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Guitar nut materials tone test
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- čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
- Does guitar nut material affect your tone? I compare a brass nut, plastic nut, bone nut and tusq nut to see which gives the best tone. In fairness, your guitar nut tone seems to be greatly increased if you don't use a plastic nut and instead opt for brass, bone or tusq.
What was unexpected is just how much additional sustain is achieved from having a brass nut, although it could be argued that as soon as you fret a string, this s removed from the system so this is somewhat irrelevant.
Surprisingly, a brass guitar nut seems to have more done. So if you're thinking "do brass nuts have better tone" then yes, a little. Well, when compared to a platic nut anyway.
Do bone nuts have more tone? compared to a plastic nut, yes. There are also substitutes for bone which are a vegan alternative such as tusq. A tusq nut sounds just as good as a bone nut so if you're wondering what sounds best, tusq or bone, they're similar enough to not worry. Tusq vs bone can be solved by choosing whatever you can get hold of the easiest, preferably pre-slotted and cut to size.
In summary, a plastic guitar nut sounds the worst but a brass guitar nut, bone guitar nut or tusq guitar nut sounds better, so choose a brass nut, bone nut or tusq nut over a plastic nut for tonal happiness.
What's the best guitar nut? Which guitar nut has the best tone? these can be answered within this video. Listen and let me know what you think. Personally I think Tusq nuts are best because I don't like the look of a brass nut and a tusq nut is easy to buy pre-slotted to all specs.
So which guitar nut is best? or What is the best nut? All of them. Just not plastic. Plastic guitar nuts seem to ruin the tone. And sustain - but that's another video...
➤ Affiliate Links
Below are affiliate links for the parts used in this video, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn commission if you click through and make a purchase:
US:
Brass guitar nut : amzn.to/30dHJEY
Plastic guitar nut : amzn.to/3rl75Nh
Bone guitar nut : amzn.to/3biUHYk
Tusq guitar nut : amzn.to/3c9nuOc
UK:
Brass guitar nut : amzn.to/3qgjNvn
Plastic guitar nut : amzn.to/2MOZQxR
Bone guitar nut : amzn.to/3bkbhY3
Tusq guitar nut : amzn.to/3qtETXj
➤ Videos you may find interesting:
Different Guitar string gauge tone test : • which gauge strings sh...
Different guitar bridge material tone test : • are brass saddles bett...
Guitar pickup position tone test : • Tonewood?
Tonewood test : • Tonewood?
➤ Time Stamps
0:00 My nuts
0:49 Sound samples - tone
1:58 Faster sound samples
2:33 tone conclusion?
3:06 sustain test
5:18 Sustain conclusion?
6:18 Epiphany?
7:06 your thoughts?
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Tone Test Sustain Test
0:53 Brass Nut 3:17 Brass 39s
1:04 Plastic Nut 3:55 Plastic 24s
1:16 Bone Nut 4:21 Bone 25s
1:32 Tusq Nut 4:47 Tusq 31s
Well, that solves part of the mystery for me. I bought a Firefly Les Paul and the decay was only about 3-4 seconds (unamplified) when I got it. I changed out the bridge for a roller bridge, and now the sustain is about 7-8 seconds, but still way-y-y-y-y too short. Listening to your demos, I thought well, that decay with the plastic one in yours sounds like this guitar, so I looked up the specs, and sure enough, it's got a plastic nut. So, now I've got hope I'll be able to make it right.
Personally, I like the brass nut the best, but not because of the brighter tone or the longer sustain, but because of the far more even decay over all of the others. With the bone and the Tusq, you can hear them "step down" as they decay, which bothers me. That brass nut though, it just is so even, and there's no "stepping down" at all as it decays. I just don't know if I'll be able to find anyone to put a brass nut on it, so, I'll likely have to chose between the Bone and Tusq simply because I know I can get someone to put one on for me. But the Brass is the best all the way around, while plastic is just a vampire, sucking the life right out of the strings like instantly.
Could you edit the 1:32 to 1:31 and maybe 3:55 to 3:56?
