Guitar fetish is alright

JCH said:
Cutting the slots is easy, but the files you need to do it are expensive.
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Well that's why I was hoping, foolishly of course, that there was some other way. Guess I'll have to go with Chili's suggestion and have a tech do it. Just hope it's not going to cost me more than I paid for all the parts! It seems like I always end up spending more than I wanted on these projects!
 
Mr. C said:
Well that's why I was hoping, foolishly of course, that there was some other way. Guess I'll have to go with Chili's suggestion and have a tech do it. Just hope it's not going to cost me more than I paid for all the parts! It seems like I always end up spending more than I wanted on these projects!
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You can buy a set of feeler gauges from autozone for 3 bucks and use a dremel with a cutting wheel to cut notches along the length of each gauge you're going to use. It's not quite as good as the high priced nut files but a lot of people cut nut slots this way.
Most but most factory guitar nut slots suck and you can certainly do better than that.


The most challenging part is actually cutting the nut slots correctly. If you've never done it before you might want to practice...get several nuts

If you don't know what you're doing you can screw up a nut with the most exspensive files.
If you do know what you're doing you can get great results with notched cheapo feeler gauges
So there ya go
 
dragonworks said:
i ordered knobs from them with abalone tops, turns out the abalone is plastic
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That sucks.
That's one reason I ordered the wilkinson stuff. With a recognized brand like that you pretty much know what to expect. They had lower priced tuners and bridges that were, according to the discription, basically the same as what I got in wilkinson but they were generic no name products.
I stuck with something I was familiar with.
 
What did you think of the wilkinson bridge? I'm thinking of going the american deluxe locking tuners as they're less than $60 on amazon right now, did it (the bridge) give any more sustain? I've got a tele plus coming in about a month (Here in Australia Fenders take forever to come in if they have to be ordered from overseas) I'm replacing the humbucker with the proper Lace t-plus dually (it's 31k output but I've heard it and it isn't as brutal as you might think, actually it's quite nice and fits the tele vibe really well, only $110 and being a lace sensor, when its coil split, it's totally noiseless) and I'm going to replace the two single coils (reviews on youtube seem to suggest the strat pickup is a bit too weak) with Ken Rose pickups, the buff beauty for the middle and the freedom t90 for the neck which is pretty much a p90 in a tele neck housing. Hey for the price of them if they're not what I'm looking for I can replace one with a seymour duncan but I don't think I'll need too
 
shoom said:
What did you think of the wilkinson bridge? I'm thinking of going the american deluxe locking tuners as they're less than $60 on amazon right now, did it (the bridge) give any more sustain? ..........
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You have to ask yourself why would the bridge give more sustain? Where is the longer string vibration coming from if it did? Where does that extra energy come from? Why is it not being dissipated as it was before?

Normally with any vibrating string more sustain = less amplitude. It may give you a slightly different sound it may not. On an electric most of the tone is in the pickups and is colored by ALL the instruments parts so unless you swap out for something completely different you are unlikely to get more sustain or notice much change in tone.
 
shoom said:
What did you think of the wilkinson bridge? I'm thinking of going the american deluxe locking tuners as they're less than $60 on amazon right now, did it (the bridge) give any more sustain? I've got a tele plus coming in about a month (Here in Australia Fenders take forever to come in if they have to be ordered from overseas) I'm replacing the humbucker with the proper Lace t-plus dually (it's 31k output but I've heard it and it isn't as brutal as you might think, actually it's quite nice and fits the tele vibe really well, only $110 and being a lace sensor, when its coil split, it's totally noiseless) and I'm going to replace the two single coils (reviews on youtube seem to suggest the strat pickup is a bit too weak) with Ken Rose pickups, the buff beauty for the middle and the freedom t90 for the neck which is pretty much a p90 in a tele neck housing. Hey for the price of them if they're not what I'm looking for I can replace one with a seymour duncan but I don't think I'll need too
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I haven't even started my Tele build yet. I have most of the parts already but I have very limited time away from work and I have been dedicating it mostly to laying flooring and painting my house. Also, I've been trying to get some recording done:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/mp3-mixing-clinic/lynyrd-haggyrd-372648/

So, the Tele build is on the back burner for the moment
 
Gibson are going to Brass zero fret nuts across it's range next year. I played with a danelectro that had a brass zero at a music store in town that I dont normally go to, it seemed to sound classlessly bright and had no sustain. The standard tele's and strats there they were like playing a $10000 PRS and had sustain for days and a much warmer tone in comparison. Though it could be something to do with the silly suspended bridge that Danelectro insists on using (Very similiar to the ones on the vintage modified squier Jazzmasters and Jags) Is everyone happy with the quality of their MP tele plusses? I heard a rumour somewhere that the finish tended to flake off in big chunks from the smallest hits, but that was only a couple of guys. And that could be due to an early production fault that has now been corrected or the paint wasn't dried properly. I'm getting the honeyburst one.
Muttley, yea the tele bridge is a bad example. but with a strat changing to a solid brass or steel block on the trem make a big difference in sustain from the cheap small ones you get on the low end asian imports. I was going to try a brass nut as the yngvie one I can get cheap, but has anyone tried the LSR roller nuts? I was told ideally that the nut should be cut from the same material as the frets. nickel in most cases. I thought the LSR would be the closest match. But once you carve up the top of the fretboard to fit it, you can't go back to a standard nut again.. very easily anyway.
 
