music nib comparison

[DRP]

I've had a Platinum for several years now which is similar to the one which you reviewed. My experience corresponds with yours. It is a solidly made pen with an excellent nib that is easy to use and gives satisfactory line variation.

 

Yours is a very good review, by the way.

[maqueropro]

This is a comparison of three pens - Salor Pro Gear, Platinum 3776 and Pilot Custom 74 - each with a music nib. I found some significant differences in the way each of them writes, which I thought might be interesting for folks who are looking for a music nib, but wondering which one to get.

 

 

APPEARANCE & DESIGN

They're all black with gold trim and gold clips. The sailor has the flat top & bottom, while the other two are rounded. They're handsome, in a standard way, but nothing to write home about. They've each got the brand name and model name (except the sailor, which says "founded 1911" rather than the model name) engraved around the cap-band. Platinum's cap band is the least appealing to me, but that's just personal preference.

 

 

http://jessieglass.com/fp/music_nibs/music_nibs_01.jpg

 

 

CONSTRUCTION & QUALITY

All great. I got two of them used and one new, but they are all well made pens. The quality of the construction is exactly what you'd expect from a pen in this price range - solid.

 

 

WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS

The pens are all roughly the same size. The Sailor is the shortest of the lot, at 5" capped, and the Pilot is the tallest, at 5 1/2" capped. They are all plastic, so rather light in the hand. I would call them medium-sized pens, with a nib sections that are just under half an inch wide.

 

http://jessieglass.com/fp/music_nibs/music_nibs_02.jpg

 

 

NIB & PERFORMANCE

This is where it gets interesting. Although all music nibs, they write rather differently. The PIlot and Platinum have three tines each, while the Salor has only two. Each one is very wet and extremely smooth, but the line variation on the Sailor is not as clear as on the Pilot, and the Platinum showed the most line variation of the three. But by far the most dramatic difference among them is the writing angle. To get the full line width on the paper, you've got to hold the Sailor at a rather precise 90 degree angle to the paper. At a lesser angle, the nib doesn't make consistent contact with the paper, and you get some very thin lines, or just flat out skipping. The PIlot is less finicky, but I still found that as I wrote at my normal 45-degree angle to the paper, I got lots of inconsistencies in the flow. The Platinum, however, is easy like Sunday morning. At any angle, it writes a thick, juicy line, with plenty of line variation on the horizontals. Here's a writing sample.

 

http://jessieglass.com/fp/music_nibs/music_nibs_writingSample.jpg

 

 

FILLING SYSTEM & MAINTENANCE

All cartridge/converters. Maintenance, so far, has been a non-issue. They all start up consistently, no matter how long they've been sitting on my desk. The don't clog or leak. They each go through quite a bit of ink, but that's just the way things are with these juicy nibs.

 

 

COST & VALUE

None of these pens will break the bank. They were each around the $150 - $200 mark for me, although I bought two of them used. They are solid pens and worth every penny.

 

CONCLUSION

Although they're all great, the precise writing angle is an inconvenience on the Sailor and the Pilot pens. I don't mind it on crisp italics, when I'm generally writing in a more careful, deliberate fashion. I was hoping to use the music nibs in a more casual way, both when composing music and as an extra-bold nib to have on hand for regular applications. Having to hold the pen at that certain angle doesn't help the ease of use. The last thing I want to think about when trying to get my thoughts (musical or otherwise) on paper is the angle of the pen. In conclusion, what a surprise: Platinum wins!

 

Nice review. My Platinum music nib is on the way! I can't hope fot it! So, which ink did you use for each pen in the review?

[pendemic]

Hi Folks;

things not mentioned here:

First, I have a Sailor Realo Music Pen (pump filler, not convertor) as well as a Platinum 3776.

 

The Sailor is very wet, thus writes smoothly and comfortably, but smears and spiders on anything but highest grade paper, and pools i.e., dries very slowly due to the surfeit of ink. Perhaps this is due to being a single slit to distribute the ink vs. the double on a Platinum. This wetness also makes it difficult to get a thin stroke sideways.

 

It would be difficult to carry the platinum, due to "cheap?" construction, the pen will unscrew in your pocket. The sailor seems to clinch snug on screwing in the cap.

 

Who in their right mind would even think of posting a cap. I always hold pen caps in my left hand, thus my pen never "walks away" from me!

 

I wish that I could put the platinum nib on the sailor body.

 

-best

[sjchun79]

Wonderful review.

 

Just recently purchased the 3776 MS, and simply love it.

 

I is virtually a wet calligraphy nib.

[cruise]

do they compare any close to vintage music nibs?

[biancitwo]

Talkinghead said Mike-it-Work ground his Sailor music nib to a cursive italic making it a sweet nib. Pendleton Brown ground my Sailor music nib to a cursive italic and it too is mighty sweet. It wasn't that good before PB got hold of it.

