How To Choose Your Guitar Nut
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- These are my Favorite Nuts amzn.to/2WcEyN3
How To Choose Your Guitar Nut
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These are the Nut files I use for those that were asking during the premeire amzn.to/2IS9JoQ
I love how you really break down these topics. In the modern time full of connectivity and information it’s a lot easier to gain a huge perspective and start overlapping that experience to form actual truth and dispel myth. Great job Dylan.
Thank You
For That Info,
Much Appreciated.
Good video. On my electrics (strat, tele & Les Paul custom) I use tusq nuts (string trees & saddles as well) and couldn’t be happier with it. All stay in tune very well, harmonics and everything is superb.
One of my favourite guitars is my jcx strat copy, I've had it 12 years and it was my first electric guitar, it still has the original plastic nut and plays great, I also have an 80s strat copy with what looks like the original plastic nut which also plays/sounds great, it also has the original p'ups and a plywood body! It's my main gigging guitar too :)
A couple of weeks ago, my guitar tutor was swapping between bone, tusq and plastic as part of his ever ongoing quest of tone. Having heard the 3 of them I can say that the bone was the worst, it sounded very dull. TUSQ was pretty good but it had a bit too much high frequencies and the plastic one was the most balanced of the three. That's my personal experience with nut material.
I’m a fan of bone and tusq but I have to admit my micarta nut on one of my guitars is fantastic. Gorgeous nut
Coincidently, I'm just about to finish re-fretting my 20yr old strat neck, and I'm going to use a Graph Tech nut on it too. Never tried them before, but I'm glad to hear that you recommend them.
Awesome backdrop and setting for your video. Looks awesome.
I know you said acoustic guitars are different, but for what it's worth I used to have a Taylor K14c that came stock with a plastic nut I believe. I sent it back to the factory once for them to add electronics and a bone nut to it, and I can tell you the bone made a huge difference in tone. It made the guitar much more "alive" sounding and a bit brighter, stronger. I loved it.
Great content, Dylan. thank u❤
Thanks, Dylan. You are a voice of reason in a fanatical tone world. I keep asking, though, what is the deal with triple coil pickups? How does the third coil affect the hum factor?
I just installed brass neck nut, brass saddle, and brass pins on my Martin. However, it is thought to file and adjust brass compared from plastic, bone or graphite nuts. I do recommend doing this if you really like to make your acoustic more brighter and add more sustain but it is definitely a pain work with brass. On my electric guitars I always use graphite nut and I never have a problem. It does helps to lubricare your strings tension, keeps in tune your guitar longer than other nuts. Definitely recommend to use graphite on the electric guitars. Good topic and discussion Dylan. Keep it up!
"Tusq and bone you can't tell the difference really". Well, I know I can't. That's why I've been using Tusq lately. I can't hear the difference, don't have to deal with the stink, they come in pre-slotted and pre-shaped sizes for most common guitars (which really cuts down on the work), and are self lubricating. It's a no brainer.
These are exactly the reasons I use TUSQ nuts and recommend them to my customers.
Yes sir, we are living in the A.D. period too, if I am not mistaken. Still, some folks are fond of the "paleo" nuts for whatever reasons. Does bone even last longer(?) I just today was wondering?
TUSQ is not self lubricating, it needs to be “TUSQ XL” or “Black TUSQ XL” in order to provide the lubrication - these are the *only* “models”/materials that actually have PTFE (Teflon) impregnated into its polymers
Just a pro tip is all 👍
Cheers
@Club Soda From a grave?
My 2004 Squier Stratocaster I am finally going to learn to play and the original nut was always horrible. I got Graphtech to tell me which one is a drop in replacement, but I don't know what height to make the bottom of the slots to the top of the first fret as? Once I get that done I can do the rest of the adjustments as I have the tools for that arriving tomorrow but the nut height I can't get a definite answer too. I know the TusQ XL 5010 is about 3-3.4mm taller and 2mm wider but the rest is drop in replacement. I don't want to have to touch the slots at all and they said I don't need to but what height?
