Hello all,
While I was away for the weekend, my little boy decided to fill my Fender acoustic 12-string full of earrings. Trying to help, my husband unstrung the guitar and got all the earrings out (no big deal, I know how to re-string it) but in the process managed to lose the nut. I took it to a local repair shop and was told I'd have to pay $50 for a custom new one. But I see many on ebay or guitar sites for around $10-$15? I've been playing for a few years, but the most repair work I've done is changing strings. Do the nuts come in many different sizes for different guitar models, so it would be unlikely to get the correct size, or is it pretty universal? Is it worth it to order a nut and try to fix it up myself, or should I swallow the $50 and let the repair guy do it for me? Thanks for your help!
$50 seems more than a bit steep for something that's not really all that "custom" at all. You can get them at Amazon for less than $10 (not including shipping) - just do a Google search for "nut for 12 string acoustic guitar" or search directly on Amazon with "12 string acoustic guitar nut."
They do tend to be fairly common in terms of size. You can check with the specs at the Fender site to be sure.
Hope this helps. And welcome to Guitar Noise. Hope to be seeing you around here at the Forums.
just a side note...
Although you should be able to find a nut that fits "close enough" fairly cheaply, you WILL most likely have an issue with the height of the strings with a standard nut.
I agree that $50 seems excessive... unless the shop was offering you a custom bone or graph tech type nut.
Thank you for your help! I ordered a nut a few days ago but it hasn't arrived yet, so no progress to report. If the action ends up too high because of the nut, it's fairly easy to file it down, correct?
Yeah, its not too much of an issue.
2 options really....
1st option, remove some of the nut from the bottom. Dont glue your nut in when you place it. just rest t in place, put some tension on your strings and see how high it is over the first fret. There should be space enough to play the open string fairly hard without it hitting the fret, but not so much room that its hard to press down within the first fret.
If its high, put a piece of sandpaper on a perfectly flat surface (we use a flat glass countertop) and rub back and forth to remove a little bit at a time..testing as you go.
2nd option, glue the nut in place...and use nut files to cut the grooves to the right height. Although this is the quicker option, its a bit prohibitive because a)its REALLY easy to go too far. and b)a good set of nut files can be a bit pricy. (you CAN use any small file.. but its not a good idea to cut the nut with too much "left over space". The string should have no "left/right" movement in the nut.
Also...watch the angle of the slots, the highest point on the string groove should be the edge closest to the bridge.
Hope that all made sense...
$50 seems high to me too, but there's a fair bit of labor involved in getting it just right. You have to work very carefully, and it's pretty easy to "blow" the nut (by filing too deeply), which means starting over with a new blank - and even experienced repair people have that experience from time to time. $30-35 is about the going rate around me.
I will differ a bit from zincberg's advice, though... a flat surface is fine if the nut slot has a flat bottom; some Fenders have a radius in the nut slot. If that's the case, using a flat filing technique means the nut will only contact the slot at the edges, making it prone to snapping in the middle. If your nut slot is radiused, it may match the radius of the fretboard - if so, put the sandpaper ON the fretboard, and use that as a guide.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
if you flatten down the bottom of the nut, and the slot has a radius, it will touch in the middle, not the sides. :D
I did hedge my bets, based on the fact that it is a fender 12 string,most of them have a flat nut slot.
I do completely agree however... if the slot has any sort of radius, sandpaper the bottom using the fretboard!!!
