Talk me through my newfound "straight string path" skepticism

[ardgedee]

Ned Steinberger designed this bridge for Stick.

No reason why the head can't have 0° break angle across the plane of the fretboard and 5° break angle along the plane. Would take some extra engineering, and the nut would have to be able to handle the forces involved, but it doesn't sound impossible.

 

[micguy]

Any break angle at the nut creates a side force and friction. The side force that is useful is what you get from a downward bend - that force helps keep the string in the nut slot. A sideways bend creates a force that is trying to pull the string out of the nut slot, which means you need more downward bend to keep it in place. You get more friction from that, and more potential problems with a sideways bend.

The only real reason for a sideways bend is to compensate for a different shaped headstock, that won't allow the tuners to be in their proper places. Not worth it to me.