Nice info. Thanks 👍.
i have now seen a couple of your videos great job very interesting
I got a neck with a hallow plastic on it. Finally got around to making an axe master nut fit. Made a huge difference. I've changed solid plastics for synthetic bone (whatever that is really) that tinkled better than plastic and also made a difference in holding the energy. I have two with graphite and are good. Bought a tusk but haven't tried it yet.
Big fan of high quality nuts and have upgraded. However my one guitar has a cheap micarta nut and I like it so I didn’t change it.
good point on the variety of density in bone. I cut my blanks from actual bones I get from the butcher. A lot of that raw material consists of spungy, fat containing bone. and yes, dense bone blanks don't need to be coloured white, they are white.
I’ve def put graphite nuts in guitars with tremolo’s and appreciated the increased tuning stability. The nut in my PRS S2 is some proprietary graphite nut and the timing is spot on 100% with its trem system. My PRS Angelus has a bone nut and I had it slotted and set up correctly and it’s beautiful and lush. I did swap out the plastic bridge pins for a set of Tusq bins and it seemed to brighten or add some sparkle to the guitar. I agree with Dylan that most well-made guitars are tuned/setup for the material that suits them best.
Excellent video. I couldn't agree more.
I always wonder why zero frets, brass, or some kind of metallic material isnt more popular because of the fact that open strings definately sound different than fretted strings.
I am not an expert, I think zero fret is on the same level as the rest of the frets, and it can wear off faster than the rest of the frets, and when it wears just a little bit the string will be behind the first fret. I don't know, I think fret is harder to replace and it would wear off faster.
The nut has little more space for wearing off and made of elastic materials. But on the other hand zero fret would sound the same as all other frets.
I had few brass nuts and they have sounded similar to the rest of the frets, but they wear off really fast. Like G goes quickly under the first fret.
@bro Cetta good answer to a question I was thinking of asking. But, would a stainless steel zero fret solve or at least help with that?
A difference in response from an open string could be a good thing.
@@michaelcottle6270 I don't have any experience with it. Maybe someone experienced as Dylan could tell. It can be more durable. I like the idea of the zero fret because it solves the problem of sharp notes at first few frets. But if the nut is well made it can be good without sharp notes. One solution is compensated nut.
@@andymellor9056 I agree, it is good to try different types and decide what most suits you best.
Really valuable information for me, btw this wooden finish on telecaster looks awesome.
Ive used about every nut material from actual ivory (vintage martin still had the original nut), to titanium, and even wood nuts. They all sound different whether its mild or extreme, but my favorite is tusq cause it sounds super close to bone but is more stable. Titanium nuts are cool too cause they basically never wear down, and there adjustable. Nylon nuts can be good if cut right and lubricated properly. Which is really the best is hard to say, because its entirely personal preference. I like graphtech tusq cause it takes forever to wear down, and it self lubricates.
I like them all. Lately I’ve been enjoying a nut made out of micarta. Gorgeous nut
Dude I love the ground you cover super informative. Keep it up. Is deer antler the same as bone?
The other thing is that people grossly underestimate how much the nut can affect intonation & tuning stability if it’s not just right. I’ve had techs recommend all types of different remedies for these problems when the problem was the nut all along. Often when people think there’s a problem with their tuners it’s the nut. When you intonate your saddles but the intonation is still way off on the lower frets, it is probably the nut.
When I was working as a product design engineer, I used a plastic called Ryton PPS (polyphenylene sulfide). I chose it because the application required it to retain its strength at temperatures around 300°F or so. One of its characteristics was that if you dropped a sample on a desk it would 'ring' almost like glass. I've always wondered how it would do as a guitar nut (or saddle on an acoustic guitar), since it was so hard and resonant. Don't know about lubricity though. It was a relatively expensive plastic and needed properly controlled processing to get its best performance.
That's the new business, in the tone world, we need! That stuff is like $400 for a 12x24x0.25 piece...
I use bone for non-vibrato guitars like my Gibsons, and on my some of my older vintage acoustics. I definitely prefer tusq or graphite for any vibrato bridge equipped guitar. I like the way bone looks and enjoy its varying striations on my Les Pauls, etc. Bone certainly is porous and not as consistent as man made materials but that's why I still dig it on non-vibrato bridge instruments. There's a very good reason why Bob Taylor uses tusq, and PRS graphite like our man Dylan tells us-function and consistency!
