Graph Tech Training Series: How to Install a Pre-Slotted Nut
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2017
- No matter what type of stringed instrument you have, the nut is one of the most important parts of the overall performance, playability and tone of your instrument. In this video, Master Luthier, Nicole Alosinac, demonstrates how to properly install a pre-slotted nut.
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Hi, I'm Dave Dunwoodie, Founder, Inventor and President at Graph Tech Guitar Labs.
Our mission statement is just five simple words, "to improve your playing experience".
Graph Tech's components are improving the performance of more stringed instruments than any other company in the world. In 1983, we invented the self-lubricating nut; it was the first nut produced using PTFE, and one of the industry's first black-coloured nuts. In 1990, we patented the only guitar saddle proven to reduce string breakage by over 90% -- String Saver Saddles -- and in 1992, we introduced the world to TUSQ -- man-made ivory. These nuts, saddles and bridge pins have proven to more than double the perceived volume of harmonic richness when you play.
Today, we make TUSQ picks, the world's first harmonically rich pick with built-in tone, and now, Ratio Tuned Machine Heads with innovative balanced gear technology that makes tuning, retuning and open tuning a easier, more intuitive experience.
Stay tuned! We've got more innovation and great products coming your way because our mission is: To improve your playing experience.
- Dave Dunwoodie, Founder-Inventor & Head Honcho at Graph Tech Guitar Labs - Hudba
Learning every inch of your guitar will completely change your relationship with your guitar. A Graph Tech Nut is so fairly priced, but most manufacturers still put cheap plastic nuts on their low end (and sometimes even mid range) guitars. The first time you go to replace the nut you'll be shocked at the difference between the nut that came on the instrument and the new one from Graph Tech. It's such an important part of your playing experience too.
2:56 great catch!
She didn't even stutter wtf fricken pro
To adjust the nut height, if you liked the height of the old nut, simply measure and write down before removing it and compare with the height new install. This is an easy shortcut can save some time, it gets you in the ball park.
Honestly, I think this should be the preferred way. Unless the original nut has wrong height.
The reason I'm watching this video is that the old nut is worn down on the G and B strings (probably other strings, too). So you don't want to blindly re-create the old nut exactly. But, ya, for overall height and width, keep it handy for comparison and measurements.
Great tip about using two sanding blocks at 90 degrees to square it off.
Yup, a WHOLE lot cheaper than Uncle Stewie's Gizmo!!! Great tip, I'll use it someday if I ever lose my Delta Belt, and Disc Sander, Ha!
What were the video designers thinking with the crazy border for the video! Great content and the luthier is very good but man that border is....not the best choice.
1. What grit sand paper(s) are you using? 2. The glue process should be shown or explained as well as what type of glue.
Yeah. And since you can buy most graphtech nuts ready made for your guitar, I'd say this video focuses on all the wrong parts of the process.
400grit is recommended. As for glue, I use Titebond 1 or 2. Superglue is too fast drying and glues both you and the part to each other and the Instrument in question, whereas Titebond gives 30mins or play if alignment needs adjusting.
@@someoneelse101please don’t use wood glue , you’ll make it extremely hard to remove next time and risk pulling timber off! 2 small dots of CA glue is the way to go and makes for easy removal 👍🏻
@@pk952 Will keep that in mind. I've used Titebond for everything timber related without too much hassle though
The instruction is terrific (will be filed in my Bookmarks until I do my Epiphones).
It helps a lot that Nicole has a very listenable voice - (clear, nice pitch and no whiney accent).Thank you Nicole
This is VERY, VERY GOOD!!!! I needed these details, and I will say, that you are one master luthier to make me feel like I could actually do this!!! So glad I found this, you saved me from several things I was about to do the wrong way!!! GLORIOUS!!!
One of the best well explained, simplified, systematic, and by a professional luthier demonstrated video. Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge and experience best regards from ENGLAND.
It is also a good idea to place a piece of wood at a right angle to your sanding block so you maintain a level bottom on the nut.
This is a very good guide. I installed a Tusq XL 6143 and it fits perfectly in a Les Paul Copy. Sand down in small steps and keep checking the distances with a feeler gauge. Thanks.
