Just saw an ad on CL for someone advertising that he makes and installs brass nuts. I've never heard of that and was wondering if he is a genius or a nutcase.
Thanks,
Russ
Thanks,
Russ
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Brass nut-good idea or not?
- Thread starter russosborne
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I have a couple of basses with brass nuts, I like them, but I'd hate to have to work on one. Makes for a brighter open string tone.
It's a question that comes up fairly often. As you might expect, the answers run from "Greatest thing since sex" to "You'll ruin your bass, and put your eye out!". I have one bass that has one; a '73 Rick 4001. Brass nuts were the thing to have when it was new; the stock plastic one on mine was severely boogered up (converted from lefty to righty -twice), so I thought a brass one would be appropriately cool. As bholder said, it can make for a brighter open string tone - kinda depends on the bass, too, IMO. It certainly brightened up my old Rick. However, in spite of having basses with nuts made out of; couple kinds of plastic; bone; aluminum; and brass, I prefer a Tusq nut when I can get one. IMO they are a little bright; they're certainly hard (and long-wearing), and.. self lubricating, too. But, if you want a brass one? Go for it, by all means...
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Not sure if I would want one, hence the questions.
I have just never heard of this before.
My main concern is longevity and "sameness", meaning not having to have to redo things often due to wear and tear.
I don't even know what nut my bass has. Probably won't change it unless it needs done down the road.
Thanks
Russ
I have just never heard of this before.My main concern is longevity and "sameness", meaning not having to have to redo things often due to wear and tear.
I don't even know what nut my bass has. Probably won't change it unless it needs done down the road.
Thanks
Russ
I was one of those Ric owners back in the 70's when everyone was putting on Badass bridges and brass nuts cause that's what Geddy did. I never noticed any real difference in tone, so do a brass nut because you like how it looks, not expecting a tone improvement. The OEM Ric nuts are actually pretty good, they are made of Bakelite, an early form of plastic. Its very hard, takes a good polish, and has a waxy quality to it that makes it slightly self lubricating. If you do get a brass nut, avoid the Axemasters version available on Ebay, junk. Remember also that a brass nut will tarnish pretty quickly.
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Thanks.
This would probably be out of my price range even if I had a job, so definitely not something I am looking at doing right away.
The guy who posted the ad on CL says he makes his own, no idea if that would be a good thing or not. He seems to feel it is good.
I've got a cheaper Yamaha anyway, probably not worth upgrading, with either this or any other thing.
Russ
This would probably be out of my price range even if I had a job, so definitely not something I am looking at doing right away.
The guy who posted the ad on CL says he makes his own, no idea if that would be a good thing or not. He seems to feel it is good.
I've got a cheaper Yamaha anyway, probably not worth upgrading, with either this or any other thing.
Russ
Only thing I can add is my Fodera and Ken Smith both have brass nuts. The Fodera open E string rattles in its slot, with the Ken Smith it's the open B that rattles. I may have to use a thicker gauge string or a Fret Wrap to fix the problem.
I owned a couple Aria Pro basses years back that came with a brass nut.
Never found anything spectacular that would make me want to install one otherwise.
If your having tuning/intonation problems I'd have a reputable shop put a Tusq/graphite nut on.
Otherwise I'd skip it and save the risk of having someone mess up your bass.
A few things I would never consider from CL -
-Instrument Work/repairs
-Medical procedures
-Tattoo/Body modification
-Free food
-Any type of massage services
But that's just me
Never found anything spectacular that would make me want to install one otherwise.
If your having tuning/intonation problems I'd have a reputable shop put a Tusq/graphite nut on.
Otherwise I'd skip it and save the risk of having someone mess up your bass.
A few things I would never consider from CL -
-Instrument Work/repairs
-Medical procedures
-Tattoo/Body modification
-Free food
-Any type of massage services
But that's just me
They were big in the 70's and early 80's.
The idea was that a metal nut would make your open notes sound more similar to your fretted notes.
If you don't currently hear a difference between the two that bothers you, you don't need one.
One down side of brass is that strings can bind in the slots a bit more easily than in plastic or bone, roundwounds in particular.
Think about dragging a piece of metal over another piece of metal vs a piece of plastic.
Every brass nut instrument I've played needed a lot of lube in the slots to have stable tuning.
The one time I prefer a brass nut is on instruments with octave pairs. 8 and 12 string basses and 12 string electric guitars. The metal doesn't chip or tear out between two slots that are very close to each other when you're cutting them in like plastic or bone will. Totally a setup issue rather than tone.
My custom 5 string (Rybski) has a brass nut, and I love it. I can't say that it changes the tone as I haven't had another nut on there, but it's pretty (crafted with some style), and I know it won't ever break. No other bass I own has a brass nut, though, and I wouldn't go out of my way to get one. I remember a time in the 80's when it was difficult to find a used bass that DIDN'T have the nut replaced with a brass one. It was definitely a big fad at one point.
I had a stainless steel nut custom fabricated for my '76 Precision in '85. No problems and sounds great unlike the cheap stock plastic nut that cracked and crumbled to pieces one night. No need for any kind of lube at all. You won't have any problems with brass binding up against the strings. That's why they make rifle cartridges of brass, because it doesn't bind against steel and affords smooth action. Plus brass bridge saddles are also popular.
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Not true. I have an adjustable brass nut on my Warwick neck thru thumb and it never goes out of tune it is extremely stable. I do not agree with the idea that brass nuts are not capable of stable tuning.
Well.. The year was 1994.. I liked playing with a pick and bright round wound bass guitar strings with a brass nut The Duane Eddy Bass Tone
The year was 1994.. I liked playing with a pick and bright round wound bass guitar strings with a brass nut The Duane Eddy Bass Tone
I bought a Dean Hollywood Z in zebra when I first started down this bass road. It had a problem with the G string popping out of the nut at the worst moments. I took it to our local bass wizard Justin Kennedy. He made me a tall brass nut, also a tree for the A & G. It brought this vintage piece of Hair History back to it Aquanet glory. And I couldn't be happier with the results.
I had that problem with a bass I bought at a yard sale. The nut had been cut too large for the strings. My temporary solution was to get some of the foil wrapper found in cigarette packages, fold it up into a tiny square and jam it into the slot. The "aluminum" in the foil conformed to the nut quite well, to the point that I had almost completely forgot about it, until I was doing a set up on the bass.
Fishheadjoe
Thanks, I'll give it a try!
Fodera told me to make sure there are enough string wraps around the tuning post to ensure a good downward angle and pressure in the nut slot but even that doesn`t get rid of the rattle. I'm sure it's a case of the nut being cut too wide because when I press the string sideways (between the nut and the tuner) the rattle goes away.
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