[miatagrrl]

I just found this old but very useful review. Very timely for me, as I am just now trying to decide which music nib to buy for drawing. I had the opportunity to use someone's Sailor music, which I absolutely loved, and did not notice the need to hold it at an odd angle. But I am used to drawing with a Sailor fude nib, which requires a bit of an unnatural tilt to get the line variation. Anyway, after reading numerous reviews and opinions comparing these three nibs, it's become clear that the Platinum is the favorite, with the Pilot a fairly close second, and the Sailor is trailing way behind. I've only tried the Sailor... am I an oddball to like the Sailor? Or if I tried the other two, would I quickly change my tune? Wish I could get my hands on the other two to try for myself.

[maverink]

@miatagrrl have you tried the pilot fa nib in 912 ?

[KaB]

nice work!

Whatever comes next, this is the post that planted the idea in my head that I'd have to put a music nib on my wish list. (Right season for it)

[Six Dollar Dave]

Excellent review. I have the Platinum 3776 music, and agree totally with everything you say.

[miatagrrl]

@miatagrrl have you tried the pilot fa nib in 912 ?

 

No, I have not -- should I?? I've heard that it has a softer flex than the Namiki Falcon. I have not tried sketching with any flexible nibs except the Noodler's Ahab, which I hated for other reasons (leaky, cloggy, etc). Do you recommend the 912 with the falcon nib?

[maverink]

@miatagrrl 912 FA nib is good for line variation but the feed does have trouble keepingup with the nib if you write or draw fast. having said that it is a soft nib so you may not like it. btw i use it for sketching.

Edited November 27, 2014 by maverink

[miatagrrl]

After getting the Platinum 3776 with music nib, I posted a couple of samples in a different thread:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/278363-music-nib-japanese-or-otherwise/?p=3227015

 

I love the Platinum, although it writes so differently from the Sailor music nib that I initially tried. In fact, after borrowing it again, I couldn't get that Sailor off my mind, so I just ordered one! After all I've read here and elsewhere, I may regret it, but I figure it will be easy to re-sell. And just so you know, this thread also influenced my decision to buy a Pilot Custom 912 with Falcon nib. I gotta stop hanging out here. . . too easy to get talked into buying pens. I do appreciate all the info, though.

[miatagrrl]

Re the Pilot Custom 74, when I read the nib choices at Rakuten/Bunkidou, I see that there are actually 2 music nib choices: music and "special bold music."

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunkidou-shop/item/fkk-12sr/

 

JGlass, I assume the one you initially reviewed is a standard music nib? Have you also tried this "special bold music"? Anyone know anything about it? I find the Platinum's music nib to be quite bold enough, so I probably wouldn't be interested in the Pilot's "special bold music" if it is bolder still, but I'm curious about how different it is from the standard music.

[1handclapping]

Great review!

 

I have all three nibs and I have only used that makers ink in each one. Having said that, I didn't find much difference in either the ink flow or the angle of the nib necessary to get each of them to write smoothly. I wonder if the makers designed these specialized nibs to run best with their own formulations of inks?

 

I also have an old long/short (i.e. where the cap is almost the size of the body/nib) music nibed pen. I think it is Platinum, but it definitely has the three tine nib and is extremely smooth. Since I bought it used I don't know if the nib was worked-on before I bought it.

 

Cheers, David

[Pensaregood]

I own the sailor music nib and I would just like to say that my own experience has been different, I write with it at a normal angle and can get decent line variation

[miatagrrl]

Here's my review of the Platinum 3776 Century's music nib:

http://tina-koyama.blogspot.com/2015/03/epic-pen-search-and-discovery-part-6.html

[StaT]

Nice review, i'm about to order my 1st Platinum...

Thanks!

[Uncial]

Reading this makes me wonder if Pilot has since changed the characteristics of their music nibs (or perhaps I have an odd one). Mine is quite soft, not exceptionally so, but noticeably soft, and doesn't require a high writing angle.

[Honeybadgers]

If you're willing to put in some serious time tuning the pilot, it's hands down the best writer. it's soft and flexible, able to double its line width easily. But good god did pilot drop the ball tuning it, they tuned it exclusively to write music, where you're holding it perpendicular to the page (it writes perfectly at that angle so they did tune it) but it's completely untuned at a normal writing angle, scratchy and horrible and relatively misaligned. I put in about an hour with 1800 grit sandpaper, micro mesh, and a loupe, and the resulting flexible stub nib is mind blowing. The platinum and sailor options are just firm gold stubs. Good, but nothing special. If the platinum MS nib was at the same price point as the rest of the line ( under $90 US) it'd be a no-brainer purchase, but as it stands, if I want a big nib from these companies, I'd go for the pilot if you're willing to tune it, and if you just want a big broad line, the 3776 C nib (smooth double broad) or sailor 21k zoom nib (multiple line angles depending on position, double broad at a normal 45 deg. with typical sailor precise pencil-like feedback) are the clear winners.