This video will be SO helpful since I made my action too low the first time around using the 6061 pre-slotted nut. Will do better the second time around. Thanks again.
Although never advertised as a drop in replacement, I didn’t anticipate a months worth of fitting. On my 2005 Les Paul Studio, skinny neck, I could not get the nut rocking out of the nut slot. I used good single faced files for gun smithing to square everything. Sanded with a straight edge. Measured with a straight edge. Every time, the nut rocked side to side about .007.
This neck has a strip of non-mahogany wood running along the truss rod. My experience tells my this wood does not file/sand at the same rate, and without a tricky router jig, I’ll never get the rocker out. I ended up sanding the 6061 nut bottom concave to get it to sit solid.
D-string slot is deep. And, the whole 6061 nut seems to have a shallower radius than the skinny neck LP. I biased my reduction sanding toward the small string end. Bought nut string files for A and E. Measured and adjusted all six strings along each step to get a profile of 0.005 (high E) to 0.009 (low E)
As I tuned to pitch in-between each step, I immediately noticed a pleasant difference!! Clarity and sustain were notably crisp and long. The wound strings sound like the low end of a grand piano now. Even though I landed a touch below recommended gaps, there is no fret buzz, and setup is aligns to Gibson specs.
Having the TUSQ XL proudly sitting at the end of the fretboard will be worth the effort. It just took a good deal of working the piece (and the blank nut video) to get it installed right.
There is a mistake in the video in regard to the gap between fret top and string bottom where the luthier says to make the high E-string gap “zero point zero six” and low E-string gap “zero point one”. That is incorrect, and should be “zero point zero zero six (0.006)” and “zero point zero one (0.010), otherwise you will have huge gaps of sixty thousandths and one hundred thousandths. You’re welcome, and for next to no cost - make one check per correction payable to me in the amount of sixty cents ($60.00) and one dollar ($100.00) ... see, decimal location does make a difference : )
Lol Yes indeed decimal position is important.
Nicole you might have just saved my LIFE! I need to do this on like 3 of my guitars! I’ll post a video on my page of how they come out😁🤘🏻
Thanks for the video it was veary helpfull. Just installed a Graph Tech PQ 6060 00 Slotted Nut on a Epiphone James Bay Century CH; its requierd a bit of sanding but it sounds great now !
I ordered the black XL for my dad's old Yamaha. He'd be happy that I was using it instead of staring at it
Very helpful video! I used a set of automotive feeler gauges to set the height of the low and high E strings. Worked like a charm.
Charmed like a work.
Nice video! I like your clear and straight to the point explanation as if your explaining it to someone IRL. You put the icing on cake with a likeable lack of intro/outro chunter but forgot about the cherry by using only the imperial system.
Very good nuts. I installed this one on my Gibson Explorer. Thanks Graph Tech!
I sand my nuts every night.
Awesome going to be installing one later. Won't have much sanding to do tho as you guys did a super solid job getting it super close to the original size.
Thank you for this. I really didnt wanna wait 2-3 weeks for my local shop to work me in. This makes it seem pracrical to do myself.
Thanks, Nicole. That's a really neat hack, using the sanding board to hold the nut while you square it off. Cool. Thanks again. Great 335, by the way. Cheers.
A piece of glass makes a good sanding surface and if you're a beginner holding the nut against a straight edge as you sand will keep the new surface straight and square. Considering the old playing action you can use slots on the old nut as a height guide - even test lowering the old nut to determine at what height fret buzz begins. These nuts are really excellent - you need to measure carefully width, thickness, height and consider string spacing (E-E) before ordering - don't just assume the existing nut is correct.
WOW, that's all I gotta say. I bought an Epiphone ES335 Dot. The cheap Chinese strings sounded like crap and this guitar would not stay in tune. Installed this Tusq nut, took my time filing the height, put a quality set of 10's on there, and OMG, it's a totally different guitar. First time I ever installed a nut on a guitar, so thank you for this video, it made the replacement of that cheap plastic Chinese crap go so smooth. Luv my Epiphone dot now. Stays in tune beautifully. Young lady, Thank You.
