Members Ryan. Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 So I just had a bone nut put on my Gibson LP... I don't know much about guitars. What exactly is this going to do for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Red81 Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 so you have an LP and had a bone nut installed, yet don't know much about guitars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted June 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Yeah pretty much. Its a studio if that makes you feel any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blackmonday Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 It will turn you into a rock god. Actually, it will probably help your open strings ring out a little more if you had a cheap plastic nut. That's about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 It increases the voodoo power. It's better if you got the bone from something you sacrificed yourself, and better still if you did it during a full moon. But off-the-shelf bone still has a reasonable amount of voodoo in it. Some people also think it improves tuning stability, which is just crazy talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitmo Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 So I just had a bone nut put on my Gibson LP... I don't know much about guitars. What exactly is this going to do for me? If it's a decent piece of bone it will give the strings a nice solid base. They shouldn't dig into it nearly as quickly as plastic. There is soft bone though, I've had some that powdered like chalk when I filed it. Might help tone on open strings but most notes are fretted so other than a being a hard base for the strings probably not much. Bone is good but I'm a huge Tusq fan. That is what I replaced my Epi LP nut with. I might try the graphite nut on a guitar with a tremelo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted June 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Yeah it had a plastic nut before hand... I just took it in for some warranty repairs... string grounding, and a switch fix, and they offered to install a bone nut... Some place with a lot of smart guys, and a platinum record on the wall with the guy who is selling me the bone nut's name on it... I thought what the hell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EADGBE Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 It should sound better. Louder with a little more sustain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Sorry, if it wasn't clear, the genuine part of my reply was that it will give you better tuning stability than a plastic nut. Better nut is one of the best value for money upgrades you can do on a guitar, even the best brands ship a lot of models with nasty plastic nuts. Personally, I prefer graphtech stuff over actual bone, but they're both good improvements over the stock stuff most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 It should sound better. Louder with a little more sustain. This is true, but only for open string notes. Fretted notes are the same with any kind of nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 They last longer. And everyone knows that a bone nut will make you play like SRV, EVH, BB king and all of the other guitar gods. Nothing else can do this.It will also make your amp louder and your pecker harder. After all, it IS bone...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 I just took it in for some warranty repairs... string grounding, and a switch fix, and they offered to install a bone nut... Sounds like you have found that rarest of things: a good tech that gives actual good advice. They're probably worth sticking with. If they were tryying to scam you for money, they'd have come up with something more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted June 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Sounds like you have found that rarest of things: a good tech that gives actual good advice. They're probably worth sticking with. If they were tryying to scam you for money, they'd have come up with something more expensive. That is reassuring. Unfortunately even though I love playing my guitar, I don't have the time to know everything about it, and its amp, and my drumkit... just like I don't have the time to figure out how to replace the tranny on my suburban... which means I have to find people I can trust to make these repairs for me. I was having tuning issues on the low E so hopefully that will help cure it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 That is reassuring. I was having tuning issues on the low E so hopefully that will help cure it! If the slot was too high or mis-aligned it very well could help intonation. BTW I always try to talk my customers w/plastic nuts into either bone or Graphtech depending on if it's a trem guitar. I've also used Corian with great success. A properly cut nut can sometimes turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 In depth guitar knowledge is the preserve of miserable old buggers who've been at it too long. Just enjoy yourself, and go back to these guys if you have trouble. If you're interested, the tuning problem on Les Pauls is down to what's arguably a fundamental design flaw. Basically, the way the strings splay out on the headstock, rather than go straight like on a Fender can cause snagging problems, where the string catches in the nut and doesn't quite return to it's original position after a bend. All guitars have this problem to some degree, but the splaying out exacerbates it. You'll notice this if you do bends on most acoustics, for example. Note how most modern headstock designs go for the straight path, such as PRS guitars, which are otherwise quite Les Paul-like. Better nut will largely overcome this problem even on those crazy splayed out Dean headstocks, though. Also, have look around for some good lubricant. Big Bends Nut Sauce is a good brand. Sorts it right out for cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 If the slot was too high or mis-aligned it very well could help intonation. Yeah, that too. You get horrid that intonation problem at the first two or three frets when it's too high, meaning that being in tune for the whole fretboard makes low open string chords sound out of tune. BTW I always try to talk my customers w/plastic nuts into either bone or Graphtech depending on if it's a trem guitar. I've also used Corian with great success. A properly cut nut can sometimes turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Absolutely agreed. It's one of my biggest frustrations with factory guitars, this. A good nut cut by a good tech can turn a guitar from useless to awesome. I don't understand why more guitars don't ship this way; it's not an expensive or especially difficult job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 You can also make your own lube with Vaseline and graphite. Pencil lead @ string change time usually is all that's needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted June 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Great advice guys! I really appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Absolutely agreed. It's one of my biggest frustrations with factory guitars, this. A good nut cut by a good tech can turn a guitar from useless to awesome. I don't understand why more guitars don't ship this way; it's not an expensive or especially difficult job. Every single Korean guitar that comes into the shop has a plastic nut. But they're cut properly. I don't recommend a new nut unless it's needed.BTW I agree. OP, you have a good, honest tech. Take good care of him/her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted June 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Is it customary to tip someone that has given good advice/done good work in the guitar repair industry? I don't mind paying for work done well... But there have been a few jobs I've worked at where we aren't allowed to accept tips or risk losing our jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Hmm. Never encountered that in the UK. But I do now have a regular tech who is really, really good, and also a really nice guy, so we have this weird thing we're I'm always trying to overpay him and he's always trying to do more than I've asked for/ Like, keep the change, oh okay, here's some strings and I replaced the switch too. He's the {censored} (Steve Robinson at www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk, for anyone in the North West). If they're in a shop, I bet they earn peanuts, so I'm sure they wouldn't take offence. Anyone who can get a couple of extra beers after a days doing a good job always goes home happy. Friend of mine who used to work in a bar once gave me some good advice: tip for good service on the first round, get excellent service on the second. But never tip for {censored} service, because that stays {censored} all night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kirs Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 If you're interested, the tuning problem on Les Pauls is down to what's arguably a fundamental design flaw. Basically, the way the strings splay out on the headstock, rather than go straight like on a Fender can cause snagging problems, where the string catches in the nut and doesn't quite return to it's original position after a bend. All guitars have this problem to some degree, but the splaying out exacerbates it. My 2010 Les Paul Traditional has this problem. Adding graphite from a pencil helped a lot but maybe I'll change the nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Yeah, it's an unavoidable issue with the headstock design.. This is one of the problems with the fetishisation of the classic designs; we cling onto the flaws as much as the positives. I mean, the {censored}ing colossal heel on a strat, what is that about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pope on a Rope Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Sorry, if it wasn't clear, the genuine part of my reply was that it will give you better tuning stability than a plastic nut. Better nut is one of the best value for money upgrades you can do on a guitar, even the best brands ship a lot of models with nasty plastic nuts. Personally, I prefer graphtech stuff over actual bone, but they're both good improvements over the stock stuff most of the time. Plastic nuts hold tuning just as well as any other material when cut properly and lubricated. A bone nut is just as susceptible to tuning instability issues when not properly cut or lubricated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john_p_t Posted June 11, 2010 Members Share Posted June 11, 2010 Hmm. Yeah, you could argue that. Lubrication is probably the most important thing. My subjective experience is that plastic is the "stickiest" material you can have for a nut, but I wouldn't go to the sword for that opinion or anything, and lubricating regularly is a good idea no matter what it's made of. I'd definitely say graphtech is better than either, though, due to it's self-lubricating properties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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