Nut Materials?? - FRETS.NET2024-03-29T08:48:24Zhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topics/nut-materials?feed=yes&xn_auth=noI'm with Roger on this one...…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-09-16:2177249:Comment:1726892017-09-16T15:10:05.865ZMike Kolbhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/MikeKolb
<p>I'm with Roger on this one.... the smell of bone seems to be (oddly enough) somewhat pleasant, but the buffalo horn is downright offensive! I guess it's all an individual thing. </p>
<p>I'm a bass player and have installed brass nuts on occasion, but they don't seem to give that much effect, one way or the other. Perhaps my ears are as undiscerning as my nose!</p>
<p>I'm with Roger on this one.... the smell of bone seems to be (oddly enough) somewhat pleasant, but the buffalo horn is downright offensive! I guess it's all an individual thing. </p>
<p>I'm a bass player and have installed brass nuts on occasion, but they don't seem to give that much effect, one way or the other. Perhaps my ears are as undiscerning as my nose!</p> Hesh , my old dog Milo also l…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-09-15:2177249:Comment:1727832017-09-15T08:45:49.475ZLen Biglinhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/LenBiglin
<p>Hesh , my old dog Milo also loved bone nuts , in the end he was blind and deaf but he could smell real well . He would steal and eat any bone nut that hit the floor , and loved scissors because I only used them to cut banjo skins , he just loved skin offcuts and if he heard the scissors he would come to my side with tail wagging . I must admit that I stole some of his bones too , when I didn't have the right size blank ,I miss him , dogs are so dumb but so smart .</p>
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<p>Hesh , my old dog Milo also loved bone nuts , in the end he was blind and deaf but he could smell real well . He would steal and eat any bone nut that hit the floor , and loved scissors because I only used them to cut banjo skins , he just loved skin offcuts and if he heard the scissors he would come to my side with tail wagging . I must admit that I stole some of his bones too , when I didn't have the right size blank ,I miss him , dogs are so dumb but so smart .</p>
<p></p> On an acoustic guitar that "z…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-09-11:2177249:Comment:1726382017-09-11T05:22:45.116ZRoger Häggströmhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/RogerHaeggstroem
<p>On an acoustic guitar that "zing" is no good. For me anyway.</p>
<p>On an acoustic guitar that "zing" is no good. For me anyway.</p> all i can contribute here is…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-09-10:2177249:Comment:1726342017-09-10T23:29:27.602ZWalter W Wrighthttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/WalterWWright
<p>all i can contribute here is one anecdote (the plural of which is not "data", i know):</p>
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<p>for laughs i tried making an impromptu les paul nut out of the "worst" material i could think of, a big hunk of pink rubber eraser.</p>
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<p>on fretted notes i heard no noticeable change in sustain or "tone" compared to the regular nut.</p>
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<p>as for brass, i have it on my own electrics and i quite like it! it seems to add a pinch of "zing" to the open notes, and as long as i…</p>
<p>all i can contribute here is one anecdote (the plural of which is not "data", i know):</p>
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<p>for laughs i tried making an impromptu les paul nut out of the "worst" material i could think of, a big hunk of pink rubber eraser.</p>
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<p>on fretted notes i heard no noticeable change in sustain or "tone" compared to the regular nut.</p>
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<p>as for brass, i have it on my own electrics and i quite like it! it seems to add a pinch of "zing" to the open notes, and as long as i keep a tiny bit of lube in the slots it stays in tune very nicely, especially on my gibsons (including a flying V) where there's extreme angles coming off the nut that cause softer materials to grab those middle strings. it's also lasted me a very long time on those guitars, easily a decade plus without wearing down (and i run decently low action with <span style="text-decoration: underline;">very</span> low nut slot clearance over the first fret.)</p>
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<p>it would never occur to me to suggest brass for acoustics or basses, and it's not my go-to recommendation in general (bone is) but what am i missing? why is it "bad"? could it just be because of the association with all the other bad brass stuff from the late '70s early '80s?</p> I too like working with bone,…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-08-10:2177249:Comment:1721782017-08-10T13:48:13.911ZRichard Baleshttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/RichardBales
<p>I too like working with bone, except that it reminds me that I 'm overdue for a visit to the dentist.</p>
<p>I too like working with bone, except that it reminds me that I 'm overdue for a visit to the dentist.</p> I must have a really bad sens…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-08-10:2177249:Comment:1721762017-08-10T10:32:32.649ZRoger Häggströmhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/RogerHaeggstroem
<p>I must have a really bad sense of smell, bone don't bother me at all. Black buffalo horn is another matter, very smelly stuff indeed. I read somewhere that psychopaths have a bad sense of smell, I hope I'm not one of them...</p>
<p>I must have a really bad sense of smell, bone don't bother me at all. Black buffalo horn is another matter, very smelly stuff indeed. I read somewhere that psychopaths have a bad sense of smell, I hope I'm not one of them...</p> Regarding the smell of bone..…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-08-10:2177249:Comment:1720662017-08-10T09:17:31.100ZHesh Breakstonehttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/HeshBreakstone