Thx
Tusq is the best in my opinion. However any material even plastic can be great.
it’s 1am and i wondered in my head what a brass nut would sound like; this video is great!! just random thoughts at 1am.. i had to know.
EDIT: i upgraded most of my guitar nuts to tusq nuts and it’s the best thing ever. i can tell a lot of resonance going through especially when i play high gain amps. rings out much longer.
Love it. Hope the video helped. I do the same thing as you, wonder strange things at night and have to researxh
*me in the exact same situation at precisely 1 am*
I'm here at 2am wondering about bone nuts
@@ralual Dude snap what is with this??!!
The same!, But at 12 am
I f#cking love CZcams for this reason. I wanna know how nut composition effects tone and this “nutter” made a vid. Thanks my dude.
brass always has tons of sustain. Being a player that uses open tunings and open chords I would rather have a brass nut.
it wears fast also which leads to intonation problems later on
@@nguquaxanguyen5224 I have a brass nut on a guitar that I bought new in 1982 - hasn't worn, intonation correct - still playing it. ;)
@@Yeti.Goose.Creature how many hours do you play per day and how many days per week. if it's durable i might consiider it
@@nguquaxanguyen5224 It's difficult to put a number on it. When I first got the guitar in 1982 I was playing 1-2 hours per day for 2-3 years, then moved to keyboards, then back to other guitars. Started playing it again 2 years ago. Things have moved on since the 1980s - today I would recommend TUSQ XL every time.
@@nguquaxanguyen5224 Brass doesn't wear fast at all. My 2008 LP copy has a brass nut and that's been my regular go-to guitar for 15 years.
Bridge saddles are more important than the nut imo. They're always in the equation.
Alright, time to get brass fingers for more sustain.
after getting his fingers removed and replaced with brass ones, Kevin realised that the point of contact was actually the fret and not his finger. From that day forward Kevin swore that he was only ever going to play fretless guitars
@@toamaori Well shit how do I get my real fingers back HAHA. But good point 😆
@@kevinteo8453 fretless guitars for life Kevin xD
Play with thimbles.
I upgrade plastic nuts to TUSQ XL - but only because PTFE helps the strings slide through the slots, avoiding tuning issues when pitch-bending strings. I also have one guitar with a brass nut and three with graphite nuts. Like you said, when fretted the nut material make no difference to tone. Plastic nuts are the only ones that seem to cause problems for tuning, apart from on a bass guitar where it doesn't seem to matter. ;)
Man, that’s nuts!
That's a lot of work, mate. Thanks for doing this.
If you are playing, why would you need 25 secs of sustain? Unless you are Arena guitar soloing, but then you would use feedback.
just ordered me a brass nut, sounded so clean and louder
I changed the nuts and saddles on a few guitars. And yes, it makes a difference. Also I changed the tremolo block on my Stratocaster. The tone is much better, sustain is amazing. Sounds like much more expensive guitars.
The saddles make a HUGE difference and always will. But the nut, like he says, only affects open notes. It's not always ideal for open notes to sound different from fretted notes either.
I think the best tone test would be for you to tune the strings so that they play a chord when you strum it open, like DADGAD tuning or whatever. TUSQ sounded the best.
That's not really a practical test. You're going to utilize maybe a couple open strings in your chords at a time in typical playing. I will say though that the unique sustain of the brass nut does make the different tunings more attractive for me...
@@BeamMonsterZeus ig true
@@BeamMonsterZeus yeah same
A really scientific test would be to repeat the experiment a few thousand times. A stoner test is what we are seeing.
It's not pointless once you fret the first fret. The nut is still part of the equation and helps to transfer the vibrations and frequencies into the guitar body which in turn resonates with the strings, making them ring on for longer. It's not as direct as the open frets but it still makes a huge difference. An electric guitar string has 4 or 3 points of contact with the guitar. Where the ends of the strings are seated, where the bridge meets the string, where or if a string might be fretted, and the nut.
Subscribed because you went as far as to putting a slide by slide seconds apart to help us differentiate the difference
3:16 brass
3:55 plas
4:21 bone
4:47 tus
Incredibly useful thanks!
