in a week i am about to buy a 5 string. it has a laquered maple fretboard. i like the tone of maple, but i have heard that the nut on this particular bass is.......gasp....plastic. i was wondering which type of material, in a reasonable price range, would sound best.

that was question one, here's number two!

i would tune this thing EADGC, so is there a general fee for slotting(i have no idea if that's the right word) to do that? thank you for your time.