A great product without a doubt.
Very helpful, especially the height of strings over first fret, which is all over the place when searching the web
2:56 kk, Really the human brain processes the information very fast, as soon as the piece has fallen it has already picked up quickly, very good, congratulations on the video.
Hi Nicole and Graph Tech. Thanks for the great instructional video. I am
about a year into my playing and I find the technical aspects just as
interesting. You explain the procedure very clearly. When I need to
replace one of mine, this video will be a key reference. I did note that
- although the graphic is accurate - Nicole mis-spoke about the high E
clearance gap. Check at the 4:45 marker. The accurate measure is
0.006.. (not "... 0.06 of an inch"). I watched your vid for replacing the saddle as well.
That is another great guitar tech reference
Just got mine installed -- this video was an extremely helpful guide. The strings on my new PRS kept binding up at the nut whenever I used the tremolo, but changing out the stock nut for a Tusq XL made a massive difference. I can pull off divebombs now. :)
That surprises me because PRS has a super secret proprietary nut material.
@@MrCamerononicus Yeah, I know -- you'd really think that it would be better, but it just isn't. :/
What model PRS was that? Was it one of the core U.S. made guitars?
@@brushstroke3733 One of the SE Standards actually. Korean-made, I believe, though I was talking to a luthier friend of mine and apparently he's seen similar issues even on higher-grade PRS guitars.
Pun intended, the but remains a sticking point.
@@noahallen1996 Interesting. I would have guessed TUSQ XL material was a copy of the PRS material. Perhaps it was and yet Graph Tech improved on the formula. I've never had problems with my PRS nut, but then again, I don't do dive bombs either! I rarely use the whammy bar, but when I do, it's usually for more subtle tremolo type effects. Pulling off divebombs without a locking trem system and staying in tune is actually a fairly stunning technological achievement in my eyes, and it's great that we have the materials and technology to do that now. Who wants to lock down their strings like some kind of kinky Dom anyway?! Let them slide in their slots, baby!!
thank You Nicole!
2:55
NICOLE ALOSINAC
CERTIFIED BADASS MASTER LUTHIER
Great video thanks for sharing
Nice workshop ,
She is a great teacher
This was really informative. Very necessary as I need to do this on a guitar I'm rebuilding.
She was about to go IN on a guitar solo at the end and got cut off though... lol.
Just replaced the nut on my PRS! Great video - thank you! The nut I ordered from Graphtec fit perfect - just a little sanding to lower the action. I used to put graphite on the string guides - dont need to with this nut!
Glad it helped
so it has to be!!!Thx for your work!
She has a great voice and the production sound mixer knew how to capture it well. Sound >> picture ;)
Yeah doing the job behind the neck stock. so one cannot see it
I tapped the nut sideways as you suggested on a Fender neck and... It busted 2/3 of the fretboard wood behind the the nut, on the headstock side.
Brand new, unused, $800 neck that I sorted out from buying 15 necks! 15! A monumental endeavor in itself!
I scored it on all edges possible, even the sides, with an exact knife, as carefully and deeply as I could!
I didn't even tap that hard. 2/3 broke off.
Thanks!
If if was a used neck, I'd say somebody used crazy glue or epoxy to glue in the nut, but as you mentioned, it was brand new, my best guess, without seeing it, there was a fault in the wood. Removing the nut as we described is best practices for removing an existing nut. Please contact the store where you bought your neck and see what can be done to remedy the situation.
@@realtusq The nut had too much glue on it. Fender USA.
Unfortunately this neck is not replaceable. I bought the *last* 15 available at any retailer and kept only 2. They have ebony fretboards, and as it stands, Fender no longer produces all black ones, except for maybe in the custom shop. They are all heavily streaked and some aren't even as dark as rosewood.
I even had to ink the two I kept to make them all black, as they still had minor streaks. The other ones would almost be like inking rosewood, except that ebony is less absorbent, so the ink may have not covered their streaks enough.
Come to find out, if the nut doesn't come out on Fender guitars without a super gentle tap, if you didn't put the nut in the yourself and don't know how it's glued, you're supposed to saw the nut in half, I think length-wise, and snap it somehow to get it out.