This week I read that metal springs for mounting pickups would sound better than the rubbers Fender is curently using. Does it make relevant difference to make a change like that?
I put a black graphite nut on a Squier Telecaster and it sounds amazing , the rhythms sound is real warm and the leads really scream out but that's the only guitar I ever had one installed on . Now that have the time and money plan to install more on the rest of my other guitars .
03/16/2020: Hi Dylon. I am a beginner guitar player, and watch your videos. I love that you are on the road in your mobile home and still teaching. Would you mind telling your viewers where you are at each time you move? Such as what state and name of the lake in this video? Oh, it would be cool to do a fast camera scan of the area too ... anyway, I love your videos! Tom, in Orlando Florida (74 years old retired LEO).
Dylan, about a year and a half ago, I got a pawnshop prize called a Peavey Raptor Plus EXP. This is a really cheap Strat-oid that had a worn-out plastic nut when I got it. I made one miss and one hit when buying its replacement. I measured incorrectly and got some cheap bone nuts that turned out to be to short to get the strings' action right. I measured better the second time, and was able to get a properly-sized nut at my local Guitar Center. The replacement was graphite and fit so well that I didn't dare remove it after the test fit for fear I'd break it! Needless to say, tuning stability was a challenged under these conditions, but I've used a number of tricks that have worked together well enough that I don't feel the need to spare the vibrato. There was a small difference in sustain and tone after the replacement, but I wouldn't say that the difference was particularly important. Getting the new nut did, however, prepare the axe for a fret job, and that DID make a particularly important difference in sustain and tone. After that, I let the nut "wear in" for a while. That plus the many other things I did to that guitar have made that guitar a monster!😎
You're right when you say that many things come together to create a guitar's tone and sustain. Many things work well as nut materials, which is good as it's simpler: Get one of the good nut materials, fit and cut it well, and you'll have something.😎❤️️🎸‼️
I put a Graph Tech Tusq XL nut on my Strat, and it seems to be working/sounding fine, but I noticed when I cut the slots that it's hard to cut them "clean"; that is, rather than the material falling off (like bone would, in dust form) I get some "flashing" left. Not sure how to remove it cleanly without affecting the slot. Sorry if this is confusing, but if it's happened to you, you know what I mean. Any tips for sanding/filing that material?
Just finished watching this video as I am getting ready to replace the nut in my strat LOL. I've already done it once with a zero glide nut (zero fret style nut), and have used it for years, but I was never happy with the narrow string space slotting on it, and I have developed a groove on the fret in the G and B string positions that is pinging and just keeps coming back after I polish it out. If the string space was the same as a normal fender and a more durable stainless steel fret was used I would probably be totally happy with it, but I'm going with a Graphtek tusq XL this time around.
Any thoughts out there on roller nuts ? I know it's kinda crazy to do a roller nut on and existing traditional nut slot, but maybe in the case of a replacement neck or new guitar build project????
I make bone nuts for all of my guitars. Solid, very dense, air dried. I have been making bone nuts for my guitars for about 30 years. I also make compensated bone bridges for my acoustics.
thing is...even the weakest part of a bone nut should be denser than any piece of tusq or plastic. also, bone looks and feels beautiful from an aesthetic pov
I got a bone nut put on my Squire P bass. The repair man did a good job and it looks more elegant than the original stock bone nut.
I’m also getting a bone nut for my Epiphone to replace the Corian nut. It probably might not make a difference but I like that hand carved bone vibe mojo. It’s the idea of something custom made for me.
Just picked up replacement nuts for my 2 Squiers(2000 and 2007 models). First one was cut wrong but was solid plastic. Second one was cut correctly but was semi hollow. Both were white...which I didn't like. So, bought two black Tusq XL with the string trees. I really like the looks of the black with my guitars. Tone?....I haven't had them on long enough to tell a difference. But, doubt it is too significant. Thanks for the video!