Very good shootout, I tottally agree on your results but regarding your theory on the fretted length it is not so simple.
Once you fret a note there is a vabration between the saddle and the fretted note + a "sympathetic" vibration of the length between the nut and the fretted note which contains overtones and they have a minor contribution to the final fretted tone.
Takes a dog to hear that "minor contribution".
Switching to brass. I go from medium strings to quite light... and once you notch grooves in plastic, you get buzzing putting smaller strings in there.
In my experience changing the nut changes the tone across the fingerboard not just the open strings.
On an Epiphone Les Paul I made an unbleached bone nut which solved the tuning problems and gave the guitar a brighter overall tone. The plastic composite they used was much more mellow. I also found Graphtec to be somewhat harsh in the highs compared to bone.
> nut changes the tone across the fingerboard not just the open strings
Hard to believe.
@@Thoracius Absolutely does. The tone will change. You might hear it more unamped.
Also depends on the change. Bone to graphite etc. I changed the nut on a Hagstrom f20 from their graphite composite to a Graphtec and there was a noticeable difference on the overall tone: less bass.
@@Thoracius Sympathetic overtones from fretted finger to the nut.
Sorry nick but your perception may not make it necessarily true. We gotta be a little more scientific here - at least record and show your experimentation. Our senses are exceptionally good at deceiving us.
@ it was absolutely as I said. I'll see if I can record a sound sample at some point.
Nice demo. I like the quick cuts to compare the tone. Why don't more people do that?
Thanks mate. Couldn’t agree more
I would like to hear fretted notes as well. The nut is still part of the vibrating system so it is not impossible that it will affect tone.
I think youre right in regards to bone, brass and tusq. I am however a Tusq fan for thtrr reasons. Tts quite consistent, easy to shape and drop in but most importantly, Tusq has superior tuning stability. Especially black Tusq
Tone wise, from lower end to higher end:
Plastic, Tusq 1:32, Bone 1:16, Brass 0:53.
Trying to keep it simple, the sound starts with certain tone or frequency range (say low, mid, or high), then another one of those freq ranges, then finishes with another shade for most of the sustain. Or maybe more of those swings. And we could compare materials in terms or how may swings they have on those freq ranges.
I just purchased an intonated brass nut from axe masters for my 78’ Guild D-25C. It’s cut with a V groove at the GB&E strings. So when you play an open C chord and suddenly tuning sounds off. This nut is designed to eliminate that odd occurrence. We will see.
Wow that makes my day to read -- I have an old Guild as well, a '65 T50 that was converted to a 12 string at some time -- It does that terrible sour C chord, which is the worst to hear on 12 string, I think it's mostly the G strings -- I wasn't thinking of that guitar watching this video but that is very helpful, thank you
@@jmdean_ Glad to be of help. If you buy one of the brass nuts be sure and measure out your original nut and write down the specs. Use a dial caliper or trace around it on a piece of paper so you have a record for the new one. You may need to remove some material from the new brass nut and a reference point is good to have. As a drop in mine sat too high. Using specs from old nut makes it easy peasy 👌
If you are playing a combination of open and fretted notes the brass nut gives the same sustain across the board on an electric guitar, it also gives more even glide with a tremolo system
Plastic nut for the win.
Great Video! I actually did something similar for a Physics report in school analysing the effect of nut material (same ones as in your video) and potentiometer resistance on sustain. To make the comparison as scientific as possible, I made a "see-saw" like contraption with a ruler, taped a pick to one end, put it under the string and dropped an eraser from a predetermined height to play the string and get as little variation in force. I found that they all actually performed very similarly, with a variation of about 3-4 seconds. Now tone wise, I didn't hear much difference, but everyone is different, so if you prefer one over the other that's perfectly fine. Your nut being cut properly is far more important than the material in my opinion!
The nut makes a difference as follows
1 - when you play open strings
2 - when you use a tremolo (especially a Bigsby or even more so a Cheap Chinese copy)
A big thank you. And of course that your body absorbs vibrations. The nut is important for djent...010001110000011100000000
I never thought about it that once you're not playing open the nut doesn't matter, it makes too much sense, I was thinking about switching from tusq to brass and now I lost my interest in that
some nuts offer better tuining stability though and some don't wear, allowing you to switch from light to medium strings without creating a less than ideal setup. Also the sustain created from hitting open notes vibrates into the rest of the body and imparts tone onto succeeding notes.
