Nut Material....

[ROBM700]

Question 1). Any advantage/disadvantage to machining a nut out of a hardwood of some kind?

Question 2). Is there a good resource you can point me to regarding nut materials and their sonic differences?

Thanks much!

 

[NAVET]

Maybe not the most complete source of information but it should get you started.
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[Batmensch]

One question - Does anyone still use bone for a nut material?

 

[pfox14]

Of course, bone is still the best material to make nuts from

 

[Chainsaw Willie]

I've done a few guitars in bone. The only downside is when you are filing it there is a strong smell like a dentist drilling in a tooth.

 

[TomCHunley]

Silicone is actually the industry standard.

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[Right_Butterscotch64]

Get a metal nut, you want your open strings to sound like your fretted ones.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I like TUSQ, which is a PTFE impregnated graphite material.

It is slick so the strings don't bind, it's hard so it doesn't bend and crack unduly, and it's easy to sand, shape, file, and polish.

It is, in my opinion, superior to bone in every way. It sure doesn't smell as awful when sanded.

 

[Spent]

Get a metal nut, you want your open strings to sound like your fretted ones.

+1
I have two basses with brass nuts (no way to write that without sounding like a double entendre) and the open strings do sound closer to fretted than any of my other basses.

 

[georgestrings]

Question 1). Any advantage/disadvantage to machining a nut out of a hardwood of some kind?

Question 2). Is there a good resource you can point me to regarding nut materials and their sonic differences?

Thanks much!

My luthier made a nut out of ebony for my T-bird, because I wanted it to match the rest of my hardware(black), and he didn't have anything else that color on hand... It was actually an experiment, because neither of us knew how the string grooves would wear - but it's been fine so far...


- georgestrings

 

[ack]

Peavey uses Graphlon for nuts on a few of their MIA basses. I'm pretty sure that Graphlon is a blend of GRAPHite and Ballistic NyLON.

 

[JLS]

I like black Corian.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Question 1). Any advantage/disadvantage to machining a nut out of a hardwood of some kind?

Question 2). Is there a good resource you can point me to regarding nut materials and their sonic differences?

Thanks much!

A handful of builders will use "stabilized" hardwood for nuts. Carl Thompson and Cliff Bordwell are the first to come to mind. The product is actually resin-infused...they use the same thing for fingerboards. Looks neat but I see no clear-cut advantages or disadvantages.

If you want to live dangerously, put some feelers out for used / broken ivory. Carves well, takes a polish, and looks great on just about any instrument.

Riis