Man! This video is nuts!
Hey Dylan, I've watched your video content and I've got to say that it's very cool and informative; I've learnt a lot.
I have a question for you what can you say about guitar nuts made of nylon like the 1959 Gibson Les Pauls had back in the day?
Dylan, Gibson used Nylon 6/6 for nuts in the Fifties until around 1964. The up side to the Nylon 6/6 is that it is somewhat self- lubricating. The reason Gibson went to Nylon saddles in 1960 was they got complaints that their guitars were too bright sounding. They did use bone saddles for a few months in the Tune-O-Matic’s before the Nylon was made. The down side of Nylon saddles is it’s slightly darker than brass saddles. The German company ABM/Muller makes some wonderful Bell Brass T-o-M bridges and Stoptails that increase the resonance of your guitar.
I have an ESP LTD AX-50 and has plastic nut.
It works good with 10 - 46 strings.
But for a change I switched to 9 - 42 strings and all headache started with intonation. And it needed buffer behind nut even after using graphite for lubrication of nut for keeping a steady intonation in addition to increasing the action all the way high to avoid fret buzz near 1, 2 frets.
Any thoughts? Yes, I am switching back to 10 - 46 soon.
thank u 4 the deep explanation
I've installed about 3 ,stock Fender packaged pre slotted nuts, in a couple Teles, one Squier Strat, I've been pretty much pleased with the results, can't imagine being a lot better, what I like is they're pre slotted and pleked , rounded and fairly finished on top, not a lot of work to do there, my concern is, on the bottom of the nut, you have 3 contact points; center and two ends, does make fairly easy to sand down to height. Now is this designed any better in a tonal sense than if it were solid, or is there not a big difference from a totally solid nut?
Dylan you come off as up beat, very happy, and totally rejuvenated. You must have lowered your stress and it's obvious you love the new lifestyle. Good for you man.
lol. I'm pretty low stress normally. I go through phases where the online audience affects me. The PRS fanboys got me a bit annoyed.... I'm over it lol.
@@DylanTalksTone , I wasn't implying something was off with you, you just seem to have something extra now.
I'm with you 100% on PRS. I'm excited to see the lace sensor dissection.
You rock, I love the content.
My 50th anniversary Strat came with an LSR roller nut which has a metal frame (not sure of the type of metal - looks like cast steel) with two tiny ball bearings on either side of each string. I doubt it'll ever wear out. But what's interesting, the adjustment is done with shims under the metal frame. I once thought of replacing it with a graphite, thinking it would be a better transfer of energy from the string to the neck. But haven't done so as I'm really ok with the tone anyway - I never play open chords.
I wore out a cheap plastic nut on a $300 bass in like a year. Every string change my action was lower lol
I appreciate your comments about bone and tusq. I recently had a set-up done on my acoustic with tusq nut and saddle. We replaced the tusq saddle with bone because the treble e was cutting into the tusq. Maybe I will have the same problem with bone.
Love the nylon nuts on the gibson customs.
Cool video, my favorite is the graphtech guitar nut, it just sounds the best to my ears. My second favorite is the brass guitar nut, it rings louder unplugged and brightens up the sound a bit. Deez are the nutz!
A long time ago I had the nut replaced on my MIM Strat with a Tusq and love it. It seems to stay in tune better even with the tremolo. I also have a PRS SE Custom 24 that I had to have the nut repaired for the High E string and have been thinking about replacing it because of the repair. It still plays and sounds good, but for some reason I feel that I should just replace it, maybe with a Graphtec or another Tusq, what are your thoughts? Great video!!
They’re all good. My one guitar has a nut made from micarta. It seems to work great.
I bought a used squire Jazz Bass and it had a semi hollow plastic nut I replaced it with bleached bone nut blank and it made a difference if vibration flowing throughout the body
My Danelectro Dead on 67 has some kind of alloy nut. It does seem to be "tuned" to the instrument, and kind of like (to brass) what plastics are to bone? I can't judge it realistically because I have a very biased love for that guitar.
