Kanilea owners - which bridge pins do you like best?

LutzSpearo

LutzSpearo

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Hey everyone. I just ordered a concert Kanilea, and expect to get it in about a week. I've been reading about how some Kanilea owners have replaced the plastic bridge pins with wood bridge pins. I agree that wood ones look better from what I have seen in pictures, and would like to know what pins you have chosen and where you got them.

From what I have read, it doesn't matter if the new pins are slotted or not. If they are slotted, the slot in the bridge and the slot in the pin do not need to be aligned, if someone could confirm this I'd appreciate it.

I searched the forums on this, and I have only found one website that folks recommend, Stewart MacDonald (Stew Macs). These are the pins I'm considering, I think I should get two sets each of the plain and the abalone and see which look best to me: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardwar...nd_endpins/Slotted_Snakewood_Bridge_Pins.html

If anyone has found another source of nice bridge pins that you like on your Kanilea, please chime in. Photos are welcomed! Thanks so much : )
 
It doesn't have to be slotted, that's right. Definitely.


I bought a package of 6 Ebony Bridgepins (Harley Benton Brand, less than $10, from thomann (that's one of Europe's biggest music shops).

They were a bit too thick but it was no problem to make them fit with a piece of sand paper.

Comparision old vs. new:
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If you need some additional information or pics, don't hesitate to ask me!

Cheers,
Linho
 
LutzSpearo said:
Hey everyone. I just ordered a concert Kanilea, and expect to get it in about a week. I've been reading about how some Kanilea owners have replaced the plastic bridge pins with wood bridge pins. I agree that wood ones look better from what I have seen in pictures, and would like to know what pins you have chosen and where you got them.

From what I have read, it doesn't matter if the new pins are slotted or not. If they are slotted, the slot in the bridge and the slot in the pin do not need to be aligned, if someone could confirm this I'd appreciate it.

I searched the forums on this, and I have only found one website that folks recommend, Stewart MacDonald (Stew Macs). These are the pins I'm considering, I think I should get two sets each of the plain and the abalone and see which look best to me: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardwar...nd_endpins/Slotted_Snakewood_Bridge_Pins.html

If anyone has found another source of nice bridge pins that you like on your Kanilea, please chime in. Photos are welcomed! Thanks so much : )
Click to expand...


You are correct on all your points. I bought Ebony bridge pins from Elderly Instruments
 

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My future Kanilea will have ebony bridge pins
 
I have koa bridge pins with abalone dots that I got from Stewart Mac, and I also had to shave them down. I will try to post a pic of them tomorrow.
 
Just a heads up..."Island Tat" means something entirely different in England.

#justsayin
 
For example:

"Island Tat" might be used to describe 99c Flip Flops and $ 9.99 nylon Aloha shirts from ABC Stores
 
Haha, wow, that's nice to know. So the Tattoo on my Kanilea says in your slang, it's one of the cheap Hawaii Souvenirs. :biglaugh:

Thanks for your answer. There are more Brand namens weich have other meanings in other languages, like Nissan Pajero or Lada Niva. Or the formen goalkeeper of FC Bayern München, Hans-Jörg BUTT. :D
 
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Hana Lima has rosewood, ebony, and plastic. http://www.hanalimastore.com/servlet/the-88/Ukulele-Bridgepin-Pin-Parts/Detail Replaced mine with ebony and had to sand down a little to get them to fit but they've worked fine. Additional advantage of replacing the pins is that if you have a string winder with pin puller, it won't grab the original plastic pins but the Hana Lima pins pull out easily with the puller.
 
LutzSpearo said:
I searched the forums on this, and I have only found one website that folks recommend, Stewart MacDonald (Stew Macs). These are the pins I'm considering, I think I should get two sets each of the plain and the abalone and see which look best to me: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardwar...nd_endpins/Slotted_Snakewood_Bridge_Pins.html

If anyone has found another source of nice bridge pins that you like on your Kanilea, please chime in. Photos are welcomed! Thanks so much : )
Click to expand...

I have the snakewood with abalone with slots. No need to shave them down... they fit just fine as is. Also, don't line up the slot of the pin with the slot on the bridge. The slots on these pins are not necessary for the Kanile'a bridge. You can actually get problems if you put the string in the slot of the pin, so rotate it the out of the way.

–Lori
 
If you want some nice pins, go with some water buffalo horn with abalone dots.
 
I have ebony pins for mine. I think that they were relatively cheap Planet waves pins, but I think they look better than the plastic ones that came with it. I'll bet the water buffalo horn looks really nice.
 
Great suggestions everyone, I'm very appreciative of the different recommendations and tips on sources. I thought ebony is a very dark wood, but a lot of those pins look very light in color and super pretty! I'll also check out the horn pins. I think I will prefer the abalone dots on the pins, as the uke has some nice abalone details. Decisions, decisions... choosing is so tough!
 
patfia said:
Hana Lima has rosewood, ebony, and plastic. http://www.hanalimastore.com/servlet/the-88/Ukulele-Bridgepin-Pin-Parts/Detail Replaced mine with ebony and had to sand down a little to get them to fit but they've worked fine. Additional advantage of replacing the pins is that if you have a string winder with pin puller, it won't grab the original plastic pins but the Hana Lima pins pull out easily with the puller.
Click to expand...
I second Hana Lima 'Ia. They're uke-specific, too, and fit pretty well from the start. I purchased ebony pins with MOP dots and rosewood pins with paua dots - very nice. I had a set of snakewood pins from Stew Mac and I had to do a lot more sanding on them to get them to fit.
 
bbycrts said:
I second Hana Lima 'Ia. They're uke-specific, too, and fit pretty well from the start. I purchased ebony pins with MOP dots and rosewood pins with paua dots - very nice. I had a set of snakewood pins from Stew Mac and I had to do a lot more sanding on them to get them to fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing this out, I didn't catch that. This would be much more convenient, I'll take a closer look at what they currently carry.

Edit: just ordered the Rosewood plain and Rosewood with Mother of Pearl inlay dots from Hana Lima 'Ia, looking forward to seeing how they look!
 
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