Tons of luthier forums say sawing down the middle is how to remove a Fender nut, at least one the luthier didn't install to begin with, and the the knock out method is used more on Gibson-style nuts.
I did a repair on the nut channel and refinished it, but it took over 2 weeks to do and make it look 90% stock.
Needles to say, I will never use the method mentioned in the video again, unless I installed the but myself, without glue, or with only a really miniscule amount of glue.
@@realtusq the nut had so much glue on it, it was on all three sides of the nut that touch the three sides of the nut channel! Crazy 🤪
Thanks very informative
Thanks Nicole
Helpful video
Thanks
Best demo I’ve seen yet
That acoustic background music in two of the segments is legitimately kind of haunting and creepy. I like it. Also nice save at 2:55
I know its been a while since you posted this video but I have just ordered a new Graphtec top nut for my Acoustic Dreadnaught guitar. Do the measurements of the gaps between string and 1st fret differ between guitars? Stewmac seem to suggest different measurements. Thanks in anticipation.
What would be all of the tools needed for a complete bridge pin, nut, saddle, replacement on an old acoustic i am restoring as a beginner?
And where to find, are there any preferred kits.
THANKS!
Thanks for the help, Nicole. I think I got it right. :-)
Excellent. Thank you. ☮️
You're welcome Al. Much appreciated and more to come. Stay tuned and stay safe. GT Team
This video is nuts.
on my Gibson
loose strings
remove old nut
clean old glues
put new tousq PQ 6010 00
tune all strings to pitch
measure with feeler gauge
press 3rd fret
top off 1st fret bottom of low E =0,80 mm
i need 0,25 mm
loose strings remove new nut
take the 0,50 filler
put in a flat surface
take also new nut put it in the flat surface with the filer
mark with pencil how match you have to sand remove
put it again tune all strings to pitch
measure now i have 0,40
take it out
put in a flat surface with the 0,10 mm filler mark
sand
put it on again
BOOM
now is more than 0,25 mm and less than 0,30 mm
perfect for my agressive playing
thank you
i glued it with 2 parts clear epoxy
Ty lol
my experience with the Gibson electric slotted nut is that the D string is pre slotted tad too low.. i need to sand down till i get my D string slot perfect.. and file the rest of the other string slots down.
Thanks for the video !
4:44 Is the distance between the first fret and the strings the same on a strat style than on this Epiphone ?
Good video.
should I be able to do a behind the nut string bend and have it come back to perfect pitch (i.e. not be sharp)? And if so, does this indicate a nut slot that's wonky?
Great video. Can I get a Tusq nut for my Glarry thine line Tele?
Where did you get the block to hit the guitar nut with? Yes I know that any block would work and I know I can easily make one but it looks specific to another trade. Just asking out of curiosity. Thanks.
Hello. I have a 2010 Gibson Les Paul Studio I wanted to give a Graph Tech nut as I'm planning to install a tremolo.
It seems like the PT-6010-00 should be the right model, but the measurements I have of my LP's current nut are quite off to the specs given on Graph Tech's website.
The width and length are pretty close, but aren't exact to either PT-6010-00 or PT-6000-00. The E to e distance is 37mm rather than ~36mm, and the biggest difference is with the height - unless I measured incorrectly, the current nut my LP has is 5mm tall, while the Graph Techs are around 9mm? I don't have fret buzz from open strings so I doubt the nut should be almost twice as tall. Am I supposed to actually sand off 4mm when installing it or are the grooves somewhat deeper?
So, do you guys make a tusq xl nut for les pauls with a 14" radius? Or will I just have to sand a pencil in half to trace a new radius and cut new slots? Or maybe just deepen the ones that are high... 🤔
nice!
Can fine tuning be done by tuning to pitch then checking what the note is on the 1st fret? Low should be F at 1st fret? If it's high, the string is too high?
Thank you just if you don't mind me asking how do you choose the the right radius and the right nut slots gauge for a specific strings gauge since on the graph tech website it is not showing certain nuts for a specific strings gauges!! And lastly the website is showing the black nuts has much better results with tone and sustainability is it related to the Teflon amount % presence or other factors !! Thank you best regards from ENGLAND.
