Nut Slots

Mike Carr · #1 05-24-2011, 05:25 AM

Here's a question I can't remember being asked anytime lately at least on this forum. Some basses I see, including my current one have the nut slots cut with a slight curve, the strings the strings bend in sort of an "S" shape when looking straight down at the nut. Most evident on the G string slot. Some other basses I've seen have the slots filed in a straight line. What's the prefered style, and why? I'd like to hear from the luthiers on board, but any of the rest of you can chime in about your basses too.

Jake deVilliers · #2 05-24-2011, 09:16 AM

Hey Mike, can you show us a photo of those slots?

Greg Clinkingbeard · #3 05-24-2011, 10:30 AM

I'm no luthier, but I like them to have a nice curve into the pegbox. The string should have total contact from the fingerboard edge all the way up without stressing the string at all. That's my take on it.

belgabass · #4 05-24-2011, 10:31 AM

Nut slots or Not sluts....

JEDI BASS · #5 05-24-2011, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clink

The string should have total contact from the fingerboard edge all the way up without stressing the string at all.

I don't understand this. ????

Michael Eisenman · #6 05-24-2011, 11:08 AM

You file the nut slot to eliminate the sharp edge at the top of the nut. The curve leads the string gently in the direction of the peg. I don't know about a "S" shape.

Mike Carr · #7 05-24-2011, 12:43 PM

It's a gentle curve, not an "S", my bad descripion before. Pretty much as Micheal Eisenman describes it. Sorry, my wife has camera and is away so I can't post photo just yet. It's from Shen here in Shanghai, their guy filed it but it's still a bit high for me. The curve is quite delibrate, seems funtional and is kind of pretty too. Still a bit high for my whimpy fingers though. I kind of hate to bother him to bring it down more, because when he cut the nut he said he thought that if it went any lower that it might buzz. Bear in mind, basses are not all they do there, lots of violins and cellos. Not a lot of us jazzers come to town so they are not as hip to doing set-ups for us as they are to building basses. Lots and lots of them! I'd take some files and try it myself but I don't think I've got the skills to keep the nice curve that's started and if I file them straight I'm afraid that they might end up being too wide. Right now they look quite a bit higher than basses I've owned in the States in the past that were set-up by the well known shops in LA that I used to patronize frequently, Lisa Gass, Jon Peterson and Stine On Vine. You can sure get some nice basses from Shen here for a little bit less money than in the the States but getting the perfect set-up is not so easy..
Hard to get good pizza too, and Mexican food and so many other things!

JEDI BASS · #8 05-24-2011, 01:19 PM

Some sandpaper wrapped around a section of string is what I use to file my slots a little deeper. I compare the slot height (first fret distance) to the 2nd fret's distance/height when I capo at the first fret. I don't try to get the height exactly the same, but leave the nut slot a hair higher.

Mike Carr · #9 05-24-2011, 01:53 PM

Howdy Jed! Thanks for your input! That sandpaper idea is a great one! I'll remember this the next time I have an issue with an electric bass. My question is about double bass set-up. We double bass guys have nuts are much bigger than BIGGER than the nuts electric players have. There are no capos that could possibly accomidate us either.

JEDI BASS · #10 05-24-2011, 02:29 PM

Oops, sorry.

robobass · #11 05-24-2011, 05:09 PM

If you want your strings lower at the nut but the slots are in order, then just take the nut off the bass and sand the bottom. A good way is to take a full sheet of sandpaper and stick it to a hard flat surface like a smooth countertop. I use spray mount, but a glue stick might work. This way you can sand with good control, keeping the nut bottom flat.

Also, there ARE capos that fit on a bass!

Jazzdogg · #12 05-24-2011, 07:31 PM

I just took a snapshot - and the nut slots on my bass [1939 German] look straight (and very dusty) to me.

bigolbassguy · #13 05-24-2011, 09:35 PM

I lay a feeler gauge on the FB, up against the nut as I file the slots down. Perfect results.

Mike Carr · #14 05-25-2011, 01:31 AM

Thanks for the help guys!

arnoldschnitzer · #15 05-25-2011, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

I just took a snapshot - and the nut slots on my bass [1939 German] look straight (and very dusty) to me.

Dog, I hope you realize that, based on your picture, your scroll is broken at the cheeks, and it is pulling forward from the tension of the strings.

Mike Carr · #16 05-25-2011, 12:39 PM

So Arnold,

What's best? Slots cut in a straight line or with the "gentle curve"? How low can the strings go at the nut? Using a business card is often mentioned. Is it a matter of using a card a kind of a feeler gauge while cutting the slots or after cutting them one uses the card like this: Too high, the card falls out easily with gravity, too low the card can't be moved much with the strings at tension. Sorry to ask you about too many tricks of the trade, but here in China I'm aware of no one with your level of expertise in terms of set-ups. I'd love to hop a flight to have you set-up my Willow but that's impossible. Shen's guy is cool enough and hear of another guy here in Shanghai that works on basses too. I think that either of them might be open to my suggestions about how to go about setting up my bass. I just need to be able to give them some direction. They are not just bass guys, they do violins and all the strings so they more or less just do what they do unless asked to do something different. I'm not sure it's going to be as easy as asking for a "buzz-free nice growl, easy playing but can still dig in when I want too, with a string height of about 8 mm at the end of the board on the E and 5 mm under the G. You or any of the top guys (and one gal) I know in LA know exactly what we want from our basses. It's not so easy here. Meanwhile, I play 6 nights a week, 4 sets and my left hand fingers feel pretty tired right now!

forester · #17 05-25-2011, 03:39 PM

they are quite capable of setting it up the way you desire...
just get past the "language barrier", if you were dealing with staight-ahead nut slots the task would be one less issue to deal with.

A.E.S. i'll go with an overshot FB/nut glue-up combo?

Mike Carr · #18 05-26-2011, 02:42 AM

I'm sure the guys here are indeed quite capable. I in no way want to imply that they are not. It is a language issue mostly. I think most of the basses that they are likely to see here for repairs or set-ups belong to classical players, who's needs might be a bit different than mine. Don't get me wrong, as it is right now the bass sounds great, very good arco tone even with the Spiro Mittles it's wearing now. Sounds very nice at my gig too where I mostly pizz. I like the bass and other guys here in town that have come to sit-in like it too! But right now the string height at the nut is about 2mm under each string. Measured right at the end of the fingerboard I see about 8 mm. under each string. More or less the same all the way across! My bridge does not have adjusters. So yeah, it feels quite different than I had been used to. I'm making it work for me but it's a challenge.

arnoldschnitzer · #19 05-26-2011, 06:49 AM

When setting the nut heights it's first important to determine that the fingerboard was dressed properly. Many luthiers (especially amateurs) tend to roll off downward at the nut end of the fingerboard, causing a bit of a drop there. If that is the case, and you lower the nut, you'll get an awful buzz on the open strings. So first make sure, using a short straightedge tool, that the end of the fingerboard is level, or has a tiny rise to the upper (nut) end. Then you can lower the nut heights until a business card slips under each tensioned string with little resistance.

George700DL · #20 05-26-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by forester

A.E.S. i'll go with an overshot FB/nut glue-up combo?

I was about to write that. My first impression was that the fingerboard was glued on wrong (and consequently the nut).

But I see traces of glue on the pegbox where the nut should be, so maybe things have moved under tension...