Nut slots cut too low?

Juniorkimbrough · #1 09-24-2007, 12:24 PM

Hey all, a month or two ago I got a new nut put on my '76 P bass. Well the guy who did the work cut the slots a bit too low for my playing style. He had a very light touch, whereas I have a bit heavier hand. The slots are cut too low regardless of how I adjust the neck or bridge saddles.

Is there any kind of material I can use to fil the slots a little bit to raise them?

p.s. the P bass wears flats so once they strings are on there and in tune I won't be changing them at all.

thanks

brandonwong · #2 09-24-2007, 01:13 PM

You can try a little bit of super glue if it's not too ridiculously low.
Built it up a little and then string it again to try the action.

Other method is to remove the entire nut and sit a thin acrylic before putting on the nut again. I used an expired credit card and cut it to size on one of my fretless bass. It works fine!

meev992 · #3 09-24-2007, 01:20 PM

super glue and baking soda, i think is the remedy...read it somewhere on TB, about 2 weeks ago.

pkr2 · #4 09-24-2007, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juniorkimbrough

Hey all, a month or two ago I got a new nut put on my '76 P bass. Well the guy who did the work cut the slots a bit too low for my playing style. He had a very light touch, whereas I have a bit heavier hand. The slots are cut too low regardless of how I adjust the neck or bridge saddles.

Is there any kind of material I can use to fil the slots a little bit to raise them?

p.s. the P bass wears flats so once they strings are on there and in tune I won't be changing them at all.

thanks

If you know how to remove the nut, it would be easier to shim the nut slot with the right thickness of paper/card stock.

202dy · #5 09-24-2007, 03:10 PM

C/A glue and baking soda will form a reasonably hard surface. The general technique is to create a dam on either side of the nut with some masking tape, lay in the baking soda and wick a drop of glue into the powder. If a deep fill is necessary, it should be done in layers. The other alternative is to file a little bit of material from the top of the nut into the slots. This also works well. Be sure the file is clean. When the glue hardens (almost instantly) the slot can be re-cut. There is the rub for the hobbyist or beginning repair person. Nut files are expensive. It is hard to justify spending that kind of money to do a one-off nut job. Some folks will use a round, tapered needle file. It is a tedious and inexact tool. Other folks have suggested using a roundwound string. Steel is harder than nickel and both are harder than most nut materials so it will work. Tim Scheerhorn swears by this method and uses it on his high end resonator guitars to slot the saddles he uses, which are maple with an ebony cap for a bearing surface. Ebony is pretty soft compared to most nuts but it can be done.

Juniorkimbrough · #6 09-24-2007, 05:04 PM

Thanks so much guys!

The tech did a beautiful job (aside from setting up how he plays) installing the nut so I really don't want to hack on it trying to put a shim under it. I'll try the baking soda/super glue method. It really doesn't need to be raised much, just a little.

Thanks for the tips!!

202dy · #7 09-24-2007, 06:40 PM

pkr2 is right. Shimming the nut is easier to do with common, non-luthiery specific tools. As far as "hacking on it" goes, the chances of doing something ugly is much more likely when filling and re-cutting the not slots.

giantjerk · #8 09-24-2007, 06:46 PM

I think we are overlooking something obvious here. I'd take the bass back to him, explain what the problem is and ask him cut a new nut. Everyone I have ever had work on any of my basses would do it no problem.

NKUSigEp · #9 09-24-2007, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by giantjerk

I think we are overlooking something obvious here. I'd take the bass back to him, explain what the problem is and ask him cut a new nut. Everyone I have ever had work on any of my basses would do it no problem.

+1

I do a lot of side-work for the locals and encourage musicians to bring it back if they aren't satisfied. I'm not gonna split hairs if it's a nanometer off but if it's something obvious like that, then a good tech will fix it for ya. He can keep the old nut for future use unless he screwed it up so bad it can't be reused - in that case he owes it to ya.

If you still feel like doing it yourself - as mentioned above, the super glue/baking soda fill (will need to be redone occasionally) or a shim (permanent) work fine. If you go the baking soda route, have everything ready to go because the super glue sets up quicker than ya think. Take a piece of cardboard, a popsicle stick, and glue and baking soda - mix the glue and baking soda on the cardboard and smear it around real good, then put even amounts on the seat of each nut and let it dry (tape up the area around the nut so you don't get it on the wood). Once it sets up, use a small file and smooth it out gently till you get the height you want.

Juniorkimbrough · #10 09-26-2007, 12:02 PM

the main reason I didn't want to take it back is because the store is an hour away, I go to the area all the time for gigs but it's after the store is closed.

after going back the other night and playing, playing, playing the bass in everyway possible I think the nut might be okay. now to me it seems like some of the frets are not level...specifically when I play on the D and G strings it wants to buzz around the 3rd or 4th fret but those are the only spots it buzzes.