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Why Don't MIA Fenders Come With Bone Nuts?

#61
I agree with Rob, it's not a clean job on that nut.

The Zero Fret seems like it would be a good idea, their must be some disadvantage or it would be in wider use. Maybe the headstock angle would need to be more than the slab most builders use on electrics.
 
#62
I'm fine with the synthetics. Tusc or Corian work fine for me. I haven't played many basses that had a bone nut. But the ones I have played didn't strike me as sounding any better because of it.

I'm not a fan of brass. I know there's the argument about getting a more homogeneous tone when playing open strings. But if that really is a major concern, it could be better addressed with a zero fret rather than a metal nut.

I'll also agree with @JimmyM that your pickups have a far greater effect when it comes to balancing out the tone of open strings than the nut ever will. I can use open strings on my Ripper without worrying about unwanted tonal contrasts between them and the fretted notes. So I tend to use open strings far more freely whenever I'm playing that bass. And that's due solely to the pickups it has.
 
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#66
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#68
JimmyM said:
Bone is overrated. It's harder to work with, synthetic materials are just as good if not better, and there's just no need for it.

BTW, anyone who asks for an ivory nut in a world where the elephant population has been reduced by a third really needs to re-examine his priorities.
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But is it really "harder" to work with? Is bone somehow more difficult to glue in place, then cut the slots? Doubtful.

Ivory? Are we trying to equate materials from endangered species to the bones of cows? Cattle, which we raise in abundance and harvest as a food resource, of which nothing is wasted, including the bones that are ground up for fertilizer anyway.
 
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#70
guy n. cognito said:
Do ya think Fender is paying almost $8 a blank?
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Of course not (duh). I'm using the Amazon examples to point out that bone is not necessarily "more costly" than some synthetic nut materials. In fact, the opposite can be the case depending on the particular synthetic material. The economy of scale will transfer from retail pricing (Amazon examples) across the board to what Fender pays with their huge purchasing power, regardless of whatever material they choose.

Further, guitar nuts (regardless of material) are supplied as "blanks". Some are even pre-slotted. Only the most fervent Luddite guitar builder would bother to hand-carve a nut from a cow bone. I find it difficult to accept the notion that bone is so prohibitively expensive and so much more difficult to work with, as the main reason it's not widely used anymore. I think the reason is synthetic materials simply function better as guitar nuts and are probably more durable as well.
 
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#73
Iridescentone said:
But is it really "harder" to work with? Is bone somehow more difficult to glue in place, then cut the slots? Doubtful.

Ivory? Are we trying to equate materials from endangered species to the bones of cows? Cattle, which we raise in abundance and harvest as a food resource, of which nothing is wasted, including the bones that are ground up for fertilizer anyway.
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Every luthier who I know says that bone is a lot harder to shape into a nut and harder and less forgiving to slot. Indie luthiers don't buy premade nuts that easily fit into a standard nut rout. They shape them themselves to whatever bass they're working on. And synthetics are a lot easier to do that with than bone, and files cut a lot easier through synthetics than bone as well.

And Re: ivory, read one of the posts before mine where the dude talks about using ivory nuts in some of the acoustic guitars he's made nuts for. Turns out he's using already-existing ivory pieces to make them, but he didn't say that it in his initial post.
 
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#76
hushnel said:
Yeah, sorry about that, I probably should have, I was focused on the point that in my opinion it isn't as good as the Corian.
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No harm no foul. Once you explained that you use already existing pieces, it became way less controversial IMHO. Not like you can bring back those elephants...all we can do is try to save the elephants we have now. And I wholeheartedly agree with you that it's not as good as Corian, or any bone, for that matter.
 
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#78
JimmyM said:
Every luthier who I know says that bone is a lot harder to shape into a nut and harder and less forgiving to slot. Indie luthiers don't buy premade nuts that easily fit into a standard nut rout. They shape them themselves to whatever bass they're working on. And synthetics are a lot easier to do that with than bone, and files cut a lot easier through synthetics than bone as well.

And Re: ivory, read one of the posts before mine where the dude talks about using ivory nuts in some of the acoustic guitars he's made nuts for. Turns out he's using already-existing ivory pieces to make them, but he didn't say that it in his initial post.
Click to expand...

They shape them from "what"?.....a pre-made nut blank, right? All replacement nut blanks require some final shaping/fitting, as would nuts fitted to brand new custom spec'd guitars made from scratch. And some of those synth materials are not as easy to file through as you might expect.

Back on topic....Fender. Fender is not an "indie" builder and I'd bet dollars to donuts they can just as easily offer nuts from whatever materials they choose, at relatively the same cost per unit. And you can bet that if Fender were to use bone nuts on any of their production models, they'd be using pre-radiused nut blanks ordered to their exact specs, needing as little final shaping as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd be pre-slotted as well.

There really is no need for bone guitar nuts anymore, other than for artisans who like to maintain "tradition", or for restoring vintage instruments. To each their own opinion, I'm just not buying into the "cost prohibitive" as the only answer to the question being asked.
 
#79
Iridescentone said:
But is it really "harder" to work with? Is bone somehow more difficult to glue in place, then cut the slots? Doubtful.

Ivory? Are we trying to equate materials from endangered species to the bones of cows? Cattle, which we raise in abundance and harvest as a food resource, of which nothing is wasted, including the bones that are ground up for fertilizer anyway.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be surprised if the price is pretty comparable between bone and corian. I was pricing coutnertops a few years back and could believe how much corian was (pretty comparable to granite iirc, or at least not enough cheaper)
 

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