Your guide to nut materials
One of the smallest parts of a guitar is also the most discussed one - the nut. The nut is the area where the strings hit the guitar first, which makes it very important. Nuts are made of a variety of materials and they all can influence your tone ā for better or worse ā so I think this important part of your guitar deserves a little discussion.
First and foremost, itās important to know that the material of the nut only influences the tone of the open strings directly. With a good nut the open strings sound balanced and open, with unity gain compared to the other notes. Indirectly, the nut also influences the overall tone of a guitar because the nut transfers the vibrations of the strings to the neck, so the material and density are crucial.
With this in mind, it might seem appropriate that the material for a nut should be the same as the material used for the frets, which is how the āzero fretā came about. The āzero fretā is a normal fret where the nut should be, with an additional nut that simply guides the strings to the zero fret. The method was popular in the sixties, and some manufacturers still use it.
Guitars without a zero fret use a normal nut which still guides the strings, but is also partly responsible for the action of the guitar, the overall tuning stability and playing comfort. With some experience and the correct tools, like nut saws and files, making a nut is not very difficult. Generally, itās best to let an experienced luthier do it for you, however, as there is little reason to spend money on the tools.
Nut materials are an oft-discussed topic, and everything from forensic physics to esoteric urban legends can be found on the internet to explain the differences. Here are my two cents, mostly based on the ātry and listenā method of research.
Plastic Plastic nuts are the most common ā even some higher-priced guitars have cheap plastic nuts. Plastic nuts are not very durable, and before too long, the strings will saw through the nut slots. Besides this, low-quality plastic nuts will kill your tone, especially your sustain. It is always a good idea to replace a plastic nut if you get a guitar that has one. Plus, the standard ārhinestone whiteā color of plastic nuts isnāt the sexiest look, and gives you just one more reason to replace it. | |
"High-Tech" Plastic High-tech plastics are materials like TUSQ, Corian or Micarta. These are industrial materials with even, high density. They imitate natural bone in structure and color. The advantage of these materials is that they are artificial, offering the evenness of density without natural irregularities found in bone. These materials are used by a lot of companies, and I would recommend trying them. I canāt hear any differences when compared to a bone nut; I have a Micarta nut on my ā69 Fender āPink Paisleyā Tele, and Iām totally satisfied with it. Some luthiers claim that these materials are actually better than any bone nut ā Martin has used Corian for some time. If itās good enough for an expensive Martin guitar, itās definitely worth checking out. | |
Graphite Black in color, graphiteĀ is also very popular, especially for guitars with a tremolo. The biggest advantage to graphite is that it is āself lubricatingā for low friction. A good graphite nut helps with tuning stability in combination with a tremolo. Cheap graphite nuts, however, tend to kill your sustain, so take care to get the good stuff. | |
Brass/Metal Brass and metal were very popular during the eighties, and some companies still use brass today. It is the most durable, and will probably last forever, but it is heavy. Brass gives a very unique tone that you will have to try out to see if it is for you. The open strings can get very loud and shrill, but some heavy metal guys are into it because it helps the tone stay clear and defined when using heavy overdrive. | |
Bone Bone remains the āking of nuts,ā and is the historically correct material for vintage guitars. Nothing is as sexy as a polished bone nut on a one-piece maple neck! The tone is very balanced and the open strings are never too loud or shrill, and it will last a long time. It is important to use unbleached bone, because it naturally self-lubricates, which helps you stay in tune when using a tremolo. Plus, cosmetically, unbleached bone can be polished to a higher shine than bleached bone. I prefer unbleached camel bone. It is comparable to ivory in tone and appearance, and has a very even density. | |
Fossil Ivory Ivory is said to be the premium material for guitar nuts, providing the best tone. However, the material is questionable from an ecological point of view, and buying ivory is risking that an elephant or walrus is being killed for it. The only acceptable way to get ivory is what is referred to as fossil ivory. Fossil ivory comes from animals that died naturally millions of years ago and has been found throughout the planet. To my ears, it sounds warmer, mellower and more defined than bone. The difference is very subtle, but still audible. Another bonus is the range of colors, from creamy white to yellowish to dark brown. When polished, it can be breathtaking. Fossil ivory is not cheap, so youāll have to decide whether it is worth it for you. | |
Ivory While real ivory offers a superb tone and appearance, I highly recommend not buying this stuff. It is forbidden in most parts of the world, but like most illicit substances, it is available through underground sources. As a matter of completeness I include ivory in this list, but I urge you not to buy or use it. Keep in mind, endangered animals will have to die for your tone. |
As you can see, there is a wide range of nut materials to choose from, and there is one out there for you. Personally, nothing beats the tone and charm of an unbleached camel bone nut for me. So go nuts, and weāll see you next month.