Thanks Dylan. I was waiting for this one....So a guitar has strings resting between a bridge(saddles) and a nut. In between those 2 points are 22-24 other Nuts called “frets”. Unless I’m playing “A Horse With no Name” all day I am doing 98% of the playing between the frets and a bridge. So my choice for a guitar nut rests on reliability. Tusq and graphite are my favorite.
Fantastic video
Dylan, I just got a ESP LTD Volsung (Lars from Rancid signature guitar) and the nut looks super cheap. Trying to figure out what I should get. Any help?
Thoughts on the Earvana setup tusq nuts? Seems like it still matters after we fret a note by compensating pressure on both sides of the string? Intonation on both ends of the string I guess? Thanks! Great vid!
Do you have any experience or opinions on the Guyker adjustable brass nut? There are two types, one you can only adjust the two ends of the nut and the other can adjust each individual string. I'm leaning towards the one that only adjusts the two ends since it's a solid nut. I checked their website and it looks like they discontinued the solid nut design.
I've replaced several nuts with Tusq pre cut ones with wider string spacing. I sanded the bottom to adjust for height and don't even own any nut saws.
I got cheap guitars with an average light plastic nuts. On electric - I replaced with brass - on acoustic I replaced with bone. They are bigger sounding and more musical to my ear. Tusq would be fine - however I found that bone blank is cheaper - and I did not have a problem with unevenness.
I think the light plastic is fine like the corian and micrata types. As long as they are durable and not fragile, plastic is probably great in its own different way.
Hey Dylan, thanks for the rundown on nuts and nut materials. Very helpful and informative. I have no biases about nut material, but the basics you outline here really clarify the downside of bone nuts, and the advantage of graphite for strats with tremolos and Bigsby equipped guitars. Density matters.
With the recent passing of Jeff Beck I've seen more videos of his playing and guitars. Can you tell from looking what material the nuts on his guitars are made from? Just curious. . .not that I'll ever play like him. . .🙄
What about fender's "synthetic bone" nuts? They put them on mims and American premium models. Do you know if this "synthetic bone" is cheap plastic or some sort of tusq? Thank you!
I went my own way and put a titanium nut in my custom Strat build,. the guitar is brighter than before nut also has mor elow frequencies coming through as well. a little louder over all
One other consideration is a ZERO nut, which uses a thin piece of slotted, bone nut only used for the string spacing, and half a thickness of fretwire, which I have installed one in a Tele, and must say am very pleased. Kit comes with a few different fretwire heights to choose from. Very little difference in sound from an open chord to a fretted chord or note.
"If it works, then forget about it" total antithesis of the vintage tone freak, but so true. I have a Classic Vibe '60s Strat with a bone nut and it stays in tune beautifully. The only nitpick I have with it is the saddles and their height adjustment screws.
Other than that, it's a great guitar, snobs be damned! I've replaced the pups 'cause my music room is SUPER noisy, with what I won't say, 'cause you don't like 'em, but they work for me so far (replaced before I found your site, I wouldn't have bought them if I'd seen your review of them).
Keep up the good work, science beats 'mojo' every day. :)
I could've sworn I posted this already but here it is anyway. I replaced the nut on my first guitar, a Silvertone SS10 strat clone, because low E was cut too low and I thought it was plastic. Turns out it was exactly the same as what I replaced it with, a GraphTech Black Tusq XL nut. I only figured that out about a week ago and I changed the nut about 3 months ago.
I use 12-60 strings on my strat and 11-56 on my SG and Flying V.
I was leaning towards bone nuts but thinking about you comment on bone being porous I wonder if heavier gauge strings would actually wear that material down quicker.
Really interesting video, I was definitely one of the bone fanatics but now that your comments have got me thinking about the reality of the materials I am starting to think otherwise.
I bought a brand new Jackson Pro Series Misha Mansoor Juggernaut a couple of months ago, and right out of the box, it will not stay in tune after any kind of bends. The nut is plastic. Misha Mansoor's USA version of the same guitar has the TUSQ nut. Is it the nut? Is it the Jackson locking tuners and nut? What would you suggest doing first?
