Fender P nut lowering?

[Ray-Vigo]

The nut on my P bass seems to run high-- the action off the first fret is pretty far up there. What is the suggested course for this-- lowering the nut? I'm guessing this would be a file-down job.(?) Should I file the slots on the top, or file the bottom of the nut? I have another P bass with a nut I could compare to, should I use that as a template? I'm really looking just to improve the action and then do a basic set up.

[Btone]

I bought four of these in the right sizes - IMO you really can't do without them if you want to experiment with nut grooves. Great tool. Every bass player that do his own setup should have these.

Then buy some nuts, precut or uncut - and have fun.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_sa...&xst=3&xsr=561

[AuntieBeeb]

Hur hur! Your nuts are too high!

Erm...yes, but you might want to file the pockets down a bit.

[Ric5]

Many basses come from the factory with the nut cut too high.

I wish more basses had adjustable nuts.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by Ric5

Many basses come from the factory with the nut cut too high.

I wish more basses had adjustable nuts.

Almost all of them come too high. It's simple math. Cutting a nut CORRECTLY (not just the height, but the slot width, downward angle, clean break off the front, etc.) is pretty easy, but very time-consuming. And while it can be easy to get it 95% right, that final little bit is the problem. One pass of the file too many, and the slot's too low. That means a factory would have to pull the nut out, put a new one in, and start the pains-taking process over again. So, they spec them a little high, on the assumptions that either people won't know the difference, or they'll have someone else fix it. That allows the production line to move more quickly, and turn out more product per day.

Read up on doing it (I HIGHLY recommend Dan Erelewine's "Complete Guitar Repair"), get the right tools, plan on making some mistakes, and learn to do it yourself. Or, take it to someone who's really good at cutting nuts on basses. The guy behind the counter at the local guitar store may or may not be the guy. Ask around and find out who really knows this stuff. It's going to sound expensive, but a properly cut nut, while being horribly rare on production instruments, is one of the key factors in a proper set-up. It's critical to getting the action correct, and you can't get good intonation across the whole neck with the nut cut wrong.

John

[JLS]

Originally Posted by JTE

Almost all of them come too high. It's simple math. Cutting a nut CORRECTLY (not just the height, but the slot width, downward angle, clean break off the front, etc.) is pretty easy, but very time-consuming. And while it can be easy to get it 95% right, that final little bit is the problem. One pass of the file too many, and the slot's too low. That means a factory would have to pull the nut out, put a new one in, and start the pains-taking process over again. So, they spec them a little high, on the assumptions that either people won't know the difference, or they'll have someone else fix it. That allows the production line to move more quickly, and turn out more product per day.

Read up on doing it (I HIGHLY recommend Dan Erelewine's "Complete Guitar Repair"), get the right tools, plan on making some mistakes, and learn to do it yourself. Or, take it to someone who's really good at cutting nuts on basses. The guy behind the counter at the local guitar store may or may not be the guy. Ask around and find out who really knows this stuff. It's going to sound expensive, but a properly cut nut, while being horribly rare on production instruments, is one of the key factors in a proper set-up. It's critical to getting the action correct, and you can't get good intonation across the whole neck with the nut cut wrong.

John

^^^^ Everything he said!

[rojo412]

If it were me, I'd pop the nut out of its slot, (if it has a flat bottom) use a flat surface with sandpaper (adhesive sandpaper stuck to the bench) and grind it from the bottom. That way, you just have to grind one surface, not 4 separate ones.

If you go too far, you can shim it.