The nut only makes a difference when the strings are played open.
True. Although let’s face it, most of us are campfire open chord strummers anyway.
every fret then becomes a nut. and frets are metal. not plastic
That's why you get brass saddles, at least on your acoustic. A lot of people say they don't do much but from everything I have heard; they add a lot of sustain and brighten up the sound. Which could be good or bad depending on your guitars stock tone. Mine is dull since its a mid range Fender acoustic, so a brass saddle might brighten it up.
@@nitroxylictv wood, metal, bone, glass, resonate. Plastic and rubber don't.
@@dr.know-it-all5148 I thought that until I played a see-thru perspex bodied guitar (basically plastic) that had good sustain.
Have always been a tusq fan. Every now and then I'll go back to bone, but I love the clarity the tusq gives and always go back.
Long ago I used to play with brass and horn/bone, making my own nuts and bridges, but have since just used TUSQ because it resonates just as fine if not better than bone or other materials, it's a cleaner look, form fitting, easy to work with and way more affordable when it comes to spending time and money farting around with other options.
Psst!... One more thing.... If you want your guitar to sound better, I'll let you in on the secret...
Practice, practice, practice.... Let's keep that between you and me.
As a Grammy Winning Nashville Recording Engineer and Guitarist for over 50 years used to working with totally CLEAN Guitars and Amps with the very best Microphones and Consoles, the Brass Nut is the clear winner with the Bone/Tusq a close second. Remember that the Frets are almost always Metal including Stainless Steel.They isolate the strings from your fingers. Slides are Metal. Glass or Ceramic. Pedal Steels are ALL Steel. Plastic is Crap and doesn't belong in Metal String Guitars.
My close Friend Randy Leonard who along with his Father is often mentioned as Master Luthiers in Gibson Historic Videos and Documents does all my heavy work in his retirement out here in the Tennessee Hills. George Gruen and his Luthiers are the independent Masters.
For Tele comparisons you need my Friends Wayne Moss, Steve Cropper, Terry Williams and James Burton IMHO.
Wow Fabulous insight and input. Surly noted Thanks .
Thanks Claude I had just made a replacement nut for a guitar that I had. It had a worn down plastic nut. Also planning on replacing some other nuts. I have deer antlers from my own farm so I was going to make bone nuts rather than buy $ bone blanks. Perhaps I will go with the brass I actually have a 12-string electric guitar that came equipped with a brass zero fret. Perhaps I will just fabricate some brass and call it good although I do prefer bone on my acoustic guitars. I actually have some agate and some Jade and a rock saw I was thinking of making a nut out of agate it's just really hard to work I don't have tools enough that will actually cut nut slots very difficult to cut and shape Rock and then again but I'm thinking it might sound pretty spectacular
I just ordered one yesterday for my Telecaster to match my new saddles and open Hipshot tuners. I just thought it just looked cool,
Thanks
Graphtec nuts are about lubrication and tuning stability
I have a Tele that is my primary guitar for slide playing. I'm thinking a brass nut for this guitar.... I don't get the impression that the slide completely removes the nut from the equation
Right. The nut still has an effect on tone even when you’re fretting notes. Our fingers and guitar slides still allow the string to vibrate on the nut side, even if it’s slight, you can definitely hear the difference. I owned a guitar with a brass nut and everything I played on it sounded brighter than my other guitars. Now if you add a capo into the equation that’s a different story.
Tusq lets more bass through, or maybe it is just me. Plastic is s***. The others sound so similar that it would make me go for the one that gives my strings a longer life. I'd try brass saddles and nut on a tele, IDK. All I really got from that video is that plastic is a no-go, and I would get brass on an acoustic I'd play a lot of open chords on. Great vid!
Great video! What is the purpose of that second humbucker?
why do you have a humbucker mounted to your guitar near the control plate?
