Replacing a nut on a knackered old bass

[TomRandles97]

Back in September I bought a Vox standard bass that had been converted to a fretless. One thing I didn’t realise until it arrived is that the nut had been replaced with none other than a cut down pencil.  Not only that, but the string spacing varies between each string. 

The bass itself is in dire need of a set up, and due to time and money constraints I’ve decided to take this upon myself. The bass has dead spots (notes just seem muted and choked), Mainly between the 7th and 14th frets, mainly on the D and G strings. My first port of call is this makeshift nut. The ‘nut’ is set low to the fingerboard, which in my experience is common with fretless. 

If anyone can recommend anywhere I can get a decent, suitable nut I’d appreciate it. If you don’t think this would cause dead spots I’d be keen to know what could. All google searches I’ve made yield results that are completely circumstantial so I could do with some advice for this particular issue. Below are photos detailing noticeably narrower string spacing between E and A strings. It’s not clear from the other but the nut definitely appears to be a shaped pencil since it has lead running through it. 

Edited November 10, 2018 by TomRandles97

[TomRandles97]

Width of nut is precisely 40mm

[BreadBin]

EBay - Black Dog Music. 

[Grahambythesea]

Change the nut and the strings.

[Pea Turgh]

That’s funny - someone took the graphite thing a bit too literally!

Leave it as it is - it’s a great conversation piece!

[Teebs]

I bought on of these v for a project Aria Pro II Magna:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MADE-JAPAN-High-Quality-Brass/dp/B00IC9QW1C/ref=sr_1_15?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1542014383&sr=1-15&keywords=bass+nut+brass

Seems to be good quality & works a treat. Was posted from Japan & arrived fairly quickly.

I'd replace the nut, add new strings & then set-up. If you've still got dead spots, maybe look at tweaking the truss-rod (if you think it needs it), adjust the bridge.

If all else fails, get a quote for a luthier set-up.

Good luck!

Edited November 12, 2018 by Teebs

[yorks5stringer]

Not sure if a pencil is hard or soft wood but would guess it's not the best material to make a nut with.  If you are handy with a small saw a piece of boiled dog bone makes a good nut if you have the time and patience. Just leave the marrow alone...

[Silvia Bluejay]

Seeing that the neck has dead spots, wouldn't it be advisable to have an adjustable nut like those on Warwicks? I think they can be bought on their own. At least, that way, it's possible to adjust the action at the nut in conjunction with that at the saddles and by tweaking the truss rod.

[Marc S]

Definitely replace the nut. That one Teebs posted a link to looks great.
Re the dead spots - check the neck relief and bridge adjustments. You may need to tweak the truss rod and the bridge saddles to stop the dead spots
But change those strings, and give the bass a good set-up
Best of luck with it. Let us know how you get on

[TomRandles97]

Thank you everyone! I got a new nut and removed the old pencil one. Had to file down the slots a fair bit to bring the strings closer to the neck since it’s been defretted. Also had to lower the saddles almost as low as they can go but it’s sounding much better! The dead spots have almost gone, I just need to get a new set of strings then I think we’ll be reet! I’ve alwas struggled setting up fretless’s for some reason - I’m going to spend a bit of time on this one though

[BreadBin]

Which nut did you go for?

[Guest MoJo]

On 12/11/2018 at 20:06, yorks5stringer said:

If you are handy with a small saw a piece of boiled dog bone makes a good nut if you have the time and patience. Just leave the marrow alone...

Not sure how the dog is going to feel about you taking a saw to one of it's legs.

[Teebs]

11 minutes ago, MoJo said:

Not sure how the dog is going to feel about you taking a saw to one of it's legs.

Barking mad?

[ahpook]

26 minutes ago, MoJo said:

Not sure how the dog is going to feel about you taking a saw to one of it's legs.

Happier than if you took all of them off ?

 

[TomRandles97]

2 hours ago, BreadBin said:

Which nut did you go for?

Just a standard 40mm from black dog music. Cheap and it works fine! 

[therealting]

3 hours ago, TomRandles97 said:

I’ve alwas struggled setting up fretless’s for some reason - I’m going to spend a bit of time on this one though

They are more demanding in terms of getting a good consistent mwah, if that’s what you’re after. Definitely worth having the fingerboard levelled if it isn’t in great shape.