Nuts & Saddles

Installing a Pre-slotted String Nut

Tech Talk, Installations & Upgrades, Nuts & Saddles / By

A Pre-slotted string nut is one that has been manufactured so that the bulk of preliminary shaping and slotting has been done. This shortcuts some of the early steps that are required when hand-cuting a nut from a blank.

The benefit of these products is clear; They are a time saver for our busy shop and are more cost effective for our clients. We carry a variety that have been designed to fit popular instruments from brands like Fender, Gibson, Taylor, and Martin.

String Nut – Dress and Profile

Tech Talk, Nuts & Saddles / By

Though simple in appearance, the string nut serves a critical function for the instrument. Whether hand made or prefabricated, it is crucial that it be properly installed, and dressed.

Due to the demands of a production schedule, in our experience, most factory made guitars arrive with a nut that has had a cursory dressing and slotting at best. This sometimes leads players to seek a replacement when often a bit of fine tuning, through a service that we call a “dress and profile”, is all that is needed to get the nut working as it should.

Making A Bone String Nut

Tech Talk, Installations & Upgrades, Nuts & Saddles / By

The nut is a vital part of any stringed instrument. It sets the string spacing and helps to set the action for the instrument’s lower register. Without a well made nut, proper setup will not be possible.

For this article, we will be focusing on the process of hand cutting a new string nut out of a piece of bone.

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