I've made exactly one nut in my lifetime, for a Hamer bass. The reason is that I did not like the spacing of the nut that was on it. I used bone, because the dimensions (mainly the thickness) of the blank I found on Stewmac were exactly what I needed, and while I was mostly satisfied with the results (definitely happier with it than the old one), one thing I noticed is that I had a hard time keeping the slots centered on the desired spacing as I filed the string grooves. I wonder now if this is because of the non-uniform nature of what is, after all, a natural material. Sort of like a chisel wanting to follow the grain of wood. Also the smell - ugh!
I'd thought about using a Tusq nut, but at the time I thought they didn't make the blank that I need, which is the one that is commonly "for Martin guitars" - about 2-3/16" x 7/16" x 1/4". However, I see now that they do - the PQ-4025-00. So I'm going to try again (I have two other Hamer basses I'd like to make the same improvement on).
Keep the videos coming! I always learn something.
Thanks! That was very helpful. I never thought about nut this way: if you play electric, be that rhythm chords or soloing, you usually do not play open strings, since power chords and barred chords are EASY ok electric guitar neck, and when you solo.. well, you fret :)
So I've got one of those cheap Ibanez Gio 7 strings kind of as an impulse buy. It's got plenty of problems that are a couple 5 minute fixes and quick swaps I might eventually get to but it can be tricky to keep in tune. I'm unsure as to whether this problem originates from the nut or the strings which I also have yet to change
"Keep it below PG13 tho, we're talking about nuts here", nice pun LOL
I changed all my plastic nuts on Gibson-style headstocks with Tusq as well as added a string butler to each one (about $50 - $70 per guitar depending on options). Cannot speak to whether or not the tone is any different, my primary gripe was the inability to stay in tune after doing a full bend, especially on the G and B strings. The 2 with Bigsby's still need graphite-coated bridge saddles to help fix this problem. Basically a bad headstock design by Gibson, otherwise I love these instruments. Another reason to build your own or buy used and then upgrade.
If it was previously a corian or micarta nut it probably sounds the same as tusk or bone. The expensive Heritage guitars use corian nuts so I assume it’s probably a good material
I agree that if it is working, leave it alone. That said when I make nuts (fairly often) I use camel bone. It is a very good material and finishes well. It is more about getting the slots cut correctly and getting it smooth and polished. I use the polishing cord that StewMac sells for the slots after I cut them. Nut goes through the same sanding and polishing procedure that I use on my guitar finish. When I am done it looks more like glass than bone.
It is a fair amount of work but I get years of trouble free performance. Not sure how many years as I have not replaced one yet.
Hey Dylan, a question which bugs me for a long time, and i did not find a consensus with the answer. Regarding loss of energy. Is it good or bad for electric guitar to sound loud unplugged? Is the feel of guitar vibrating good? Many guys in guitar stores say that first you should listen how guitar sounds and vibrates unplugged. And louder/more vibration and is better.
Have you ever used a Fender LSR nut?
Installed one?
Used it?
What's the dealio D?
One thing I like about plastic nuts is that they "turn off" the sound of the strings in the air. For me, I usually use chords in combination with certain strings in the air and when sounding more muted, and in combination with some saddles of brass, it makes the chords sound brighter and the notes in the air sound like a complement to what I do with my fingers. good video, chears!
Chris at highline guitars uses water buffalo horn. But you consider that the same problems as bone?
Thanks
I use bone primarily but also Tusq. Never had an issue with bone and like you said once you fret a note it's a non issue. We're talking 6 possible tone differences out of thousands. But if a person can hear the difference between nine volt batteries in their floor pedals like EJ then it could be a big problem. I've been thinking about putting Earvana nuts on all my guitar builds. I need to look them up and see what material they use.
My home built bitsocaster has had a graphite nut for over 30 years. Sounds great to me and helps the tuning stability with my Kahler. I took off the Kahler's locking nut because I just didn't get on with it and I'm not a dive bomber so I don't need the extra help.
