Strong Guitar Nut Suggestions

[ghetto3jon]

hello,

right now i'm using three guitars live, and i'm trying to scale it down to one. it will be an epiphone G-1275. on the six string side, i'm going to be using a couple different tunings, and i'm afraid of breaking the nut from quickly tuning the lower strings all the time. i once broke a strat nut because i would go into drop D a couple times a night...and eventually the nut broke right where the low E sits. and i don't want that to happen on the new guitar...so i'd like to preemptively change the nut to a stronger or more slippery nut. does anyone have any suggestions? i'd noticed graph-tech makes some, and there is something called slip-stone, i think? maybe brass?

 

[ggunn]

hello,

right now i'm using three guitars live, and i'm trying to scale it down to one. it will be an epiphone G-1275. on the six string side, i'm going to be using a couple different tunings, and i'm afraid of breaking the nut from quickly tuning the lower strings all the time. i once broke a strat nut because i would go into drop D a couple times a night...and eventually the nut broke right where the low E sits. and i don't want that to happen on the new guitar...so i'd like to preemptively change the nut to a stronger or more slippery nut. does anyone have any suggestions? i'd noticed graph-tech makes some, and there is something called slip-stone, i think? maybe brass?

Brass will cause more trouble than it will solve if you are changing tunings a lot and/or using some sort of tremelo bar. The metal on metal friction coefficient is extremely high.

 

[Slowrider]

I just rebuilt a Les Paul and used Slipstone from Stew-Mac. Easy to cut, file a


nd polish! Made several from hard brass....Nice. Brass works wonders, IF you polish inside the string slots.

 

[ghetto3jon]

thanks for the feedback. perhaps the slip-stone or graph-tech would be better. the one i broke on the strat was bone, i believe. and i onced broke a plastic one on a les paul. i'm not overly concerned with the sound properties, i'm just concerned about the serrated-knife-action of a low E or A as it's tuned in and out of alternate tunings. i'm a bit paranoid because i've broke two nuts on stage right in the middle of a song (different guitars, different string gauges and brands).

 

[ermghoti]

Are you getting your guitar set up for your string guage? There is no reason for a nut to break, regardless of your tuning tendancies, unless the string is too tight in the slot.

 

[XLR]

Are you getting your guitar set up for your string guage? There is no reason for a nut to break, regardless of your tuning tendancies, unless the string is too tight in the slot.

I agree. The only exception I've seen is with cheap soft plastic nuts that come on some super-cheap gtrs. I've seen them crack without string slots having been too narrow. But you're not likely to see them on a decent gtr.

 

[muttley600]

hello,

right now i'm using three guitars live, and i'm trying to scale it down to one. it will be an epiphone G-1275. on the six string side, i'm going to be using a couple different tunings, and i'm afraid of breaking the nut from quickly tuning the lower strings all the time. i once broke a strat nut because i would go into drop D a couple times a night...and eventually the nut broke right where the low E sits. and i don't want that to happen on the new guitar...so i'd like to preemptively change the nut to a stronger or more slippery nut. does anyone have any suggestions? i'd noticed graph-tech makes some, and there is something called slip-stone, i think? maybe brass?

Bone everytime. Have the slots cut correctly it will not worry about dropping tuning as quick as you like.

 

[Light]

Bone everytime. Have the slots cut correctly it will not worry about dropping tuning as quick as you like.

Strongly concur. I almost never use anything other than bone. The only exception to that is if you want to do a lot of dive bombing with a Floyd without a locking nut. But then, you shouldn't use a Floyd without a locking nut.

But yeah, bone. Anything else is eventually gonna make you wish you had gotten bone.

(Actually, on old guitars where originality is an issue, we will use real elephant ivory if the customer is willing to pay for it, but only for the sake of originality. Everyone in the shop prefers bone.)


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Sirnothingness]

I had bone put in my strat and haven't had any problems. I'm happy with it.

 

[NRS]

You might also look into a roller nut. The strings sit on either rollers or bearings (depending on what type you get) instead of in a stationary slot and are a match made for heavy trem use (and constant tuning changes I would think). Havent owned one myself so cant say much more about them other than that the concept seems to be a sensible one.

 

[Dani Pace]

You might also look into a roller nut. The strings sit on either rollers or bearings (depending on what type you get) instead of in a stationary slot and are a match made for heavy trem use (and constant tuning changes I would think). Havent owned one myself so cant say much more about them other than that the concept seems to be a sensible one.

I have a Hamer with a roller nut, it's great for quick change tuning. If you want to stay with a soild nut, I have to agree that bone is the best way to go.

 

[ghetto3jon]

roller nut, very cool. thanks for the suggestions, i really appreciate it.

 

[Nick The Man]

my brother made a SRV replica and used actual bonebut i cant remember from what animal

but i remember him cutting it all in and it turned out pretty nice little buzzy on the low E but that can be fixed with a better cut

 

[Light]

my brother made a SRV replica and used actual bonebut i cant remember from what animal

Cow. It all comes from cows.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[ermghoti]

Allparts sells all kinds of wacky nut blanks. I think they have mammoth ivory!

 

[cephus]

I just got a new bone nut on my strat and I am very pleased at the way it stays so well in tune with whammy bar use. There is no lube in there that i am aware of. It's just cut right.

Also, do those roller nuts even roll? It would seem to me that the downward pressure on it would be enough to not allow the thing to rotate the way you think it does.

 

[ggunn]

I just got a new bone nut on my strat and I am very pleased at the way it stays so well in tune with whammy bar use. There is no lube in there that i am aware of. It's just cut right.

Also, do those roller nuts even roll? It would seem to me that the downward pressure on it would be enough to not allow the thing to rotate the way you think it does.

Roller nuts work; it's what they use on pedal steel guitars so that they retune correctly after a pedal or kneebar is used.

 

[Zaphod B]

I just got a new bone nut on my strat and I am very pleased at the way it stays so well in tune with whammy bar use. There is no lube in there that i am aware of. It's just cut right.

Also, do those roller nuts even roll? It would seem to me that the downward pressure on it would be enough to not allow the thing to rotate the way you think it does.

I have a roller nut on my Strat. I'm pretty sure those rollers are actually moving, since I can neither hear nor feel any indication that the string windings are fighting any resistance.

This Strat also has the locking tuners, so you don't even get a full wrap on the tuning pegs. That, combined with the relatively shallow headstock angle, likely combine to minimize pressure on those rollers. I could see how a really steep string angle might cause the rollers to bind.

 

[rory]

I've got guitars with bone nuts, roller nuts, brass nuts, and the standard fare. Is this really that much of an issue for most people? They all stay in tune fine for me. When I was younger, I had a squire strat and I replaced the nut there to bone just because I wore out the other nut. The plastic ones do not last forever, but I don't see much difference besides personal preference in them.

 

[ggunn]

I've got guitars with bone nuts, roller nuts, brass nuts, and the standard fare. Is this really that much of an issue for most people? They all stay in tune fine for me. When I was younger, I had a squire strat and I replaced the nut there to bone just because I wore out the other nut. The plastic ones do not last forever, but I don't see much difference besides personal preference in them.

If you tried using a brass nut on a Strat with a whammy bar, you would most definitely see a difference. I had one on my Strat when I first bought it for about 10 minutes; any tremelo action sent it way out of tune. Metal on metal friction coefficients are about as high as they get.