guitar nut radius

If your pre-cut nut has a radius that’s larger (i.e. High-quality solid brass string nut helps open notes sound more like fretted notes. Working on several guitars with medium low action, trial and error resulted in offsets of about.05” at the 6 th string and about.025 at the 2 nd string. This is close to the vintage 7 ¼” radius of the ‘50s and ‘60s, and feels virtually the same yet allows guitarists just a bit more note bending before a note will “choke” or “fret out”. A common compound-radius offering is 12″–16″. Mark your radius on the side of the nut and use a file or belt sander to remove most of the waste. String Lifter and Nut Slotting File The String lifter is used to lift a string from it’s slot so the nut can be cut to the proper depth for easy playability. Filling a Low Nut Slot with Baking Soda and Superglue. Here is a quick check to make sure that the radius set at the bridge is consistent with the fretboard radius: With the guitar tuned up to pitch, measure the height of each string from the bottom of the string to the top of the fretboard at the twelfth fret. I don't do spam and you can unsubscribe at any time. Acoustic Guitar Setup Tips and Ideas . 12" SCALE LENGTH. Most Fender nuts have a curved bottom to fit a curved slot. Download Truss Rods Made Easy for free. Can't find what you are looking for? Check your inbox for an email for me—you'll need to confirm your subscription there. © 2020 ThaliaCapos.com. Powered by Shopify. This means that when you clamp the string locks back up it doesn’t raise the pitch. Keep an eye on things as you go, especially to ensure the bottom is at right-angles to the side. You don’t have to look too closely at most electric guitar and bass fingerboards to see that few if any of them are truly flat; most of them have a slight convex curvature across their width. These necks are made to the old 1940s Gibson or modern day Epiphone width which is halfway between a Strat and a Les Paul nut width. Round back/flat radius, wide-thin/round radius, and a lot of people covet those 442R's with the thicker V/flat radius neck. After installing the nut or saddle, slide the sander across a strip of sandpaper attached to a flat surface. The following table lists common fretboard radii used by major manufacturer. Personally, I don’t like the idea of an air-gap under my nut but, hey… Anyway, that tab will need to be removed to fit a radiused slot. It’s really easy to clamp this in my vice to work on a nut. That means you can skip this radiusing process. $13.99 $ 13. If you want, you can use a file or rougher sandpaper (maybe 120 grit) to get most of the material out of the way (I have the luxury of hogging most of it out on my belt sander). This is particularly important if you are going to add a roller nut to an existing guitar. If you’ve got a vintage-style 7¼” radius, the bottom of the slot also arcs across the fretboard at a 7¼” radius. Mismatches can mean setup compromises. The Nut and Saddle Sander is designed to hold a nut or an acoustic saddle so you can easily create a square bottom surface. Stratocaster/Telecaster Pre-Slotted Brass String Nut. It actually makes total sense but not until I’ve explained. You are all done when all wheels start to turn. Please Note: Installation of the Earvana nut requires widening the nut slot from 1/8" (3mm) to 1/4" (6mm). To be eligible for discounts, please enable JavaScript for your browser. Whether you’ve got a bone nut or a Tusq/Graphtech/another synthetic nut, the process is pretty much the same. The Trifecta of Guitar Setup. Here’s the trick: To get the perfect radius for the bottom of your nut, use the fretboard as a ‘former’. If you’re cutting a new nut from a blank (whether bone or synthetic), you have to shape the bottom to fit the appropriate radius. Before we get to the bottom of the nut, we need to make sure the nut fits into the slot in the first place. NOTE:  This data has been collected from a wide range of sources and has not been completely verified for accuracy. Using back-and-forward strokes, slowly remove the remainder of the material from the nut-bottom. As a quick side note at this point, on ‘import’ instruments with Fender-like necks, the nut slot will usually be flat bottomed. Certain nuts are also manufactured at a particular radius. Designed for guitars with modern 9.5" radius fingerboards. It should conform to the fingerboard radius which is a match for the slot radius. I always do setups in this order: 1) relief, 2) nut, 3) saddle