Broken Nut?

Wade10987 · #1 01-12-2012, 01:06 PM

I have a Squier P Bass I made into a fretless, and now I am ready to do the finishing touches and get it set up.

The plastic nut broke clean in half when I removed it. There is no chipped or cracked plastic. It actually looks perfect and seamless if I hold it together or push it back into its groove on the neck.
If I glue it back in place, will that clean break affect sustain or overall tone? This bass has a Badass Bass II bridge, DiMarzio DP127s and a Seymour Duncan Hot Jazz pickup in the bridge spot. With all that tone and output will the nut really matter? If I DO upgrade, though, I will probably get bone from Stew Mac or Ebay. Thoughts?

Jay2U · #2 01-12-2012, 04:28 PM

From your writing I understand that the nut didn't break at a notch. So the two pieces are of about the same size. If that's the case I wouldn't bother at all. Just glue them in place. You won't notice any difference.
You may want to lower the strings on the nut-side, as there aren't frets anymore. It's a great opportunity to modify this broken nut, as you've got nothing to lose. Normally I file each notch of a nut so that a distance of 0.6 mm (0.022") remains between the strings and the first fret. Without frets you can go lower.

NicJimBass · #3 01-12-2012, 04:30 PM

Super glue the nut back together, then glue it back in. I did this with a bass when the nut broke on the outside of the B string. As long as you let the glue dry, it should be just fine.

rockerjeff · #4 01-12-2012, 08:08 PM

If it were my bass, and if it were in my budget, then I would treat this as an opportunity to buy and install a premium nut. I don't prefer spending the required time of cleaning the nut shelf, gluing/repairing the broken plastic nut, and re-setting the string action to ultimately have a bass with an inexpensive nut. My favorite nut material lately has been GraphTech Black TUSQ XL (widely available for under $15.00, shipped) and here's why: http://www.graphtech.com/kbase.html?ArticleID=39

Growly Lytes · #5 01-12-2012, 08:42 PM

Maybe rockerjeff has the way to go here.If you dont have funds or are worried about doing the work on a new nut yourself well just superglue the original & it will be fine but Rockerjeff has a good idea.Graphite is good you can even go for a brass nut which will have a good effect on open notes.