Ok that was a fair testing however if you do the same testing with a fretted note instead it's going to be very interesting...because many believe that doesn't make any difference but honestly the string is still transmitting vibrations through the nut even if the note is fretted.
I don’t think there’s much impact for the typical electric player. 99% of the time your fretting hand is dampening any vibration behind the fret. The exception would be intentionally open chords etc.
I'm not sure if this comment makes any sense. I am using IEM's equalised by Wavelet autoeq settings at 1080p.
Imagine a plain, and for my ears, it seems like the sound from the brass nut is coming out of a deep ditch under the surface like it's evolving and along the surface with the plastic nut as if it is cruising, converging to a point in case of Bone and it seemed like the sound is encircling as if it is going around me in circles in case of tusk.
Especially in the tone test part
Brass just has a touch of crisp in the pick attack. Incidentally the extra brightness I suddenly got with brass pins on my acoustic was quick striking.
January 2023 I replaced the stock hard plastic nut on my 2010 Squire with brass. Stock was 8 out of 10, brass is 9 out of 10. Really happy with it, shaped it to fit very tight, no glue tap in.
The nut effects transfer of vibration into to neck, which has a big acoustic effect even on fretted notes.
"even on fretted notes"... How can this be when the note being fretted is using the fret as the "nut"? Sounds a bit like "The Emperor's New Clothes".
@@amaturemusicians The same way the pegs behind the saddle of an acoustic can effect the sound. On an acoustic everything matters. Of course contact points matter a lot more, and with an electric this would matter much much less (when plugged in". I feel like I hear unplugged electric or acoustics sound a little louder every time I swap out a plastic nut for a bone one, even on fretted notes
SMH
It does effect open-note tone, but it only affects fretted-note tone.
On fretted notes, the nut is just a small link in the chain of vibration through the neck. I suppose any small improvement counts, but a well set up plastic nut is better than a poorly set up bone nut for overall playability.
Material and skill of nut install affects these things:
--string height
--string spacing
--string tuning after bends and whammy.
Material of nut install mostly affects:
--tonal difference of open notes in comparison to fretted notes.
With a good nut, the open notes finally sound as good as the fretted notes. This makes the guitar sound "better", even if just a little bit.
saying „the nut only affects the open string because if you fret it takes out the nut out of equasion“
is not entirely true, beyond your fretting hand is still the string posts where your strings are locked, so its not entirely your fretting hand thats causing the vibration, everything plays part of it, the material, the guitar itself is > ALLOWING < you to vibrate something in the first place/ by that primitive popular theory going arround, its like saying your hand is the only reason the guitar is vibrating period
you‘re just adding to it,
all the little things make up the big picture
thats existence period
I'm listening on studio monitors, I was right with you when you sarcastically introduced "the rich harmonic content of the tusq nut" and then my jaw fell when I genuinely did hear far more high harmonic content ! I was like "nah the marketing's got into my head, let's listen to that again" and every instance confirmed it.
Basically I'm thinking about building a guitar and I think you just accidentally sold me a tusq nut.
I was shocked at the dead plastic nut. Glad the video helped
I was thinking the same thing ! I scoffed at the "increased harmonic content" and then I actually heard an overtone. It's subtle but it's there.
upgraded plan; fretless guitar and tusq fingers.
If you want to keep a consistent tone on the open notes same as the freted ones you need to use the same material for the nut that the frets are made from.
In my opinion it's between the brass and tusq. Although the brass was a bit brighter tusq was a warm but subtle option that may match better when you are fretting and not using the nut. I am curious with the brass option if having open strings they stick out too much from fretted chords. But again, the plastic just sounded dead. Thanks for doing this test.
The tusq nut really had the harmonic when sustained
Too much imho
That harmonic richness face though, right after hitting the string. I actually hit Subscribe right after that!
I think the best to test the nuts are acoustic guitars or classical guitars. also, I would like to advise for Carbon Fiber nut which i am using right now in my guitar and it sound amazing.
I have brass saddles and tremolo block on my Korean 1997 Squire Stratocaster that I have set up for slide playing in either open 'D' or open 'G' tuning. I'm thinking that maybe I should have the brass nut too. What do you think.