Great episode...A good nut can make the diference. I bought and installed temporari a graph tech tusq nut (without pfte impregnated) in my strat. and at time i bought a graph tech xl tusq nut (with pfte impregnated).. Never have installed the nut with pfte.. Tusq nut (without pfte) works perfect for me.
ahh i can listen a diference on tone between a bad plastic and a tusk or bone nut...more in acoustic guitars... for me afected the tone, and more the functionallity obiously..
thanks for the little sit down on nuts
What are the nut implications of an Evertune bridge? I ask because high end LTD guitars with the factory installed Evertune all use a molded nylon nut, but the same company's ESP guitars with Evertune us a graphite nut.
Hi Dylan, The background noise from the motor boat was no problem, it was still easy to hear you.
I remember I changed the nut on my Epiphone Les Paul Zakk Wylde, from the stock plastic to a Tusq and what a difference. The sound is much more transparent and crisp. The sound was actually quite different for mine. Especially when you do artificial harmonics (pinch harmonics) they seem to leap off the fretboard. I couldn't believe the difference.
I've always been wanting to do a roller nut.
Charles B
Had roller nuts also in mind. But cancelled, it has too many moving parts, that can cause weird ringing and buzzing😏
@@lone-wolf-1 yeah I can see that. Their was another RUclipsr that swore by them, he use to be a touring tech of sorts. I can't remember his name , but I can probably dig it up. His theories make sense too, it was more about letting the strings move freely and return to zero again without catching or hanging up .
I had a broken plastic nut in my Epiphone Les Paul Special and replaced it with bone. It was a pain to file and sand it and I was lucky the material was uniform. Next time I replace a nut, it will be Graph Tech TUSQ
Are you gonna go for the quintessential 81/85 for the active pickup video?
I was going to change my nut on my MIM Players strat for the hell of it. I guess not.
Thanks!
I really like metal nuts. You get the same sound from open strings compared to fretted.
I have heard bone, plastic, and TusqXL but never a metal nut. Plastic was the worse with TusqXL very audibly different when playing using a blind test (unlike what this guy is saying). Metal I would love to hear and I suspect it gives a metalic sound to it? Just guessing.
@@generalawareness101 "I heard..." famous last words of a snake oil salesman...
@@airgliderz Tell you what I just put on a TusQXL 5010 and OMG, what a difference it made. I still haven't seen a metal nut. Wonder what it would be made out of? If the metal is too soft it would wear down lickety split. I suspect there is no such thing. Oh, and another thing with a metal nut and that is dissimilar metals will corrode each other (Galvanic corrosion) and damn fast too, so I think there is no such beast made by, or used by, any reputable guitar maker.
Brass is definitely a winner for me, I got a hybrid guitar I put together les paul special shape guitar with a strat style neck and trem with one in. Plays like a dream. You play it unamped and it still sounds good.
@@ruka5805 building my own LP style guitar, I carved out the back so it is comfy like a strat and modified where the neck connects to make it easier to play on high notes like a strat plus changed that awful Les Paul headstock straightened it out so its head won't pop off (breakoff at scarf joint) hate les Paul's necks and the awful uncomfortable back of the body squared off flat surfaces.
HI Dylan ! What you will say about domestic cow horn ( tusk , as you mentioned ) ?
Wondering if a bass nut would work well on a gretsch with a tremolo or if it will wear quickly.
I think plastic like you said is fine if it's working. If a replace a nut i use both tusq and graphite. I just recently used bone and i'm just not digging it and i'm thinking of changing it out. You need to do a video on saddle materials next.
So why is a Graphite Nut good for a Tremolo arm ?
Im getting a vibrato system put on my tele so I'm very Intrigued. Thanks Dylan.
All good comments on nuts Dylan. We had an old luthier who taught me to make a nut at age 13, in 1969, and it turned out to be ivory. Obviously illegal today , and I had a Fender Heavy pick made of ivory. Both great but wrong in a moral sense.
Being an igorant kid i just bought what i thought was best at the time.
I enjoyed this video and would've liked to see the guitar - looks like a shade of Mahogany like I'm building a Les Paul jr. out of ATM.
Good advice on nuts. Cheers. Terry from Oz.
