Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Which nut type should I go for?


smaz
 Share

Recommended Posts

Ok, I'm a little confused - there's plastic, resin, graphite, bone, brass, plastic... The options seem endless.

I need to replace the nut on a fretless jazz neck (38mm).

I've found a bone replacement, and a compound one - resin + graphite.

Is there much difference between the types? Is it worth worrying about? Anything to avoid?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my opinion I would go for bone. It will be easier to fit (bone is a pleasure to work with), and will sound great. I think graphite treated nuts are good for guitars with trems where the strings need to slide in the nut, but can't really see the point of them on a bass.

Make sure you clean out the slot when you remove the old one so that the new one sits flush. A couple of drops of Titebond Original glue will hold it in place. You'll most likely need to lower the string slots in the new nut.

A set of nut slotting files will help. I got mine from Stewmac in the States.

Edited by morgano
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='smaz' timestamp='1420465358' post='2649580']
Ok, I'm a little confused - there's plastic, resin, graphite, bone, brass, plastic... The options seem endless.

I need to replace the nut on a fretless jazz neck (38mm).

I've found a bone replacement, and a compound one - resin + graphite.

Is there much difference between the types? Is it worth worrying about? Anything to avoid?
[/quote]

Avoid super absorbent materials like foam rubber or soft cheese - that'll dampen the open notes too much...
But on the serious side - I don't think it's that big a deal, like fret material it will affect the sound slightly (but obviously only the open notes in the case of the nut).

In truth any fairly rigid and hard wearing material should work - when companies like Yamaha use the same material as their fret wire in a nut* ( it makes me wonder - why not use a zero fret? when you play an open note it will always sound different to a fretted note - no nut material will perfectly replicate the finger, fret and string combination of a fretted note.
I've recently ordered a tusq nut (synthetic ivory) and am keen to see how it performs. I've used the fender "synthetic bone" nuts which are grand, and I've also used the cheap plastic ones with no issues - other than they wear out faster - especially on a guitar with a trem.

*BB2024X has a nickle-silver nut - the others have plastic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've read more than a few times that bone is supposed to be the best material to use... but I don't have any basses with a bone nut so it's hard for me to say what, if any, difference they make to the tone of open strings and tuning stability. TUSQ is supposed to be a good bone substitute for those who don't want an animal product. Of the nuts fitted to my basses I prefer the graphite one on my Westone which never seems to go out of tune.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1420471158' post='2649674']
I don't play fretless but I've read that ebony is a good choice of material for nuts on fretless basses.
[/quote]
It is, but it would work on any bass. It's a very hard wood, which is good all round.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...