shoom said:
Gibson are going to Brass zero fret nuts across it's range next year. I played with a danelectro that had a brass zero at a music store in town that I dont normally go to, it seemed to sound classlessly bright and had no sustain. The standard tele's and strats there they were like playing a $10000 PRS and had sustain for days and a much warmer tone in comparison. Though it could be something to do with the silly suspended bridge that Danelectro insists on using (Very similiar to the ones on the vintage modified squier Jazzmasters and Jags) Is everyone happy with the quality of their MP tele plusses? I heard a rumour somewhere that the finish tended to flake off in big chunks from the smallest hits, but that was only a couple of guys. And that could be due to an early production fault that has now been corrected or the paint wasn't dried properly. I'm getting the honeyburst one.
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The moment you fret a string the nut material and type becomes redundant in terms of tone. Zero frets are indictitive of cheap lazy production. They are easy to fit and require little if any nut set up.

Muttley, yea the tele bridge is a bad example. but with a strat changing to a solid brass or steel block on the trem make a big difference in sustain from the cheap small ones you get on the low end asian imports. I was going to try a brass nut as the yngvie one I can get cheap, but has anyone tried the LSR roller nuts? I was told ideally that the nut should be cut from the same material as the frets. nickel in most cases. I thought the LSR would be the closest match. But once you carve up the top of the fretboard to fit it, you can't go back to a standard nut again.. very easily anyway.
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You need to answer the questions I pointed to in my original reply before you can make a claim that more or less sustain is possible simply by swapping out a bridge.

You can cut a nut from what you like but it will have no effect on tone once you fret a note. A properly cut nut that doesn't bind the strings is all you need. It can be made of diamond or plastic as long as it doesn't bite the strings it will pretty much be the same. The best material around is bone. It's been used for hundreds of years, wears well, is largely stick proof and can be worked easily. I really cant see the point in anything else.
 
I was talking about just strumming the strings on the DE's and then doing then same on the fenders They were just golden in comparison. As I said that silly raised bridge isolates the entire stringmass from the body, go and compare one yourself if your LMS (Local Music Shop / Store) stocks Dans. it's abit of a snobby shop and they don't really let you plug in a guitar unless your seriously going to buy one.. Accoustic sustain is different to amp sustain.

well the never tele bridges without the 3 or 6 'barrels' on screws people seem to prefer the newer, cast saddles with grooves. A knowledgeable friend of mine reckons the vintage trems on Strats with the pressed 'humped' saddle without any groove for the string are the best, I mean the $5000 custom shop reissues have that 6 screw trem - if it works it works. I actually mistook your original comment for a strat bridge, but there is a definite difference on the cheaper squire strats with the tiny potmetal trem block when you switch to the GFS brass block or similiar. I'd like to try the wilkinson strat bridge that has the string end bobbins staggered to keep the string lengths the same. Anyway, I've gotten over my 'bling everything possible out' phase and just do things that make the guitar play better. on my jag bass I just fitted a Hi mass bridge (would have gone Bad Ass, but theyve halted production for some reason) and a graphtech XL nut, about $50 and yes, I did notice a difference in sustain over the stamped thin bridge. It's more than enough guitar (or bass) for me as I progress in skill.

Check out this site : KGC Tele Parts . Now tell me how a small brass block under over an inch of ash, maple, or in our tele plus owner's case, pine is going to make any difference to your tone Lol, and don't even get me started on the titanium saddles, gee they must save you 5 grams off your tele, Eliminate those back problems! $105 what a joke. Check out their special 'compensated' trem claw and the tremolo system with 'proper vintage springs' you could spend a grand on that site, but gee, you'd have so much sustain that You'd trigger geiger counters every time you played. Just joking, what a way to waste all that money.For what they want for the KGC custom strat tremolo arm system it's over $300 if you go for most of the good options, for not much more. you could buy a decent squire like the Strat HSS blacktop or any of the Vintage Modified range of Tele Customs or the bigsby cabronita depending whether u like humbuckers. single coils or Wide Range HB's, you could even buy a Bass and have change. Actually I'm really digging the John 5 tele in frost gold, if the australian distributor brings any in that is! I wouldn't mind replacing the neck pup with a Wide Range, they sound so country stock, I don't know why more country artists don't use them... it's a little known fact that Brad Paisley and Keith Urban are the only country artists that are allowed to play their own instruments on their recordings. And Urban earnt that much more through reputation than outstanding skill, I'm sure many of you could immediately name 5 players out there that could wipe the floor with him. oh well, this is going off into the shrubbery.

Anyway,I didn't want to get into an argument with you Muttley, Was just telling how the danelectro and fenders differed. As I said, if you get a chance, try one out and compare it to a fender.