An ivory nut would be great if it’s an old stock from a 100 years ago before the problems
I used to put Mother of Pearl nut on cheap strat , i felt it bring out some brilliance tone and brighten up open strings , pretty nice , wanna try put it on Fender someday
I’ve been sold on tusk from the first time I tried it. I have a fender roller nut I want to try but it’s installation requires modification to the nut area on the neck, removing wood in other words. So I have been hesitant on that until I feel confident I wont screw it up. lol… Nice lake view btw. Do any fishing?
finally my local shop is selling Graphtech TUSQ XL white nuts for Yamaha Pacifica! (Ive got 5 Yamahas...)🤓
I have one original plastic spare and a black Tusq XL, now ordered two white Tusq XLs, perfect measurements!!
I tune very low with 9-sets so I think Ive got nuts for life!!!!! ( same goes for frets! and I use DUNLOP 65 String Cleaner/Conditioner for the strings, and its also good for fret polishing after the string handling!🤓
I picked up an epi LP special GT brand new on a deal. The pickups have ceramic 8 magnets and are fairly hot but muddy and the Nut must have been cut with a piece of broken glass. It was also the only white thing on the entire guitar. it's all flat black so I bought a black precut tusq nut. aside from sanding the bottom down it was a perfect swap. This guitar has a 6point trem so instead of swapping in new pickups I bought a direct fit upgrade with a big brass block... WOW the difference in tone is huge. Now it sounds too harsh though so it looks like i'll be getting a new set of humbuckers. know where I can score a 4 wire, hot rod set with alnico V magnets?
I absolutely agree with you. I had a plastic nut on one guitar, it broke while changing strings, although it served it's purpose for more than ten years on that cheap Strat type guitar, no intonation, tuning or buzzing problems. Since it's a tremolo guitar, I replaced it with a graphite nut, and I can say as well - it might be the best solution for guitars with tremolo, there are no problems with guitar staying in tune, it lubricates itself and is very sturdy! Absolutely worst experience I had with bone nuts, they are so uneven and inconsistent, it is only for "authentic guitar purists", as I think all modern technology surpassed what people had to use before - they didn't have a better choice than bone. Plus using animal products is unnecessary nowadays. I have a guitar with bone nut that couldn't stay in tune because the high E end of it was just too soft. I am about to replace this nut soon with a graphite one, although now I am considering to try brass one, since it is the only one I never tried!
What are you thoughts on Brushed-chrome LSR roller nuts?
How bout floyd locking nut it's metal material right? So is it the same as brass nut?
My tele doesn't have brass saddles, do you think I could compensate that by putting in a brass nut?
I‘m late, I know.
With a brass nut you“ll compensate just a little (maybe 15%) . But it’s a good starting point. If you add brass saddles later you get all of what brass can offer : more sustain, more high mids and heights, overall more overtones even on the wound strings. But: it can also be „too much“... depends on your sound preference.
My kit build tele (with Fender noiseless N3) needed a new nut because the cheap plastic got a crack. And because I missed bit of sustain and high frequencies I had chosen steel nut, leaving the saddles as they where. Later on I did replaced them too with brass. Quite a difference. It‘s ringing and singing wonderful, but almost too bright now. Somehow I think it would’ve just been perfect with brass saddles and a bone or tusq nut...
It’s a good thing replacing parts just one at a time, to notice its speciffic influence.
Cheers
I broke the nut on my Mex Strat (I tried pushing the low E down into the slot and it cracked). I replaced it with a tusq nut and I swear it sounded fuller/better.
Hi There,
I had to replace my nut the other day and I ordered a tusk nut simply because I live in South Africa and our music shops don't stock a variety of different types and you basically have the option Tusk or Bone and this was for my Strat with a vintage trem on it so I thought Tusk would be a good option however after 3 weeks they still did not have my nut so I just asked them to make me a Bone nut, when I went to collect my guitar they told me that they only used Giraffe bone for making nuts because it was denser than normal cattle bone and of course is much better then a normal bone nut and so that is how my guitar ended up with a Giraffe bone nut and I must also add that from the first note I could hear a big difference in the tone it was much brighter a lot more twangy if that makes any sense.
Anyway keep putting out the vids and greetings from South Africa
PS Love your view from your office :)