falling_in2_infinity

Trouble is, I'm getting more curious the more I think about it. I suppose at least I know that all my basses are 9mm evenly-spaced c-c, and that I'm happy with that particular configuration. I do wonder if sometimes when I've tried a bass and it's felt odd under the hand, if it maybe had an irregular nut spacing.

For completeness: Sandberg California TM2 5-string. Zero fret, ~9mm c-c spacing: Spector NS Pulse II, ~9mm c-c spacing. I also measured my Ibanez SR505F, and it's the same... But no photo because it's in a mess. 🤣😥

Yep, I concur with this. The stewmac page has a focus on guitars, and those differences would definitely be too small for my fingers to notice. Maybe that's why I'm a bass player. 😁

OG Bongo 5 nut (~9.5mm centre-centre): Steinberger spirit (the zero-fret has string grooves, so determines the ~9mm c-c spacing):

I agree. Interesting, and I've created a thread for further discussion about nut string spacings. 🙂

That's pretty much my experience of every bass I've owned! 🙂 My Bongo 6 was just like in your photos.

Apologies. I've re-written it in an attempt to add clarity - but yes, your summary is correct. I'd never thought about it either. It just made me curious about others' experiences.

As you say, chord playing on guitars might be a thing. I'll ask my friend, who is a luthier.

TLDR: I thought string spacing at the nut was always set evenly, based on the distance between string centres. Seemingly this isn't always the case. I was wondering what others' experiences where of this? In reply to another topic on here, user @PaulThePlug suggested that not all bass (and guitar) nuts have even string spacing, with respect to string centre-centre measurements. This is backed-up by this stewmac page: https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/straightedges/string-spacing-rule-6282e9ad/ I wonder what other players' experience of this is? Personally (as I've suggested to @PaulThePlug), the argument given on the stewmac page doesn't make immediate sense to me (YMMV). Spacing at the nut will mostly affect the fretting hand and I tend to fret the top of the strings (which is necessarily the centre of the string), so I think it would feel more natural if all the strings were evenly spaced centre-centre. I think all my basses are set up with centre-centre nut spacing (my MM Bongo, Ibanez SR, and Steinberger Spirit certainly are)... I need to check my Sandberg and Spectors. However, it got me thinking about my plucking hand, and bridge spacing. As many plucking/picking techniques strike the edge of the string (to some extent), perhaps the bridge spacing should be evenly spaced edge-edge rather than centre-centre. I wonder if this would especially improve picking accuracy for new players.

Interesting! I'd be keen to try a bass which has a nut with this approach. Perhaps I could design a new nut and print it. For me, the wording on the stewmac page doesn't make immediate sense. I tend to fret the top of the string, which is necessarily the centre... so it would seem to me to be sensible for all the string centres to be evenly spaced, rather than the gaps between string edges. However, I can see a benefit to this approach at the bridge, to benefit the picking hand (which for many techniques tends to strike more of the side of the string). When playing with a pick, I guess I'm constantly having to adjust the distance of the strokes, depending what string I'm playing.

The pics I currently have are in the video. I'd be interested to know if all basses measure the nut spacing centre-centre. All of my basses are done this way, but I have heard that maybe some vintage basses have an equal spacing between strings, rather than centres. Either way, the standard nut spacing on the Bongo 5 is approaching 9.5mm centre-centre, and my new nut design has 9mm spacing.

That's an interesting idea - I'd be keen to hear how that sounds! Yeah, the photo might make it look a bit worse, but the string was essentially aligned over the fret roll-off, which meant that any slight pulling-down of the string was a recipe for disaster... especially around the 12th fret, where there is more play in the string. Everyone tells me this is normal for Bongo and Stingray 5's. No local stores had any stock for me to compare. All I know for sure is that the C on my Bongo 6 was well inboard of the fret edge, and I never had an issue. Admittedly, I probably spend a lot more time on the G than I did on the C... hence I was able to switch to a 5 without feeling like I was losing out.

As I've mentioned previously, my January switch from a Bongo 6 to a 5 left me frustrated by the proximity of the G string to the edge of the neck (or, more significantly, too close to the edge of the frets).* For me, this causes a lot of slipped-strings when fretting. A lot of people say you can get around this through better technique, but none of my other basses suffer this issue and my technique is well honed now.** As such, I decided to design a new nut, which I 3D-printed in PLA to do some tests. Moving the G-string inboard approximately 1.5mm has made a massive difference to playability, and actually the at-nut spacing is now similar to my other basses. I've been surprised that the PLA actually sounds ok. Barely distinguishable from the OG nut, by my ears. This video is just a sample of me playing the open strings, and some 12th fret harmonics. For anyone interested, see the attached vid for reference recordings (mostly open strings, plus some 12th-fret harmonics. Cheers! Youtube video * - Oddly, even though everyone says this is a common issue, the previous late-00's Bongo 5 I owned wasn't this bad. I tried a few (but not this one) in stores over the years, and also never noticed it being so bad. ** - Yes, it's probably poor technique. I just don't want to change it, so please don't post negative comments about this.