Actually going back to nuts, someone said find someone who is replacing the keys in a really old piano and grab a handful of white ones if they are ivory that is. you'll have enough material to cut nuts for life.
 
Aren't the ancient early 1900s keys solid Ivory? there was no such thing as conservation or forward thinking back then. We'll just blow a few elephants away so we can make a new Steinberg... there's plenty more where they came from... it's not like they'd become an endangered species or anything...
 
I've been pushing their stuff for years. It's amazing what you can get at their price points.
Best bang for the buck IMO.
They've got those new Slick guitars that look awesome.
 
shoom said:
Aren't the ancient early 1900s keys solid Ivory? ...
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no .... they're wood with a thin piece of ivory glued on the top and front.
And the ivory isn't anywhere near thick enough to make a nut from it. I'm a long time piano tuner/rebuilder And in your article it mentions 'keytops' just in case you don't want to believe me.
But I've recovered many sets of keys.
In fact, when someone wants to totally recover a set of old ivory keys with plastic I'll save as many of the ivory keytops as I can ...... you can't get them anymore and if someone has an older piano with just a few keytops missing I look through them for the closest match and use them. I have a couple of boxes of them.
 
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shoom said:
I was talking about just strumming the strings on the DE's and then doing then same on the fenders They were just golden in comparison. As I said that silly raised bridge isolates the entire stringmass from the body, go and compare one yourself if your LMS (Local Music Shop / Store) stocks Dans. it's abit of a snobby shop and they don't really let you plug in a guitar unless your seriously going to buy one.. Accoustic sustain is different to amp sustain.

well the never tele bridges without the 3 or 6 'barrels' on screws people seem to prefer the newer, cast saddles with grooves. A knowledgeable friend of mine reckons the vintage trems on Strats with the pressed 'humped' saddle without any groove for the string are the best, I mean the $5000 custom shop reissues have that 6 screw trem - if it works it works. I actually mistook your original comment for a strat bridge, but there is a definite difference on the cheaper squire strats with the tiny potmetal trem block when you switch to the GFS brass block or similiar. I'd like to try the wilkinson strat bridge that has the string end bobbins staggered to keep the string lengths the same. Anyway, I've gotten over my 'bling everything possible out' phase and just do things that make the guitar play better. on my jag bass I just fitted a Hi mass bridge (would have gone Bad Ass, but theyve halted production for some reason) and a graphtech XL nut, about $50 and yes, I did notice a difference in sustain over the stamped thin bridge. It's more than enough guitar (or bass) for me as I progress in skill.

Check out this site : KGC Tele Parts . Now tell me how a small brass block under over an inch of ash, maple, or in our tele plus owner's case, pine is going to make any difference to your tone Lol, and don't even get me started on the titanium saddles, gee they must save you 5 grams off your tele, Eliminate those back problems! $105 what a joke. Check out their special 'compensated' trem claw and the tremolo system with 'proper vintage springs' you could spend a grand on that site, but gee, you'd have so much sustain that You'd trigger geiger counters every time you played. Just joking, what a way to waste all that money.For what they want for the KGC custom strat tremolo arm system it's over $300 if you go for most of the good options, for not much more. you could buy a decent squire like the Strat HSS blacktop or any of the Vintage Modified range of Tele Customs or the bigsby cabronita depending whether u like humbuckers. single coils or Wide Range HB's, you could even buy a Bass and have change. Actually I'm really digging the John 5 tele in frost gold, if the australian distributor brings any in that is! I wouldn't mind replacing the neck pup with a Wide Range, they sound so country stock, I don't know why more country artists don't use them... it's a little known fact that Brad Paisley and Keith Urban are the only country artists that are allowed to play their own instruments on their recordings. And Urban earnt that much more through reputation than outstanding skill, I'm sure many of you could immediately name 5 players out there that could wipe the floor with him. oh well, this is going off into the shrubbery.

Anyway,I didn't want to get into an argument with you Muttley, Was just telling how the danelectro and fenders differed. As I said, if you get a chance, try one out and compare it to a fender.

Actually going back to nuts, someone said find someone who is replacing the keys in a really old piano and grab a handful of white ones if they are ivory that is. you'll have enough material to cut nuts for life.
Click to expand...

.....:wtf:
 
Lt. Bob said:
no .... they're wood with a thin piece of ivory glued on the top and front.
And the ivory isn't anywhere near thick enough to make a nut from it. I'm a long time piano tuner/rebuilder And in your article it mentions 'keytops' just in case you don't want to believe me.
But I've recovered many sets of keys.
In fact, when someone wants to totally recover a set of old ivory keys with plastic I'll save as many of the ivory keytops as I can ...... you can't get them anymore and if someone has an older piano with just a few keytops missing I look through them for the closest match and use them. I have a couple of boxes of them.
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If you have a fw that are thicker they make pretty good jazz pics too...;)

Be careful working and advertising working with ivory. It's a real no these days. You can get in trouble even recycling the stuff. Ditto, tortoise shell... Check out the CITES Statements...
 
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