Filling in nut to raise string height?

[rageatmachine14]

Hello TB'ers, I have a Gibson made Tobias growler that has an annoying buzz on the open g string. I have tried many truss rod and bridge adjustments and it will not go away without having the saddle height maxed out. Since it is only on the open note the only thing I can think of is that the nut is filled to low. All the other strings are fine so my question is, could I put a filler (glue?) into just the g string nut slot and then re-file it to a better depth? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Ric5]

I heard baking soda and super glue make a plastic like material that can work. I have taken a small piece of a thin guitar pick and glued it in the slot.

You can also shim the bottom of the nut on some basses.

[rageatmachine14]

Sweet! Thanks for the help, I like the idea of the super glue and baking soda, I'll have to try to make up a batch.

[LilloEsquilo]

Since it's only on the open note it does sound to me like it's the nut.

You CAN put a filler (preferably of the same material as the nut) and glue in the slot to hack together a temporary fix for it then file it as you mentioned. New nuts are pretty cheap though, so it's hard to recommend that as a long term solution. But you certainly can do it. Just be careful with the glue obviously.

Alternatively, you can pull the nut out, put a shim under it, and do it that way too, though then you'd have to file the other (non G) slots to compensate. Some would do it that way.

Personally I'd just replace then nut then you know it's right. But if I had to get by on the nut for a gig or something, your idea should work just fine.

[PDGood]

Elmer's glue. Put a small drop in and allow plenty of time to dry. Sand as needed.

[guroove]

Just get a new nut and cut it carefully.

[Lo-E]

All three approaches work fine. If it's a plastic nut, I wouldn't bother filling or shimming it. I would just replace it with bone.

If it's already bone and you have the right files, go ahead and shim the nut up with a piece of maple veneer and cut all the slots to your liking.

As a last resort, use the baking soda trick: make a dam on either side of the nut slot with masking tape, spoon in a little bit of baking powder, drop in one drop of super glue and then spray a little bit of accelerator onto it. After a few minutes you can remove the tape dams and after a couple of hours you should be able to file the slot to the correct depth. Be sure to mask off the fingerboard and headstock beforehand to keep any mishaps from ruining your bass.

Keep in mind that this will sound a little bit different than the unmodified bone nut, but you'd be hard-pressed to hear the difference at a gig.

Good luck with it-
E

[walterw]

the powder fill is never quite as good as fresh nut material for the string to glide across, but it will work.

i prefer shimming from underneath (a layer of business card stock is likely thick enough), but if you do use the fill method, here's a trick:

get the powder piled up in the slot, then drip accelerator onto it first. once that's evaporated, then run the thin liquid superglue onto the pile.

it will set up a lot harder than doing it the other way around, making for a better-wearing surface for the string.

[Lo-E]

Neat trick, Walter! That one's going in my notes for sure.

-E

[JLS]

To add to Walter's good advice: get into the slot with the tip of an exacto blade, and make a bunch of cuts, so the superglue/baking soda mixture has something to grab onto.