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cracked nut

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(@brian-f)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 122
Topic starter  

I'm replacing a broken nut on an acoustic guitar. All the dim's on the new tusq nut are the same as the original nut except for string spacing.
The original nut had E-to-e string spacing of 1-7/16. The new nut is E-to-e of 1-3/8. It will be 1/16 of an inch narrower.

How much will this affect the playability of the guitar?

I could try to hand shape a new one, but I'd be very worried that the nut slots would be poorly cut, which I imaging would have a much bigger impact on the playability and tone of the guitar.

your thoughts/advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks,
B


   
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(@brian-f)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 122
Topic starter  

the more I think about this, the overall difference in E-to-e spacing of 1/16 would be spread among 5 different spacings E-A, A-D, D-G, G-B, and B-e. Thus, each of these spacings would be less than 1/64 narrower than before. This can't possibly be a big deal, can it?


   
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(@brian-f)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 122
Topic starter  

Ok, now this is a 3-part question.

My last question is...what should I use to glue tusq to the wood in the nut slot? I think I have tite-bond wood glue, but not sure if that would sufficiently stick to the tusq.


   
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(@causnorign)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 554
 

I don't know if that 1/16 is gonna matter to much, but I would prefer to use the exact size. As for glueing the nut, I think it should just stay in place from the string tension and dosen't really need to be glued. It would be easier if you wanted to change it again.

Eric


   
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(@slejhamer)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3221
 

I don't know what the string spacing is, but the nut on my Seagull is 1-3/4" and the nut on my Breedlove is 1-11/16". You wouldn't think the string spacing could be much different given the small difference in the overall nut width, but the Seagull feels notably wider. That said, it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, as the Seagull has a 16" radius fretboard (very flat almost like a classical guitar) and I think the Breed has a 12" radius, so I'd bet that makes a much bigger difference in the way they feel than the string spacing at the nut. If I tried the two different nuts on the same guitar, I doubt I'd feel much difference.

Oh, when I put a Tusq nut on my '51, I used a dot of wood glue. :)

"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."


   
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