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Brass or Buffallo Bone?

The_D

The_D

Well, thats like your opinion. Man...
Mar 20, 2004
1,242
3
46
Fife, Scotland
#1
Some dude is selling these buffallo bone nut's on ebay.uk.

a3_1_b.gif



Could someone tell me if they are any good. I have found posts from prople talking about setting them up so I wouldnt have a problem with that but would I be just as well waiting till my next paycheck and buying a brass one?
My westone has a brass nut and I have never had any problems with it.
The new one would be for a Washburn which was fine when it arrived but since re-stringing it I just cant get the action very good on it. I intend to do a bit of work here, replace pups with some barts maybe and possibly a new bridge. The nut is plastic as standard so will definately get replaced so I ask again, Brass or Bone nut? Any difference in tone? Life expectancy?


oh the bone ones are here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BUFFALO-BONE-...369390208QQcategoryZ33040QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
#2
I've used both brass and bone on guitars. In my opinion, there was only a very slight improvement over the plastic nut, so I question whether you would really observe much of a difference on a bass.

For the bone, I bought a bleached cow bone from a pet store and cut my own blank out of it, not very difficult. (Cow and buffalo are almost the same critter) On an acoustic guitar, I think it made a subtle difference at the bridge, but on the nut, maybe not that much of change...

So, it's a cool modification, but IMHO don't expect a miraculous difference regardless of whether you go brass or bone.

P.S. That particular acoustic now has over 20 years of playing on the bone nut, so life expectancy is not a problem. And I've got an electric with a brass nut that's 25 years old, again no problem with life.
 
#3
Thanks for the quick reply.

Basically I just think the idea of plastic being used as an integral part of an instrument sounds cheap but heh you get what you pay for I suppose.
I was just wondering if there was a big difference in quality between the two cause there seems to be a big difference in price.

Bone it is then.
Thanks again.
 
#4
The_D said:
Thanks for the quick reply.

Basically I just think the idea of plastic being used as an integral part of an instrument sounds cheap but heh you get what you pay for I suppose.
I was just wondering if there was a big difference in quality between the two cause there seems to be a big difference in price.

Bone it is then.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

On the other side of the coin: plastic may sound cheap for a nut, but many well-known instruments have successfully used plastic nuts for decades.... :D
 
#6
Since the nut, for the most part, is out of the equation except on open notes, I don't see that it would make a lot of difference.

I don't like plastic as well as bone or brass but not because of tone. I have seen lots of instruments with plastic nuts that the tuning is "jumpy". Every one that I've changed from plastic to bone tuned smoother. I use a lead pencil to lube the nut and when I change strings on plastic the black is mostly gone. With bone, the graphite is not only still there, it has taken on a polished look.

I wouldn't change expecting to see a huge improvement though.
 
#7
I think I am gonna just get a bit of bone and machine it to match the plastic one for size. Dont see any reason to spend money on it as nashvillebill says shouldnt be too hard.
Should I dry the bone out? My mate goes hunting so would I be able to use deer or something? Buffallow/Cow is obviously tried and tested but shooting a buffallow in Scotland isnt very likely!
I could just go to the butchers but I thought it would be a nice touch using one of my mates medal deer. Maybe not.

Cheers for the input guys. Thats why I always come back here T'Bers Rock!!!! :hyper:
 
#10
I'm not sure that a deer has any bones that are thick walled enough for a nut blank.

I've never tried it but I've heard of using a material called Corian for a nut.

Corian is a manmade sub for stone that is used for countertops. You could probably get a sample that would be big enough for several nuts just for the asking. It comes in a wide range of colors and works easily with hand tools.

Just a nut that is not white would be pretty indvidualistic.

Anyone else heard of or used this material for a nut?
 
#13
Kind of a burning hair smell...I know what you mean. If you don't mind using a file in water, sinking the whole mess in a bucket of water, it totally controls the stench. Don't try this with a Dremel, though. It doesn't work so good, shockingly. :eek: ;)
 
#14
Bassic83 said:
Kind of a burning hair smell...I know what you mean. If you don't mind using a file in water, sinking the whole mess in a bucket of water, it totally controls the stench. Don't try this with a Dremel, though. It doesn't work so good, shockingly. :eek: ;)
Click to expand...

shockingly!!! HAHA! .. I can't be the only one to have found that funny!!... aren't the Old Fender nuts made of bone? If so What kind? and did my '73 P-bass originally come with a bone nut?
 
#16
AerospaceGuy said:
shockingly!!! HAHA! .. I can't be the only one to have found that funny!!... aren't the Old Fender nuts made of bone? If so What kind? and did my '73 P-bass originally come with a bone nut?
Click to expand...

I haven't researched it but I've heard that the shin bone from the front leg of a cow is usually used. I have noticed that where there's a lot of bass and guitar players there are a lot of three legged cows.

Tap it with the back of a knife blade. If it makes a sharp click, it's probably bone. If it has a dull thuddy sound it's probably plastic.
 

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