Dirk Wacker has been addicted to all kinds of guitars since the age of 5 and is fascinated by anything that has something to do with old Fender guitars and amps. He hates short scales and Telecaster neck pickups, but loves twang. In his spare time he plays country, rockabilly, surf and Nashville styles in several bands, works as a studio musician and writes for several guitar mags. He is also a hardcore DIY guy for guitars, amps and stompboxes and also runs an extensive webpage singlecoil.com about these things.
Create, layer, and jam with the BOSS RC-1 Loop Station and BIC cable! Enter the I Love Pedals giveaway now and come back daily to increase your odds!
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The National New Yorker lived at the forefront of the emerging electric guitar industry, and in Memphis Minnieās hands, it came alive.
This National electric is just the tip of the iceberg of electric guitar history.
On a summer day in 1897, a girl named Lizzie Douglas was born on a farm in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi, the first of 13 siblings. When she was seven, her family moved closer to Memphis, Tennessee, and little Lizzie took up the banjo. Banjo led to guitar, guitar led to gigs, and gigs led to dreams. She was a prodigious talent, and āKidā Douglas ran away from home to play for tips on Beale Street when she was just a teenager. She began touring around the South, adopted the moniker Memphis Minnie, and eventually joined the circus for a few years.
(Are you not totally intrigued by the story of this incredible woman? Why did she run away from home? Why did she fall in love with the guitar? We havenāt even touched on how remarkable her songwriting is. This is a singular pioneer of guitar history, and we beseech you to read Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnieās Blues by Beth and Paul Garon.)
Following the end of World War I, Hawaiian music enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity. On their travels around the U.S., musicians like Sol Hoāopiāi became fans of Louis Armstrong and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, leading to a great cross-pollination of Hawaiian music with jazz and blues. This potent combination proved popular and drew ever-larger audiences, which created a significant problem: How on earth would an audience of thousands hear the sound from a wimpy little acoustic guitar?
This art deco pickguard offers just a bit of pizzazz to an otherwise demure instrument.
In the late 1920s, George Beauchamp, John and Rudy Dopyera, Adolph Rickenbacker, and John Dopyeraās nephew Paul Barth endeavored to answer that question with a mechanically amplified guitar. Working together under Beauchamp and John Dopyeraās National String Instrument Corporation, they designed the first resonator guitar, which, like a Victrola, used a cone-shaped resonator built into the guitar to amplify the sound. It was definitely louder, but not quite loud enoughāespecially for the Hawaiian slide musicians. With the guitars laid on their laps, much of the sound projected straight up at the ceiling instead of toward the audience.
Barth and Beauchamp tackled this problem in the 1930s by designing a magnetic pickup, and Rickenbacker installed it in the first commercially successful electric instrument: a lap-steel guitar known affectionately as the āFrying Panā due to its distinctive shape. Suddenly, any stringed instrument could be as loud as your amplifier allowed, setting off a flurry of innovation. Electric guitars were born!
āAt the time it was positively futuristic, with its lack of f-holes and way-cool art deco design on the pickup.ā
By this time, Memphis Minnie was a bona fide star. She recorded for Columbia, Vocalion, and Decca Records. Her song āBumble Bee,ā featuring her driving guitar technique, became hugely popular and earned her a new nickname: the Queen of Country Blues. She was officially royalty, and her subjects needed to hear her game-changing playing. This is where she crossed paths with our old pals over at National.