<p>Regarding the smell of bone....</p>
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<p>My dog/pal Sony RIP would run in circles, pant uncontrollably and sling drool every time I took a bone blank to the belt sander.... </p>
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<p>I was so concerned about him that he might have a heart attack over the smell of heated bone that I took him to his Vet. The Vet gave me valium to give him in advance of any bone sanding and that did help as well as putting him in another part of the house before I worked on any bone…</p>
<p>Regarding the smell of bone....</p>
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<p>My dog/pal Sony RIP would run in circles, pant uncontrollably and sling drool every time I took a bone blank to the belt sander.... </p>
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<p>I was so concerned about him that he might have a heart attack over the smell of heated bone that I took him to his Vet. The Vet gave me valium to give him in advance of any bone sanding and that did help as well as putting him in another part of the house before I worked on any bone crafting.</p>
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<p>Bone fan here above all other materials just wondering if anyone else has had any issues with their four legged friends and bone.</p>
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<p></p> I like bone. It doesn't cut a…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-08-09:2177249:Comment:1721732017-08-09T22:36:50.612ZJohnhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/John631
<p>I like bone. It doesn't cut as fast as Tusq does so I find it easier to zero in on the right nut slot height. It's also easier to fill if you go too far. Most importantly a well made and finely polished bone nut looks nicer than anything else. I have some walrus tusk (we're allowed to have it here) and it's even nicer. </p>
<p>I work part time in a very busy shop and the premade Tusq nuts help us shovel through cheaper guitars quickly. I think there's a tendency to set them a little high…</p>
<p>I like bone. It doesn't cut as fast as Tusq does so I find it easier to zero in on the right nut slot height. It's also easier to fill if you go too far. Most importantly a well made and finely polished bone nut looks nicer than anything else. I have some walrus tusk (we're allowed to have it here) and it's even nicer. </p>
<p>I work part time in a very busy shop and the premade Tusq nuts help us shovel through cheaper guitars quickly. I think there's a tendency to set them a little high because it's too easy to cut them too low. At home my higher end customers mostly get bone nuts and saddles. </p>
<p>Imo brass adds sustain and diminishes tone. </p>
<p>Aluminum seems to work on Danolectros and is often used on lap steel guitars. Some of the lap steel players I've done work for have a preference for it. </p>
<p>Which one sounds better? Ask the players that use a lot of open strings, bluegrass flatpickers, fingerstyle, alternate tuning slapping the hands on the fingerboard types....</p>
<p>I like bone the best. After working with it for forty years I don't mind the smell, I like the way it cuts and I think it looks like quality.</p>
<p></p> That's very interesting! Mayb…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-08-09:2177249:Comment:1719802017-08-09T05:42:19.942ZRoger Häggströmhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/RogerHaeggstroem
<p>That's very interesting! Maybe a bone nut isn't the best choice for an electric guitar, a zero fret or a man made hard enough material may be better. Also explains why the saddles in metal on an electric guitar works so well.</p>
<p>That's very interesting! Maybe a bone nut isn't the best choice for an electric guitar, a zero fret or a man made hard enough material may be better. Also explains why the saddles in metal on an electric guitar works so well.</p> Hi Roger,
Now you are talking…tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2017-08-08:2177249:Comment:1719792017-08-08T23:14:28.299ZRussell Vancehttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/RussellVance
<p>Hi Roger,</p>
<p>Now you are talking, The question as to what nut material to use is driven by what you wish to use it for. As previously posted different instuments, in particular electric and acoustics, have different requirements. Acoustic insrtuments, as you point out may respond to a nut with inconsistent density and frequency response foibles giving a perception of being interesting (not boring). </p>
<p>However, electric guitars are required to drive processors and pedal trains…</p>
<p>Hi Roger,</p>
<p>Now you are talking, The question as to what nut material to use is driven by what you wish to use it for. As previously posted different instuments, in particular electric and acoustics, have different requirements. Acoustic insrtuments, as you point out may respond to a nut with inconsistent density and frequency response foibles giving a perception of being interesting (not boring). </p>
<p>However, electric guitars are required to drive processors and pedal trains and also analogue devices in series (and parallel) with high output pickups and high gain pre-amp/power amp stages. They also need to fight input /output impedance mismatches in these chain items which can affect frequency responses in a good or bad way.</p>
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<p>Consequently, a clear strong fundamental and tightly related harmonic sequence with a minimum of noise and disparate signal frequencies is a good thing to put into the front end of these things otherwize it will turn to mud downtrack in a heartbeat. Similarly, the requirement to be able to replicate a tone set from instrument to instrument mitigates against introducing inconsistent component values of which we have too many already. Boring consistent specifications in this case makes for higher quality at the output stages and is our bedrock to build QA on.</p>
<p>The right answer to this interesting subject lies in asking the right question.</p>
<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Rusty. </p>