The guitar was a bit tinny, the brass pins and a set of Elixirs help to mellow it a bit in this instance. It's always trial and error. I've got a collection of Brass/bone/ebony pins, and try them on any new guitar I come across. There is talk that brass pins brighten up the sound, in my experience they seem to even it out. It's not hard and fast. Each guitar, even if it's made by the same company, reacts in a different way. With my Yammy the brass pins give it a brighter bass and mid range. I picked up an FG310, for not much money. Tweaked it and set it up with brass pins and a bone saddle, then used it one night in Skipton folk club, and sold it on quite happily.
I genuinely believe you do not have to spend much cash to get a decent sound. I always ask the question is this Taylor/Martin/Gibson four figures better than a good quality mass produced guitar? The answer usually comes back as no.