Swapped the plastic nut on a Harley Benton LP with a brass nut: instantly more sustain and brightness snd harmonic content on fretted notes. So, the nut has for sure an influence on the fretted notes!
Simple test: put a hair tie in front of the nut and play fretted notes, then push it behind the nut and play same notes again. You can hear the difference. There is even a subtle difference in sustain and high frequencies with the hair tie behind the nut or without any.😎
I wonder if the LSR roller nut would be comparable to the brass….
I have two identical Strat style guitars and I installed the Fender Yngwie Malmsteen brass nut on one and did my own comparison. So much more sustain and clarity than the old one so I'm ordering another
The plastic nut stood out a lot, and for obvious reasons lol. The rest sounded pretty identical though. You brought up a good point though, it kind of is pointless when a guitar is played by fretting it. Another thing you could test is, stability or the ability for the strings to stay in tune vs the others ones? I know that's a huge reason alone to make people swap nuts (LOL) on their guitar.
that plastic nut sounds amazing, such character and dynamic range.
you're kidding right lol
lol
I understand that stainless is so hard it’s difficult to work and eats tools, but aside from being impractical to set up why not stainless nuts? It seems like once properly set up you’ll never have to touch it again.
I recently watched a video of you sawing and carving a Chapman into a Strandberg so if there’s a man nutty enough to answer this question it’s you
what about stone nuts like say Jade? i've never seen that being used before? my wild guess is that stone isn't great for longevity and stability?
They make a pre-cut
pre-slotted one made from porcelain.
When played open to my ears the brass comes in first in every case only just,,the tusk comes in second,,is practically nothing in it between the brass and the tusk,,but your are right when you fret the difference doesn't really matter...but after watching this video,if I where to replace the on strat I would go for the brass nut,,but I would need to have it done by a specialist as it's a lot more involved, for me anyway...
Thanks for this video. I've been thinking of trying a brass nut for some time. Not for the tone. Rather because I hope it's a once and done task. Also the nut height can be adjustable with brass nuts. I didn't do it because I don't want a massive tonal difference. To my ears, on this video, it sounds fine.
great video! this was just what i was looking for. I'm listening with some apple headphones, and I feel that the brass is bright. Bone is neutral . Plastic is dead. Tusq is neutral yet has warmth and bloom to it. The biggest point is how like you said as soon as you do a chord up the neck the nut is no longer in the equation so in a way it's pointless but id still say swap out a plastic nut for a tusq just so your open chords sound better, if someone was a nashville style chicken picken open chords on a tele, or someone who used open tunings, id recommned the brass, but outside of that there's no reason to change them.
So I got here after googling "metal nuts for acoustic guitar". Because I notice that with a capo the tone is so much nicer on my acoustics. Not so much the sustain, but the clarity of the tone. I play open tunings a lot,and the open strings ring out much nicer with a capo. So, I guess I am going to try a brass nut. It is much more convenient than tuning down half a step and using a capo on the first fret.
As for bone nuts:I think a nut from the skull of a tibetan monk would be the best. They make necklaces of it, so why not guitar nuts. As long as you dont play metal.
Subbed.
I have a big exam tomorrow morning, yet I am watching this video.. cool.. awesome content keep doing bro.
excellent job buddy, its actually helpful, thanks for this video
I was really surprised to find that the bone nut was clearly a fuller tone.
I think the material of nut should focus on durability rather than sustain. I've seen parts of a nut fall off after years of use. (It was either plastic or bone) And I wonder if the value of the nut is how firmly it holds the strings from strong picking or bending.
Sustain.
Brass
Tusque
Bone
Plastic
Tone
Brass Tusq
Bone
Plastc
The bone and tusq are very close.
The plustc sounds dull with nosustain.
Brass is best but I use bone on my guitars so far.
Perfect video on this - thanks great job
Would have to be brass for me having seen this. But I saw somewhere that nuts have a bearing on tuning? To do with how much they grip a string?
