. Measure how many washers you need. This is very important. According to the guide, the tip of the screw should be as close to 1/16″ (or 1.5mm) below the bridge surface. Make sure you take the plate’s thickness into account, too.
  2. Separate the 6 Power Pins into 3 groups. 2 should include the letter T (stands for Treble), 2 will have “M” on them (stands for Middle), and 2 will be marked with “B” (stands for Bass).
  3. Pre-assemble the washers on the screws. Add the plate and place the screw in the proper bridge hole.
  4. Place a fitting Power Pin (depends on which string are you placing them on) on top of the screw, and start turning it with your hand until it can hold itself. Then, use the provided Allen key to screw it. Don’t over-tighten it.
  5. Install the remaining pins, and you’re done.

Pricing

The list price is $67. That being said, I bought them a few months ago for $50, and I see now that they’re listed for $45. You can buy them from Amazon or directly from their website. They’re also available through StewMac, if you want to pay an extra $20.

See also  Guitar Gadgets: 32 Awesome Guitar Gadgets That Actually Work (2023)

My Impression of Power Pins 2.0

When I decided to review them, I knew I’d have to make a decision of whether to hold them to BigRock Engineering’s promises or to their resellers’. Neither the box nor BigRock Engineering’s website says anything about improving the tone. Making it feel a bit unfair to hold it against them. But on the other hand, they do allow their resellers to make these claims.

Ease of Changing Strings and Tone Improvements

The Power Pins do make it easier to change the strings, but unfortunately, that’s the only good thing I have to say about them. Not only did they not improve the tone, but they also made it thin and weak. They also completely destroyed the balance between the strings, and I have a pretty good idea of why it happens.

When you look at the angle at which the Power Pins make the strings reach the bridge, you can easily see that it’s too small. The high strings are not putting any pressure on the saddle. This causes them to vibrate the soundboard a lot less. If you keep your action fairly high, it would probably not hurt your sound at all.

The angle at which the power pins make the strings approach the bridge saddle is too narrow
The angle at which the power pins make the strings approach the bridge saddle is too narrow

Since this issue occurs on the thinner string a lot more than on the thicker ones, it destroyed the balance between them. The bass strings are about the same as they used to be before, but the treble strings are at 50% of their original volume.

The tone improvement claims are the results of the metal bar that sits below the bridge. Which, you can buy on its own. It is called Mitchell’s Platemate, after the guy who came up with it. Another tone-improving product I really like is D’Addario O-Port. Like Mitchell’s Platemate, it also costs around $20.

Tuning Stability

In all honesty, I only had them on my guitar for about an hour before going back to my bridge pins. So I can’t give you my personal impression of their tuning stability. Logically, I can’t find any reason for them to really help with that, but a lot of reviews online claim they do help with that.

See also  Fender Hammertone Pedals Walkthrough and Honest Review

Build Quality

They are not cheap, yet they are built cheaply. I expect a lot more from a company whose products I love so much.

Conclusion

I can’t recommend this product for two reasons. One of them is due to my preferences in action height, which they are not to blame for. But the price, especially when compared to the build quality, is the main reason I decided to publish this review eventually. If your action is higher, it might work really well for you.

I really don’t think this is a scam or anything like it, because BigRock Engineering makes some of my favorite products. They really know how to make good guitar innovations. I mentioned their knob puller in my noisy guitar knobs article from a year ago – it’s my favorite one. Their Switchguard is solving a problem guitar players have had since 1954, and their X-1 is as amazing as a guitar gadget can be, and I can’t wait to try it out.

If you only take one thing from this review with you, let it be to try and envision a product’s way of working before you buy it. If I’d thought about it for a few more minutes, I’d save myself about $50 and a few hours of writing a bad review (which I really hate, by the way).

To simply improve your acoustic guitar tone, here‘s an article I wrote about ways to make your acoustic guitar sound better. Each of these upgrades costs up to $20, and they’re all very effective.

If you have a different experience with the Power Pins, please let me know in the comments.

Related posts:

Apogee Jam Plus - The Easiest Way to Record Your Guitar - User Review
Best Classical Guitar Tuning Keys | UPDATED 2022 | A Complete Guide
How Long Do Guitar Picks Last, And How To Make Them Last Longer?
Pick the Right Guitar Polish: Preserve and Protect the Finish on Your Valuable Guitar
acoustic guitar guitar tone guitar tone chase
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Guitar Pick Reviews
  • Website

Related Posts

All Types of Electric Guitars Explained

January 23, 2023
8.8

Fender Hammertone Pedals Walkthrough and Honest Review

January 10, 2023

Marshall JVM210C Guitar Amp Review

December 31, 2022

29 Best Guitar Accessories You Will Use Every Day

December 29, 2022

MXR Zakk Wylde Overdrive Pedal for Guitar – Product Review

December 8, 2022

How to Sing and Play The Guitar at The Same Time

November 29, 2022
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Don't Miss
8.8

Honey Picks – Full Review

March 4, 2022

How to Improve Your Rhythm when Playing Guitar

July 17, 2022

Martin Guitar Picks Review | UPDATED 2022 | A Complete Guide

March 14, 2022

How to Read Bass Tabs – Bass Lesson For Beginners

August 6, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Reddit
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy
  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
© 2023 Guitarpickreviews.com.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.