Nut carving and string height... or how deep is your goove

atrapp · #1 03-20-2008, 08:28 AM

That about sums it up.

At what height should my stings be at the 1st fret?

In looking at my basses, there seems to be quite a lot of variation...

atrapp · #2 03-21-2008, 09:53 AM

anyone home?

knuckle_head · #3 03-21-2008, 10:09 AM

At the nut, the starting height from the fretboard is half the thickness of the string you are slotting for - if you are uncertain of yourself then give yourself additional room. Check relief at that point and then do fine adjustments to final depth.

jrfrond · #4 03-21-2008, 11:24 AM

This can vary depending on how string height and neck relief. Setups with dead-flat necks and low action need a bit more height. With most bass setups, I gauge it by pressing the string down at the 3rd fret and measuring the distance between the first fret and the string. Well, after so many years, I REALLY just eyeball it, but measured, it would be about .010"-.015" on the G, and graded-up around .010" for each successive string.

joeyl · #5 03-21-2008, 01:17 PM

although I have not tried it yet, but I will soon: find the height of the first fret using a straight edge, stack some feeler gauges until you get .015 above the recorded height. Then place that stack of feelers against the nut, and start filing, you now have a guard against going too low...

PilbaraBass · #6 03-23-2008, 11:53 PM

I use a tried and true method, endorsed by many (including those already posting here, such as jrfrond)

and it's simple...

slot the nut until you get just the "slightest" visible gap between the string and the 1st fret when you fret the 3rd fret...

shallower than this will work, but the first couple of frets are difficult to play....deeper than this and you run the risk of getting that pesky, annoying "backbuzz" (buzzing on frets toward the nut-side of where you're playing)

when slotting a nut it's important to remember than the slot should angle back slightly such that the witness point is at the front of the nut (bridge side) and not the back of the nut slot (tuner side)...otherwise you will have intonation and possible buzzing problems.