National and other companies began adding pickups to so-called Spanish guitars, which they naturally called āElectric Spanish.ā (This term was famously abbreviated ES by the Gibson Guitar Corporation and used as a prefix on a wide variety of models.) In 1935, National made its first Electric Spanish guitar, renamed the New Yorker three years later. By todayās standards, itās modestly appointed. At the time it was positively futuristic, with its lack of f-holes and way-cool art deco design on the pickup.
Thereās buckle rash and the finish on the back of the neck is rubbed clean off in spots, but that just goes to show how well-loved this guitar has been.
Memphis Minnie had finally found an axe fit for a Queen. She was among the first blues guitarists to go electric, and the New Yorker fueled her already-upward trajectory. She recorded over 200 songs in her 25-year career, cementing her and the National New Yorkerās place in musical history.
Our National New Yorker was made in 1939 and shows perfect play wear as far as weāre concerned. Sure, thereās buckle rash and the finish on the back of the neck is rubbed clean off in spots, but structurally, this guitar is in great shape. Itās easy to imagine this guitar was lovingly wiped down each time it was put back in the case.
Thereās magic in this guitar, yāall. Every time we pick it up, we can feel Memphis Minnieās spirit enter the room. This guitar sounds fearless. Itās a survivor. This is a guitar that could inspire you to run away and join the circus, transcend genre and gender, and leave your own mark on music history. As a guitar store, watching guitars pass from musician to musician gives us a beautiful physical reminder of how history moves through generations. We canāt wait to see who joins this guitarās remarkable legacy.
SOURCES: blackpast.org, nps.gov, worldmusic.net, historylink.org, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, āMemphis Minnieās āScientific Soundā: Afro-Sonic Modernity and the Jukebox Era of the Bluesā from American Quarterly, āThe History of the Development of Electric Stringed Musical Instrumentsā by Stephen Errede, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL.
In our third installment with Santa Cruz Guitar Company founder Richard Hoover, the master luthier shows PG's John Bohlinger how his team of builders assemble and construct guitars like a chef preparing food pairings. Hoover explains that the finer details like binding, headstock size and shape, internal bracing, and adhesives are critical players in shaping an instrument's sound. Finally, Richard explains how SCGC uses every inch of wood for making acoustic guitars or outside ventures like surfboards and art.
Featuring torrefied solid Sitka Spruce tops, mahogany neck, back, and sides, and Fishman Presys VT EQ System, these guitars are designed to deliver quality tone and playability at an affordable price point.
Cort Guitars, acclaimed for creating instruments that exceed in value and quality, introduces the Essence Series. This stunning set of acoustic guitars is designed for musicians looking for the quintessential classic acoustic guitar with fabulous tone all at an exceptional price point. The Essence Series features two distinct body shapes: The Grand Auditorium and the OM Cutaway. Whatever the flavor, the Essence Series has the style to suit.
The Essence-GA-4 is the perfect Grand Auditorium acoustic. Wider than a dreadnought, the Essence-GA-4 features a deep body with a narrower waist and a width of 1 Ā¾ā (45mm) at the nut. The result is an instrument that is ideal for any number of playing styles: Pickingā¦ strummingā¦ the Essence GA-4 is completely up for the task.
The Essence-OM-4 features a shallower body creating a closer connection to the player allowing for ease of use on stage. With its 1 11/16āth (43mm) nut width, this Orchestra Model is great for fingerpickers or singer/guitarists looking for better body contact for an overall better playing experience.
Both acoustics are topped with a torrefied solid Sitka Spruce top using Cortās ATV process. The ATV process or āAged to Vintageā, āagesā the Spruce top to give it the big and open tone of older, highly-sought-after acoustics. To further enhance those vintage tones, the tops bracing is also made of torrefied spruce. The mahogany neck, back, and sides create a warm, robust midrange and bright highs. A rosewood fingerboard and bridge add for a more balanced sound and sustain. The result is amazing tone at first strum. 18:1 Vintage Open Gear Tuners on the mahogany headstock offer precise tuning with vintage styling. The herringbone rosette & purfling accentuates the aesthetics of these instruments adding to their appeal. Both acoustics come in two choices of finish. Natural Semi-Gloss allows the Sitka spruceās natural beauty to shine through and classic Black Top Semi-Gloss.
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