Thanks
I'm changing the nut on a Squire Bullet with a TUSK XL but, noticed the new nut is lower height than the original and it needs a lot of sanding before it will be leveled to stop tilting on the bump in the middle. Seems like this is going to add more fret buzz than take it away which was the point of installing a new nut in the first place. I also noticed the spacing between the strings is wider than original. Did I get the wrong nut for my guitar?
I have a D'angelico Deluxe Atlanta. The g-string is giving me some problems because of the angle from the tuning machine to the nut. Is there something I can do to help this condition. I think it's sticking a bit in throwing off my tuning.
J. HonIs the recommended clearance 0.06 and 0.1" or .006 and .01" She states a value ten times that shown on the video graphic illustrates. decimal position matters. I would think .06 and .1 because 6/1000s would be rubbed and frets for sure.
I was going to ask about this. Can we get a clarification? I'm about to replace the nut on my Ibanez and need to be certain.
I'm pleasantly surprised by the absence of immature comments on this video.
I heard beevis and butthead in my minds ear ;-)
Keep scrolling....
I always noticed there was a difference between one nut and the other
I like how Nicole doesn't overlook the importance of good nut work or overwork the slot to where it becomes loose. One should always try using lubrication before performing any permanent widening that can't be undone.
I would be thrilled to record a video demonstrating Nicole's master skills and techniques while performing a nut job for me.
I know you StewMac guys all swear Dan is the nut man, but I'd choose Nicole over him every time. I just feel she would be more sensitive to the customers needs.
that's nutty!
While sanding the bottom of the nut It is also a good idea to place a piece of wood at a right angle to your sanding block so you maintain a level bottom on the nut. place the flat side of the nut against the 90' angle while move across the sanding block.
Great video
Put this on an epiphone
Slots were perfect used feeler gauges
However old nut removal, the sanding took way longer than shown on video lol
Patience and and u can do it
I am a novice totally but it seems a better idea to take excess width off the back side. Guess not?
It was a great video and i appreciate the instruction quality. Thank you.
Scott Hesterly
The back side of the GraphTech nuts are rounded over, so using a flat surface, like the front side- butt up against a flat sanding surface would get better results. Take it from someone who’s ruined more of these things than not 😂
Yeah i followed the directions and got a great fit width wise and length. Had to shim to bottom a bit. I am doing a build from Precision Guitar Kits. It is a strat style. I chose the BQL 5043 00. The nut width is 1 11/16" and it is a flat bottom. The channel cut for the nut slot was a bit deeper than the nut hieght. Shimmed it with a piece of business card. Plays but still a touch low. The card was .016" was thinking i may need .020". I am learning a bunch and having a good time at it. Thanks for your reply 10,000 rambos. Bet it is easy for you now.... Be blessed in all you do.
I'm very thankful for the awesome info.. ty
I'm also glad to see more women making videos and doing more! Ty for that too!
I'm going through the process right now, but I have a curved nut slot. How can I file the bottom of the nut (I already filed the little nub out) while keeping the correct radius?
Thank you for this!
After setting to graph tech specifications (0.010 & 0.006), if the action at the nut needs to be lowered should the nut be removed and sanded at the bottom as was done during installation or should the slots be filed down?
Personally, I would lower the nut height more rather than filing the slots down lower.
To get it perfect you'll probably need to file each slot a little. For the most part though I found that they always need filing, but mainly to fit the string better.
What kind of glue is best? Just any old wood glue?
I appreciated the measurements on this video
Thanks Eddie. Wee try to get as much detail into the videos as we can. You can all get more details on the website. Stay tuned and stay safe. GT Team
@@GraphTechGuitarLabs
I have a question. Bought a graph tech nut for an Ltd everything went smooth but I am concerned that the nut slot was already too deep and I now have some buzzy strings with the graph tech nut installed. Should I place a shim under the bottom of the nut to raise the height?
Thanks
2:55 haha nice save!
What's the grit of sandpaper for the bottom of the nut?
I'm going nuts, Graphtech nuts...