Yes, but the brass nut is all strings metal to metal. So when you fret a note it is metal fret to metal saddles. The open notes are also then metal to metal. A plastic nut would be metal to plastic when open notes are played.
Hello i need help. Im using a 2017 Squier Affinity Tele with stock single coil pickups. Im playing kinda post rock ambient songs or trying to. Do you think i should upgrade the stock pickups? I was looking at Fender Twisted Tele pickups that cost me around my guitar price at the time i bought it and the other one is Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickups. Should i change to either one of these pickups or just buy a new guitar. Im looking at 2021 Squier Affinity Tele Deluxe with humbucker pickups. Someone help me please 😔
Bone wears very well and can polish up nicely.
You get a graphite nut, like Tusq, so when you do string bends, the strings don't get stuck in the nut. The wound strings are the worst, the little ridges get jammed on edges. It's why roller bridges sound better. Things really get sticky with trems. Hence locking nuts on most Floyd Rose, or the use of a graphite nut... Old fashioned Fender trems and plastic nuts are the worst at being bent and staying out of tune.
I think the brass is just a tad brighter but I wonder how tuning stability would be compared to the TUSQ.
Very Helpful!
Thank you sir!
: )~
well the thing is my guitar has gold hardware so i gotta get a brass one. nothing i can do about it
I tried fiber string nut from old handle of 1kg mallet, but its tone & sustain great better than 3 except brass.
The plastic nut sounded dead. The Brass sounded like it rattled a bit. The Bone and Tusq pretty much sounded the same. However I think the bone may have had more... bite (for lack of any other word). I really couldn't tell much of a difference between bone and Tusq
I use brass for all my guitar nuts. Why? It's all down to physics. There's no 'magic' to it. When a guitar string vibrates it does so because energy is imparted into it from the player (kinetic energy). That energy is slowly dissipated when the energy is transmitted into the rest of the guitar. The two vital components for determining how fast this happens are the bridge and the nut. The bridge on an electric guitar is almost always metallic - harder or softer metals (brass, mild steel, tempered steel, aluminium etc), but the nut is often made from different materials. The key thing is the DENSITY of the material used for the bridge and the nut. The higher the density of the material, the higher the 'hardness' and the more kinetic energy is transmitted from the string to the rest of the guitar. The lower the density, the 'softer' the material, the less kinetic energy is transmitted, as more of that energy is used up in deforming the nut material, than being transmitted to the rest of the guitar. Think of a steel ball being dropped on to a piece of dense, heavy marble and bouncing back up as the two materials resist deforming as they are so hard. Then think of dropping a steel ball on to a piece of spongy, relatively light (in relation to the marble) rubber mat. The kinetic energy in the ball will be used up in deforming ('squishing') the rubber, and dissipated. And the ball will bounce very little and then come to rest.
The difference in density between brass, Tusq and bone (or indeed Corian) is probably very little, relatively speaking. That accounts for the results you got with the similar 'tones' and decay of those test materials. But 'plastic' (specific type not specified) is much less dense than the other test materials, and so 'soaks up' more of the kinetic energy imparted into the string when plucked, than the others.
I'm not a scientist, and these are not scientifically derived 'facts'. However, they do conform to general laws of physics, and all that I've seen and heard in my guitar playing and building have confirmed this hypothesis. Oh. And it's also true for woods. The denser the wood, the less it will tend to 'soak up' kinetic energy in the strings and will produce a brighter, more resonant instrument as a result with more top end retention. Using softer woods is just like turning the tone knob down.
So if you've got a really dense material like brass for the nut, you have maximised the potential tone and resonance (and sustain) of your instrument. Too top-endy for you? Just turn the tone knob down! You'll still have the sustain. But if you use a softer material such as 'plastic' which will tend to rob kinetic energy from the string by deforming (microscopically), instead of passing the energy to the rest of the guitar, you will lose top-end, resonance, and sustain. And (without a battery and a circuit board) you won't be able to get it back. But yes you're right. Fret the instrument and the frets come into play and negate the nut. So again, the denser the better for the frets too!
tusq and plastic are the winners for me
I will take durability over "sustain" any day since I would rather have long term stabler intonation than sustain which can be gotten from even a BOSS compressor pedal anyway.
