topolino said:
so with my steel string, should I be trying to optimize the 'down angle' of the strings above and through the nut, and if so, how??
I am not a luthier by any stretch.
I was mostly pointing it out as an interesting thing some people might not think about.
I don't worry about it too much, except as a concept. I just try not to have a lot of turns on my post, or just one. This also makes tuning and alternate tunings more accurate and easy.
That being said, here goes:
The slot in the nut will have a flat spot for the string to lie on, and gradually fall away in a curve on the tuning post side.
If you have
a spark plug feeler gauge, or something else that fits in the slot, you can lay it in the slot in the nut. It may take a little to get the feel for when the gauge is flat in the slot.
This will show you about the right angle. If you imagine that line going to the string post, you can eyeball the angle.
Basically you would figure out how many turns around the post it takes to get the string to be at the right angle. (You should definitely have your strings so the windings don't overlap, and so they go down the post as you tighten the string.) The tricky part is figuring out how to get the right amount of turns.
Again, it's something many people don't think about, including me, most of the time. I got an idea of about what it should be, and just kind of try to keep it within reason.
I will say this- it definitely makes a difference if you have a strat with a whammy bar. The right angle and a well-cut nut helps a lot keeping the thing in tune, cause the strings don't stick as much.
topolino said:
should I be doing this with the nylon, or is it sort of automatically done because of the orientation?
Yes-the sideways posts keep the correct angle. With the nylon, the side-to-side friction is more of a concern. You will see that a lot of nylon string guitars have wider slots at the back of the nut to allow for some side-to-side variation.