Steel Nut for P Bass?
 

This has been in my head since seeing some long thread about zero frets...

Is there a place out there where I can get a steel nut for my P? I've switched strings a few times and settled on Fender flats. They sound amazing except for open A, D and G, which sound like rubber bands.

My P needs a fret level as it is, so I wouldn't mind paying a few extra bucks to have a steel nut put in.

Is there a place out there where I can get a steel nut for my P?
 

Ask around. I'm sure the quotes for this will be breathtaking.

Steel is going to rust, unless you use stainless, which is quite a bit harder than regular steel and thus a lot harder to cut and/or file. Anybody who would do the work would probably also charge you for the tools they're going to wear out making the thing.

Brass nuts are very common. Brass is a lot tougher than plastic, but is quite a bit softer that steel (and stainless steel) so it is still relatively easy to work with.

Oh, this one's easy. Take the price of a couple of Dremel cut off wheels, some sheets of wet or dry, the chunk of stainless, a couple of metal polishing wheels if there are no dedicated ones in the shop, and a new set of nut files; add to that the usual labor charge for a nut plus the extra hour or two for fabricating and polishing (to say nothing of frustration) the steel and there is the price.

To the OP: Brass is the standard material for this job. Most techs are not too happy about cutting brass nuts, either.

I'll look into brass...thing is I haven't played a bass with a brass nut, so I don't know how it would affect the sound. I only say steel for now, because I'm pretty sure thats what the frets are. I'll look into it further

By all means get your steel nut you will not be happy until you do I think your mind is already made up.

It just sounds like your existing nut is improperly cut. If you put a correctly cut bone nut in (for example) I'm sure that problem would go away.

I have several basses with brass nuts and I only put them on for cosmetic purposes. Polished up they look good with gold hardware. Otherwise bone is my nut of choice though I'm sure the new plastic compounds work just as well.

When a nut is properly cut you will not hear a difference in open strings between it and a metal one.

Frets are not steel on a P Bass, they're nickel. And since the 70's, anyone wanting a metal nut have been using brass ones...very easy to do.

I'm usually confused but I think you are confusedider. Zero fret, steel cause frets are steel?

Thanks, Ill see if a bone nut solves this first (I imagine the metal ones would be much more pricey)

Subtle differences in tone between fretted and open strings. I know A on the E and open A are going to be a hair different. But this is like night and day. If I dig in, I get a nice "click" of metal to metal. It's more of a "thud" on the open strings.

I only say steel for now, because I'm pretty sure thats what the frets are.
 

They're not. You should.

unless you paid a bunch of money for the bass or for a refret, the frets are not steel (and not likely even then, stainless frets are only just now starting to get popular on electric guitars);

the fret material ("nickel silver") is actually kinda like brass; as such, a brass nut would theoretically come close to the characteristics of the frets.

in reality, the nut makes little tone difference as long as it's hard enough and cut right.

I got your nut right here!
 

:D

Actually, Warmoth does. Nickel. Like your frets.

http://www.warmoth.com/Fender-Style-...-P296C221.aspx

I'd call them to order it to confirm that you get a P-bass compatible blank.

Take this to your tech. I bet he looks at you like you're smoking crack when you tell him you want it installed. They're apparently hell on tools.

The fret noise you're describing doesn't come from the fret that's being fingered. It's from others higher up the neck, like the top few. Sounds to me like your nut slots are too high if there's that much difference in action between fretted and open notes.

Nickel-silver or "German Silver" has been the alloy of choice for frets for many years. It is mostly copper with some zinc and a touch of nickel. Copper can be work hardened, but most techs will not spend the time to do this (or charge for it).

Nickel is chippy and gummy when worked. A pure nickel fret wire would be a major pain to work.

There are a series of faulty assumptions in the path the OP is pursuing.

In brief:
-The frets are nickel, not steel.
-Once a string is pressed down, a zero fret is irrelevant and no longer part of the acoustic system, since the string is fretted past it.
- Steel is unrealistic for a nut due to labor involved.
- Brass was once fashionable and is now less so, but would be a manageable alternative.

IMO, a steel nut is one of those things that falls into the category of "Just because something is possible doesn't mean it's a good idea." It also doesn't mean that a steel nut would cause any audible change (especially as compared to brass) since once the string is fretted, the nut is out of the acoustic system on that string.

Привет Героям Асфальта. Brass nut is what you need. Stuart Spector puts them on all his USA-made basses just for the same reason - to make open string tone match the fretted notes.. I have two Spectors both with brass nuts. Рекомендую!:)