because a) relief can affect the other two and b) there is essentially one correct nut height and it will affect the overall action. If you do not find your specific brand and model below you can Google your guitar make/model plus the words "fretboard radius"; if that doesn't work you can use the manual method which is described here, Please Note:  12-String & 8-String Guitars should use our High Tension OctaveTouch fretpads to get the best performance. Scrape, cut, or file away any old glue or finish residue from the sides and bottom … If it’s not perfect, read on. Even if you’re fitting a pre-cut nut, you’ll probably still have to do some work on the bottom. And, 1 ¾ inches another normal width that is preferred by some fingerstyle players. I’ve made a little former from a block of hard wood for this job. Using back-and-forward strokes, slowly remove the … If you make a lot of nuts, it makes sense to make your own radiused former. For acoustic guitars nut widths tend to fit somewhere in between the 41mm (1.6”) and 47mm (1.85”) mark. A guitar’s scale length is length of string between the nut and the bridge. If you want to accommodate some extra string pairs, the neck width on those 12 string instruments is around 1 7/8″. 5.0 out of 5 stars 1. A roller nut radius is preset at usually a 10 or a 12 inches. Use a pencil to mark this radius onto the side of your nut. WIDTH OF THE FRETBOARD AT THE NUT: Wide Fat - 1 11/16" Wide Thin - 1 11/16" WIDTH AT THE BODY Wide Fat - 2 1/4" Wide Thin - 2 1/4" NECK DEPTH AT THE NUT Wide Fat - 27/32" Wide Thin - 25/32" FINGERBOARD RADIUS 10" on all guitars except when otherwise stated. Another modern option is a compound-radius (Fig. Silversurfer is thinking about making a custom guitar. flatter) than your neck, the outside strings are going to sit higher, relative to the fretboard and frets. This website uses JavaScript to apply discounts. The nut is set and it’s set for life. 2), where the area closer to the nut is rounder, and the fingerboard flattens out as you move toward the heel (closer to the body). The ZS-3 Martin nut is the model you'll need for the StewMac P and 335 model guitar kits. This pain-in-the-ass task will not have to be set again unless you convert to playing slide guitar. Scale has a relatively low impact on sound and playability of the guitar. Thanks a lot. Don’t have a radius gauge? 99. Double check your fingerboard radius between the nut and first fret using a radius gauge. Let’s set the string retainer height. Guyker 43mm Guitar Adjustable Brass Nut - Height Bell Nut Replacement Compatible with Gibson Les Paul LP SG Style Guitar. Graph Tech PQ-6116-00 TUSQ Slotted Guitar Nut - 1-11/16" Long x 3/16" Wide 1 11/16" Wide Pre-slotted Replacement String Nut for Acoustic or Electric Guitars - White $11.60 6-month Special Financing Available ‡ Pop a strip of masking tape on to protect the board and then place your sandpaper on that. Chances are, you’ll have to do some thicknessing to get a nice snug fit. We have everything you need to upgrade your guitar, bass, ukulele, … Graph Tech is the worlds largest nut and saddle manufacturer. If you want to get a feeling for it, sit your new nut on your fingerboard and see whether it touches the board all along its length. A hand-drawn, illustrated guide to setting up your own Strat. How an 8-year-old girl's big idea starts a capo revolution... We are musicians & artists in the San Francisco Bay Area... Thalia Artists amaze & delight with their guitars.... WANT IT FAST? It might take a few minutes to come through so, don't worry if it's not there immediately. If you do not find your specific brand and model below you can Google your guitar … For guitars, some players feel that smaller radii (7.25–10") are more comfortable for chord and rhythm playing, while larger radii (12"-16" and up to flat) are better for fast soloing. When considering fretboard radius it is important select something that is both comfortable in your hand and conducive to your playing style. It should be tightened so each string touches the back of the locking nut unit. When you remove the old nut, you’ll probably find that the slot in the neck (where the nut sits) doesn’t actually have a flat bottom — it’s curved to match the radius of the fingerboard. $7.45. QuickShip Products from every category are in stock and ready to ship! These Capos are READY TO SHIP! You’ll have to match this to install a new nut. $1.89 shipping. $8.97. 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