Last month, we joined Cornwall-based luthier Seth Baccus to discuss how the material your nut is made out of contributes to tone. Seth had some fascinating insights to share on that topic, but then our conversation turned to how the nut is made. The material that your guitar nut is made from is only part of the equation, Seth advises. More important still is the way it has been shaped and cut, which has a critical influence on tuning stability and intonation as well as tone.
“There are a few things to take into consideration,” Seth says of making nuts. “One is that we want no sharp edges anywhere, so I take quite a lot of care in the way it fits into the nut slot and the way it matches the fingerboard, and I also knock off all the [abrasive] edges on the front. If you are sliding down to an E minor chord or something and you accidentally bang the nut, you’re not going to get injured or whatever. You want nice rounded edges. When it comes to depth of the nut slots, I like to have around half the string in the slot and half the string out of the slot. I think if you cut the slots too deep and all of the string is in the slot, you’re justincreasing the potential for grabbing. So I think that half-and-half thing seems to work really well.”
Cutting the nut slots precisely is a fine art in itself, Seth continues, and is, in many ways, the most critical operation in making the nut.
This story is from the Summer 2020 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Summer 2020 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FOR THE ROSES
Ivison Guitars has only been in business for six years, but its Dakota model has already headlined Glastonbury with Guns N’ Roses star Richard Fortus. We meet founder Neil Ivison to find out how he's making new electrics that evoke the raw spirit of retro tone
HISTORY REPEATING
Gibson's highest-tier replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars these days. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page's fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard
WHAT THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR
Off the radar since The Stone Roses reunion burnt out - and largely absent from the studio for two decades - John Squire's collaboration with Liam Gallagher reclaims his place among the greats. He invites us to his studio to talk classic riffs, career-ending injuries, getting snubbed by Gibson, and why music keeps pulling him back in
TELL ME STRAIGHT
Keith Richards, the legendary master of the ageless riff, talks about the magic and loss of Hackney Diamonds, the sparkling new Rolling Stones album
DENNY LAINE 1944-2023
Multi-instrumetlist, singer-songwriter Denny Laine died at the end of last year after a career that saw him top the charts in both The Moody Blues and Wings
Vibe 'n' Drive
Eventide's latest dot9 series pedal combines two independent effects for some classic vintage-rock sounds
Face Lift
Flattley releases an upgraded 1960s-style silicon fuzz with a buffer and extended tonal options
Air Supply
Boss's new Katana addition pumps up the volume - suited to serious players looking for a compact, wireless amp solution
Standard Shimmers
Back in 2023, revitalised Brit-maker PJD rejigged its range to start with the new solidbody hardtail Standards. Need a vibrato? No problem: here comes the Standard Plus
Golden Brown
Last year we were mightily impressed when we looked at builder Rich Jones' Parlour and Orchestra acoustics. This time it's the turn of his entry-level, all-mahogany dreadnought