Nut Adjustment!

badassmak

badassmak

Herbi-Whore
I finally have to break down and fix some guitars here. Nothing works:o .

Anyhow, the only one I can afford to fix, has this problem with the nut. The high E string is alwayssssssssss buzzing. The last guy to fix it didn't do such a good job. What happened that time was the high E actually broke a piece of the nut right off!. So when the nut was replaced, the height wasn't set right, thus providing E-buzz.

I have lost all my links regarding guitar repair :( .

Whats a good rule of thumb or something to go by as far as setting the nut at the right height?
 
I like low action, where you can just slide an open matchbook cover under the string. But, I'm a bass player so what do I know about guitars you may ask and I'd tell you "nothing".
 
Cutting a guitar nut is a hard job. I'd take it to a tech if I was you. It shouldn't cost you more than about $40.00.
 
hmm a bass player eh?

hehe...yea I like the low action too, but not this low!!!

I have found some links sorta kinda...but some of them also mention gluing the nut back down with super glue...this is NOT something I want to do. With my luck I'd probably glue my ear to the damn thing, nevermind if I got it wrong the first time I'd be screwed!

So I don't know...any nice links on this kindof repair and the intonation setting procedures that follow ? :D

It's also kinda weird becuase I was reading some other threads, some prefer to tune by ea...some to the twelfth fret using harmonics/fretting the twelfth fret...some to the twelfth fret (haha is that spelt remotely close?) using harmonics/open fretting. And there is merit to each way!

Anyhow thanks for the advice...
:cool:
 
yeah if the string is buzzing in the open postion then you have a nut slot that is cut too low..

the way to see if the slot is cut too low is to hole down the string on the 2nd fret and then look for clearance under the 1st fret and the bottom of the string..there should be like .010 clearance..which is very small but should be enough. If the string is touching the fret with no clearnace then it will mor than likley buzz..

John Mayes
www.mayesguitars.com
 
Don't super glue it. nuts are an "interferance fit", it will tap out sideways, unless someone has already glued it.

From your post I read that you don't have any experience in this type of repair, I repair guitars and 90% of repairs as opposed to set ups occur because somebody has tried to do it himself. As a repair man I see a repair job going to someone else, so do yourself a favour and pay somebody who knows what they are doing.
Incidentally the fret files will cost you more than the repair.
 
I replaced the nut on my acoustic because the slots were almost down to the fret board.and it was quite easy. I basically popped off the old nut. I had a small piece of corian that I cut to the dimensions of the old nut. I filed and curved the top of the nut and set it in place. I took a filed down pencil that lay flat and straight over the first two frets and scored a line on the nut. I took off the nut and filed it to just above the line and took a v-shaped file and made some slots down to the scored line. I put a couple dabs of glue on the back of the nut and put it back on the guitar. Viola! Repair complete and the sound is actually a better, imho, compared to the old cheap nut that was originally on this gibson acoustic.
 
crappy guitars

well, to let you in on a little secret, I was the guy who fucked up the guitar the...third time around. I had two techs previous to myself try and fix it, but they never got it right. For that matter, the one somehow managed to completely destroy my volume knob. Go figure. He said he cleaned it up nice for me...included in the price sorta deal. :( I think those endeavors cost me over 150$. I paid 250$ for the guitar, so undertaking this myself is the only logical answer left.

As far as filing the nut down, no I don't have to do that. Maybe that first post wasn't so clear, the nut isn't broken, it needs to be shimmed.

Also in regard to techs, ahh they are way too damn busy. I am still waiting for calls back from 2 guys. Called them 2 weeks ago.

Why not dirty my hands a little :D.

Anyhow, the most obvious answer is to do a search! Thank you for pointing out the obvious DJL, it never ceases to amaze me how many answers are out there if I look. Then again I did do a search of this BBS :D .

As a side note, I suppose down the line it wouldn't be a horrible idea for me to get the tools of the trade. I have more than one guitar, and am always looking to add. As another note, after doing some more reading, it looks like most of my nuts are fucked!

Goddamn cheap guitars...

Thanks again.
 
Try This! As a temp solution. Take a small piece of paper, really small, like a corner, and fold it in the high "e" space in the nut, then put your high "e" string on top. You might be able to raise the string height so the buzz will go away. Like I said this is a temp solution, but this has worked on several older guitars, that I have bought in the past, that had the same problem.
Good luck.
Shinobi
 
You could always pick up a graphtech pre-slotted nut for $10. They usually need a little adjustment (they're cut higher than needed) but will work "ok" straight away.

Like someone mentioned, the nut files (real ones) are about $70 or so.
 
Actually that's a great suggestion Shinobi, and I have used that in the past on another guitar. Unfortunately, it doesn't give me enough height in the current situation :( . Hehe I have already ripped the nut of, shimmed, glued and clamped anyhow. I'm not holding my breath, but if it doesn't work, I haven't hurt anything, and there is always the option of getting a real tech to fix it. :D

Something similair to what you mentioned, I would sometimes use a piece of electrical tape on the string tee on one guitar I have, because the strings were always breaking there. The edge on the tee wasn't as sharp, and with the angle changed from an acute point to more of a soft bend, I have a lot less breakage. Of course all of these soft spots cut down on sustain, but I'm talking cheapo guitars here.
 
You can always try another happy temp trick of mine. Cut two popsicle sticks to the size you need, and notch them, then glue them together, instant temp nut! It works! :D
 
raising the saddle will make playing up the neck more difficult as the strings will be higher the further you go up. Best is to just replace the nut. Like someone said, you can buy the nut for $10. Then you can take a flat piece of sandpaper and sand down the bottom uniformly until you get the correct height. You can find some good info from william cumpiano http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Newsletters/archive.html
 
Man...

...so now I am in the process of hunting down a good tech...my glue-jobby didn't hold :D.

That's some really good info in that link there Dave...thanks a lot, at the very least I will become better informed ;) . I am finding the stuff in there very comprehensive.

hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee techtechtech!!!
 
AHHH YES!

Thats one of those link I had long lost...and so far the best of em all :D Thanks again...maybe there is hope after all!
 
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