Good
When you sand down the thickness of the nut, you mentioned to sand down the front of the nut; is the front of the nut, the side facing the saddle, or the side facing the tuner? It's hard to tell by watching the video.
I need help. By having only the two E strings its the same tension of having all six? I think that with only two strings the nut will not be fully "compress to the neck" and measure of the thousands of inches would be bad? or am i wrong?
I know it's a year late but I'll leave this here in case someone comes across this. It definitely has an effect but not when you're measuring at the first fret - it's negligible. If, say, you're measuring on the 12fret, that's more apparent.
why is there nerve wrecking loud music in the background when I try to listen what she says??
Darn Canadians.
To keep you awake during the lesson.
noworries That's because his usual some marketing jack off played the stupid music
nerve wracking perhaps, but not nerve wrecking?
Because they think people can't watch a video without music in the background
Hi Nicole!
That's interesting that you recommend using wood glue. I'm not a luthier by any means, but I've done a few nut changes on my guitars. And the one time I used wood glue the nut actually came off when changing the strings. Haha I was angry about it, use super glue ever since. Just a little.
Hi Nicole I need to do this on my new Gretsch bass. The stock nut is horrible. Can you tell me the string heights I should be looking for? Thanks in advance.
Hi, thanks for your question. Here is a link to bass string heights at the Graph Tech site...www.graphtech.com/docs/default-document-library/bass-nut-installation-instructions.pdf?sfvrsn=2 If you have any further questions, please call us a 1-800-388-7011, thanks, Dave
What kind of glue you use?
I just checked out this video because I want to replace the nut on my strat. What type of tool do you use to measure the string height?
Use a string action ruler like the one here in this link... www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GH436CQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have a new Epiphone Flying V (AMOS) and curious if the nut is causing it to be kind of difficult to play even after a truss rod adjustment and string height adjustment. Should I consider a new nut? It's a $900 guitar so wondering if I should order a new one from Graph Tech.
You could try, they are cheap. But first you might want to measure the distance from your first and sixth strings to the nut, use the method and heights provided in this video as a reference. Since these are really tiny you are going to need some gauges. If you eventually buy a new nut, don't mess it up with the radius! The nut has to be the same radius as the fretboard.
Justin A. Stadig said the PQL-6061-00 Epiphone nut should be a direct replacement.
She said : "Zero point one of an inch", which would be .100" but she meant, as the diagram showed, .010", which is ten thousands of an inch. What she said was 100 thousands.
Pirate Labs - Does it really make a difference when you're dealing with such small increments?
@@bassfishingwiththeantichri2921 Yes, she was off by a factor of 10! That always makes a difference. The diagram was correct so, that is good.
In this case yes it’s a pretty big difference. 0.010 is about the thickness of of cheap business cards (10 point SBS) and 0.100 is almost an eighth of an inch! You definitely wouldn’t want your action that high. Reminds me of an old Diceman joke... “math teacher asks him what the difference between 1/8 and 3/8. That’s what I say... what’s the F’ing difference??”
Thanks, Nicole. BTW, how did you measure the height? Thanks!
Calipers would be the best option! However, a standard tape measure would suffice.
I really like that you made sure your nut slot was clean.
4:46. 0:06? 0:1?
But that's a nice video! Thank you.
what type of glue and will the glue thickness impact the height?
Yep, white glue. The glue is really just to hold the nut in place during restringing. The tension of the strings will be enough to hold the nut in place and white glue will make it easy to remove in the future.
2:57 Sand the front face of this nut. Which face is the front face? Toward the fretboard? Or toward the tuning pegs?
Toward the fretboard.
My neck has a curvature, so I can't sand it flat. How do I sand the curvature of the neck to the nut?
Thanks for uploading. I learned that I'm gonna seek a luthier rather than DIY. 🤔
What type of glue was used to secure the nut? Thanks!
Elmer's "Glue-All" white craft glue we all used in kindergarten, just enough to hold the foot of the nut in place, do not glue the side that backs against the fretboard
What about 7 string guitars? Are the height specs the same for low B and high E string?
There's no such thing as a seven-string Dot, stupid.
what she says about the the height of the 6th and 1st strings is totally different than the graphic displayed.