barrycreed Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I have a squier bronco bass, and will hopefully get my hands on an Epi EB0 over the next few months as well. I have all the obvious mods in mind, pickup, bridge, wiring etc, but also looking at whether it's worth upgrading the nuts? I've seen a few modded Epis for sale with brass or aluminium nuts and you can buy ready made Epi ones online. In any case, worth upgrading the nuts on these two models? I assume stock nuts are plastic, and not sure if it would make a whole lot of difference either way. I had a Dano guitar with an aluminium (I think) nut, and I liked it. Pretty resonant guitar for a "cheap" guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Not sure it'll do much except the open notes. I hear brass makes it sound more like a fretted note, which I guess makes sense. Aluminium I'd have thought would dump more of the string energy into the neck, but I think the consensus is that the difference will be minimal. I'd be interested to see how it goes if you do. I think it's one of those things that individually don't make a lot of difference but cumulatively make a bass feel good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cribbin Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Think it was the 80's when brass nuts became the next great thing. That fad lasted 5 minutes, tells you all you need to know about brass nuts .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrycreed Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) I'll keep the brass nuts to the cold weather and myself then. Bone nut it is! Edited October 27, 2020 by barrycreed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowMoFo Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 On 27/10/2020 at 14:09, barrycreed said: I'll keep the brass nuts to the cold weather and myself then. Bone nut it is! Have you considered a tusq nut Barry? I ask only because bone, being organic, has variable density throughout, meaning the response can vary across the nut. Ibanez use tusq for their higher-end models. It’s a bit like carbon fibre, but uniformly denser, and is pre-impregnated with graphite so it’s permanently lubricated. Graph-Tech make & supply them to different sizes & configurations for most neck widths. Just a thought... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I used to have a Japanese-made ESP Horizon guitar that had a woven-graphite nut. It was incredibly cool, totally unlike any other graphite nut I have seen. Just multiple densely packed laminates of woven carbon fibre, well lubricated and smooth, and the open strings rang with a beautiful clarity. I've never seen another one like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrycreed Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 1 hour ago, LeftyJ said: I used to have a Japanese-made ESP Horizon guitar that had a woven-graphite nut. It was incredibly cool, totally unlike any other graphite nut I have seen. Just multiple densely packed laminates of woven carbon fibre, well lubricated and smooth, and the open strings rang with a beautiful clarity. I've never seen another one like it. So maybe graphite might be a better option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowMoFo Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 9 hours ago, barrycreed said: So maybe graphite might be a better option? It may well be. I guess it comes down to personal preference. I’ve not seen a single negative review of tusq nuts. That said, I have an 80s Westone bass with a brass nut, and I love the nut/strings/pup combination. On the flip side of that, I once read: “If brass was any good for nuts, it would be used on violins.” I guess maybe try one of each, idk. Hope you find what you’re looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, LowMoFo said: I once read: “If brass was any good for nuts, it would be used on violins.” Don't violins mostly have wooden nuts? Makes sense on a fretless instrument, since it matches the tone of the fingerboard. The fretless Sandberg Bullet 5 I once owned had a rosewood nut too for this reason. Edited October 29, 2020 by LeftyJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I prefer my nuts to be of flesh and blood. To each their own, just be aware that it'll affect your ability to reproduce if you go through with this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrycreed Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share Posted October 30, 2020 On 29/10/2020 at 03:01, LowMoFo said: Have you considered a tusq nut Barry? I ask only because bone, being organic, has variable density throughout, meaning the response can vary across the nut. Ibanez use tusq for their higher-end models. It’s a bit like carbon fibre, but uniformly denser, and is pre-impregnated with graphite so it’s permanently lubricated. Graph-Tech make & supply them to different sizes & configurations for most neck widths. Just a thought... No I had not considered one but would have no problem trying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Honestly if the existing nut functions as it should I would leave it as is , a brass nut will only affect the tone of open strings, even then it is debateable, brass does look good though 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Given the choice I'd have brass on all my basses. It may be "The Emperor's clothes" but I'm convinced you get better sustain and tones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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