|  | | 
11-13-2010, 11:50 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Omaha, NE, USA | | | Where to get a nickel nut?
Sign in to disble this ad
I'm thinking I want a nickel nut for a bass I have with single-string bridges. It's has a Wilkins custom neck. I'm gonna check with Pat, but are there any places that sell nickel bass nuts?
__________________
FOR SALE:
Nothing! (at the moment) |
11-13-2010, 11:53 PM
|  | that video LIES | | Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Northern California | | | Ima thinkin there's a reason I have never heard of a nut fabricated from nickel
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Albert  He who throws mud only loses ground. | |
11-13-2010, 11:57 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Omaha, NE, USA | | It's done periodically - Warmoth even mentions it on their site.
Ideally I want a metal nut, but not brass, because it wouldn't match my bass. Nickel would be perfect. Nickel nuts are pretty much made from the same material as frets, I believe. Quote:
Originally Posted by bassteban Ima thinkin there's a reason I have never heard of a nut fabricated from nickel |
__________________
FOR SALE:
Nothing! (at the moment) |
11-13-2010, 11:59 PM
| | that video LIES | | Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Northern California | | Well, me having never heard of something does NOT mean it's uncommon- I don't get out much. 
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Albert He who throws mud only loses ground. | |
11-14-2010, 08:55 AM
| | Registered User
I setup & repair guitars & basses | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Kensington, Ca | | Quote:
Originally Posted by TimBosby I'm thinking I want a nickel nut for a bass I have with single-string bridges. It's has a Wilkins custom neck. I'm gonna check with Pat, but are there any places that sell nickel bass nuts? | Be prepared to pay a lot more than you'd expect. Installing and setting it up won't be cheap, either.
__________________
Instrument repair/setup, Bay area
|
11-14-2010, 10:39 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Omaha, NE, USA | | Hmm, yeah, but, for this bass I believe it'd be worth it.
I think my guitar player can do the installation/setup, just need someone else to cut it. Quote:
Originally Posted by JLS Be prepared to pay a lot more than you'd expect. Installing and setting it up won't be cheap, either. |
__________________
FOR SALE:
Nothing! (at the moment) |
11-14-2010, 10:41 AM
|  | I took the one less traveled by | | Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Reims, Champagne, France | | | Why do you want a nickel nut? It's going to be very difficult to to any adjustment on it. |
11-14-2010, 11:02 AM
|  | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | | I think it's going to be hard to find nickel the right dimensions to just cut and file into a nut. You might have to pay a machinist to take a nickel block down to a nut-sized piece. |
11-14-2010, 11:58 AM
| | Banned | | Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Area 51 | | | How about aluminum? Easier to find and work, and also proven as a nut material...Danelectro used it. Then there's stainles steel. Both also polish up very nicely. |
11-14-2010, 01:56 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Omaha, NE, USA | | Both aluminum and stainless steel would be fine too! I'd be satisfied with any metal that is silver in color - so brass is kinda out of the question  (has to be metal because I have a single string bridge and I want to be sure it's fully grounded)
__________________
FOR SALE:
Nothing! (at the moment) |
11-14-2010, 02:08 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: NE CT | | | I'd make it out of brass and nickel plate it afterwards myself ...
__________________
Clubs: Mikro#7, Brice#24, ShortScale#271, Mediocre#783 - MB200, MicroVR, 2x SVT210AV
Hofner Galaxy CT, Ibanez Mikro, Cort Action Bass Jr., Stagg Fusion 3/4, Brice HXB-405 3/4
|
11-14-2010, 02:08 PM
| | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by TimBosby Both aluminum and stainless steel would be fine too! I'd be satisfied with any metal that is silver in color - so brass is kinda out of the question (has to be metal because I have a single string bridge and I want to be sure it's fully grounded) | Have you thought about a chrome-plated brass nut? |
11-14-2010, 02:13 PM
|  | Drunk on power... and beer | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Co. Kerry, Ireland. | | | Warmoth make nickle nut blanks, I got one off them recently.
Nice stuff.
__________________
The winners are crying and the losers are dancing. |
11-14-2010, 02:24 PM
| | Banned | | Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Manhattan | | | Since an open string is going to sound different than a fretted note, I don't think it would matter much. I've played, brass, bone, plastic -- never made much of a difference IMO. |
11-14-2010, 02:29 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Omaha, NE, USA | | |
__________________
FOR SALE:
Nothing! (at the moment) |
11-14-2010, 03:14 PM
| | Registered User
I setup & repair guitars & basses | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Kensington, Ca | | Quote:
Originally Posted by TimBosby Hmm, yeah, but, for this bass I believe it'd be worth it.
I think my guitar player can do the installation/setup, just need someone else to cut it. | The guy that's doing the install/setup, can't cut it? To the right length, string slots, or both?
Suggestion: buy more than one, if you're dead set on this project.
__________________
Instrument repair/setup, Bay area
|
11-14-2010, 05:08 PM
| | | | i'm no metallurgy guy, but i have to assume that these "nickel" blanks are some form of "nickel silver", basically brass with enough nickel added to make it white instead of yellow.
that stuff's fine for frets, but a quick perusing of wikipedia suggests that while brass alloys are excellent for bearing surfaces (having low friction against other metals) the same is not true of nickel alloys.
this suggests to me that of the various metals offered as nut material, brass is best for mechanical reasons, and will have the least friction and thus the best tuning stability.
__________________
Walter Wright
Guitar Repair Gnome
Alpha Music, VA Beach
|
11-14-2010, 05:14 PM
| | I took the one less traveled by | | Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Reims, Champagne, France | | Quote:
Originally Posted by plangentmusic Since an open string is going to sound different than a fretted note, I don't think it would matter much. I've played, brass, bone, plastic -- never made much of a difference IMO. | Even with a zero fret, it still sounds different. |
11-14-2010, 05:27 PM
|  | Registered User | | | | | From a practical standpoint, brass is straightforward to machine, nickel is not. In fact straight nickel is pretty much painful to work with - kind of like trying to machine frozen bubble gum, IME.
Bear in mind, brass can be plated with a number of metals, including nickel; and I would bet the Warmoth nuts are plated brass. Brass can also be plated with chrome; so, you have a lot of choices. If you live near any major urban area, you can always take a brass nut into a plating shop for whatever coating you want.
Last edited by bucephylus : 11-14-2010 at 06:15 PM.
Reason: spelling
|
11-14-2010, 05:36 PM
| | Drunk on power... and beer | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Co. Kerry, Ireland. | | Quote:
Originally Posted by bucephylus Bear in mind, brass can be plated with a number of metals, including nickel; and I would bet the Warmouth nuts are plated brass. | You'd lose that bet, solid nickle all the way through.
__________________
The winners are crying and the losers are dancing. | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is On | | | |
