Brass Nut vs. The Others

[vaesto]

Look for the ABM adjustable nut. It is brass and adjustable.

[Steve Dallman]

I've been using brass nuts on and off since the mid 70's. I've gotten more even tones, slightly better sustain, and never had tuning problems, even on Strats. I find brass to be sort of "self-lubricating" and I've also never had problems with brass wearing out, as some reports. Some of my instruments have had the same brass nuts for decades with no problems. If I have a choice, I'll usually use brass, but I'm not as finicky as I age.

[JonKim]

Originally Posted by PlungerModerno

A certain Mr. Sadowsky of the bass and the preamp fame says they give tuning problems. I'd imagine he would know!

See this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSg1...eature=related

At about 37 minutes in!

In all fairness if you want a zero fret 'sound', that's probably the best option. - Like an MTD kingston:

A brass nut may allow you that or very close while keeping the bass stock (or not needing more than a new nut to be stock) - feel free to try it. It's your bass.

I have the newer brass just a nut from Warwick and my warwick stays in tune for weeks

[walterw]

If I had a "mechanical" nut with moving parts like the Warwick, I'd want brass rather than plastic, that's for sure.

[grendle]

go with the brass for open note tone, use a pencil to lube the nut slots, they last forever, enjoy.

[grisezd]

I use brass on everything I build because I have a pile of it I got for free. As a child of the 70s who played a lot of guitar I can tell you that brass nuts were the cool thing to have, the mark of a fine quality instrument, and could stick like crazy and screw up your tuning. Once you got the string in tune with the tension balanced between the playing side and the tuner side you were good for a while. But tweak a string just a little and you were back to the fight. The key to fighting less was to polish the marks from the string windings out of the slot every string change, to cut the slot with a little relief on the tuner side, and to rub with that pencil. Today I use graphite lock cylinder lube powder. Also today I play bass, and I've had far less trouble with bass strings than with guitar strings (esp. a wound G string).

I surely wouldn't pay more for a brass nut, and I second the call for a zero fret. I think I'd actually rather have a zero fret and delrin string guides than a nut.

[tbrannon]

I like the brass nut on my Alembic because it's adjustable. I know others make adjustable brass nuts now, but it's another way to customize action the way you like it or iron out any wrinkles that nature brings as the wood changes seasonally. I've never HAD to adjust the nut to get the desired action, but I could if I wanted/needed.

[PlungerModerno]

Adjustable nuts are a great idea - and if done right are probably great at easing changing setups without replacing nuts. That's my inital reaction anyway.

I'll make a clarification - I've never owned a bass with a brass nut - or an adjustable one.
I just happened to hear a highly regarded luthier mention them recently, who had strong opinions on them - and posted a link on this thread.
I wouldn't see a brass nut as a bad feature in a bass - but I wouldn't install one - at least not before looking at some other materials first. The synthetic bone (plastic?) nut on my main bass is fine, and open strings sound great.
I'm kind of interested in zero frets but haven't been able to find a bass with one to try.