Excellent test and report.
However, I'm having enough trouble with the Phrygian scale.
So, all taken with a grain of salt.
I am looking forward to your next video.... Thanks
Brass seems to have much better sustain and attack. I think maybe tusk is next best, followed by bone which has a very rounded and decent enough sustain. And plastic, just seems to kill the sustain and attack. You want something that will resonate and modern plastic whatever type it is used just does'nt resonate well. Maybe an old plastic like bakelite would work
When you fret a string, the nut is out of the equation. It only works on open strings.
Are nuts actually like tonewoods? I was thinking about some of the best materials like a granite.. can we make a nut out of a granite coz it's actually a really good tone material..😅
Its almost all about the atack on strings (angle, strenght, depth of pick through strings)
6:30 good point
From my experience, zero fret on a guitar is the best solution both regarding the tone (and the "sameness" of a tone of an open vs fretted notes) and the action of a guitar... Otherwise, bone for me, thanks.
I'm glad I open this one, apparently it affects open strings and most of us would then play in frets so frets win I guess?
Wow are you still going to see this comment? Brass or tusks, the high E string is the place needed for loudness and sustain, and what about a stainless zero nut or brass? Brass bridge? Makes me think of the telecaster bright tone, what about a fixed tusk’s bridge? I know but what the hell we have our whole life to do this once done it last forever here right, you could give future guitarist the best knowledge ever needed tone is the shizz of the og’s so many combinations, endless
Hi there, guitar tech here. The nut material is not only about tone and sustain but also about tuning stability. If you tend to bend or use whammy bar a lot, bone and tusq are the ideal choice. Or graphite but all depends on your style. The tonal differences are way more recognizable on acoustic guitars, especially with the saddle material.
I’m a complete beginner who has access to two different guitars, an Alvarez Delta00 with bone nut & saddle, and an Epiphone EL-00 with plastic nut/saddle. The tone difference between bone and plastic is so obvious even my untrained ear could tell the difference; the Alvarez sounded like a guitar while the Epiphone sounded like a toy in comparison. So ordered a bone saddle for the Epiphone and now it sounds good enough that I enjoy playing it, but because I’m so new and learning a lot of open chords it still doesn’t sound quite right. So the nut material definitely does make a difference, at least for me.
well the fact they are two different guitars, with different pickups is going to make a huge difference in the tone. How can you equate the different tones to the nut material? That's like saying my Porsche and Toyota have different tires, and so the Porsche feels like it handles better.
Clearly there is a reason to jump up from plastic it seems but the question is is it worth the money
brass wins. However, brass might make the open notes too bright compared to fretted notes.
Well appart from tone there is life expectancy, brass being pretty much good for life
Very good point
I’m going to put a brass one on my Squier Tele. I put brass compensated saddles on the guitar, I could hear an improvement.
I put a brass nut on one of my basses back in 1985 it is still going strong!
You could put a pink eraser at the nut and see if fretted notes sound different.
I may have to try that. My gibson had a B string much lower than the E n G so im trying a bone upgrade from plastic.
I have a brand new D'angelico Deluxe Atlanta. I'm having trouble with the g-string. It has a tusk nut. The angle from the tuning machine to the nut is large. Can you help me out and give me a tip or two so the guitar will stay in tune?
Yes, take it to a decent luthier and have them either finish the nut or make a new nut for you and the way you play. If the height is ok, the nut on your D'Angelico may just need a little shaping to keep the G string from binding. In the last decade or so, most guitars come from the factory with good, but very low action. Not ideal for all playing styles. But once you have cut the nut low, you usually need to replace it to go higher again (sometimes a shim works, tho). Historically, many guitars came from the factory with the action very high at the nut, e.g. Gibson. This allowed the buyer to get it set up they way they like it.
i thought bar chords would nulify the tone . open chords would be better . i think the guitars are happier with organic conductive material though
The brass one sounds pretty neat ngl
Everytime I come back to this vid I just can't stop laughing at the word "nut" comes up
I'm a 28 year old grown ass man but my mind is still that of a 12years old