DrJustice Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 My brand new Les Paul Studio has been in for a setup. The nut was filed a bit too low for my liking on the low E, and now hammer-ons and pull-offs at the first few frets are a bit powerless and there's a little buzz some times. You can clearly see that it is lower than any of the other strings close to the nut. Otherwise the guitar plays fine. So I wonder, the fret filing is irreversible, right - there's no such thing as filling in the nut, or...? What kind of nut is that? I haven't found out on the Gibson site yet. Should I just get a new, possibly better one, installed, and if so which kind? A white "Tusq" perhaps? TIA DJ -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I have a great fix. I'll shoot you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 They're of plastic, fabricated right here in lovely, scenic Westerly, Rhode Island. I've heard it said that Corian works pretty well for that type of application, is easy to work, and you can get it in different shades to emulate ivory, hell, GRANITE if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Corian is manufactured in three different sizes 6mm, 12.7mm and 19mm. When fabricated into work surfaces a MDF subframe is used to create a thicker work surface. Usually work surfaces are fabricated to 38mm in thickness this consists of the 12.7mm Corian with a 25mm sub-frame. All thicknesses feature the consistency of color and patterning throughout, common to all solid surfacing materials. This allows scratches, stains and light scorches to be removed with sandpaper. However, doing this tends to scuff up its matte coating, and is not recommended for single scratches; the preferred method is to lightly sand the entire counter top so the coating is uniform. Joints can be made inconspicuous by joining them with an acrylic resin which settles into the joint and is then belt sanded and polished to create the seamless joint. Corian was first sold in 1967. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJustice Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks for the info guys! Gotcha AXE - I'll have a go at getting that nut back into shape. DJ -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 An old trick 1) Support the guitar on a bench / table with the fretboard facing up. 2) Remove the strings from the Nut slot 3) Apply a drop of Super glue in the nut slot 4) Immediately Pour a small amount baking soda to the nut slot - allow the mixture of super glue and baking soda to dry (15 minutes) - this is effective as "Nut slot filler" 5) Remove excess "nut slot filler" from step #4 with a razor blade 6) Use Guitar Nut files / X-Acto Saw to recut the nut slots to the desired height. http://www.warmoth.com/Nut-Files-Set-of-3-P44.aspx Lubricate Nut with dry Ivory soap flakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJustice Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thank you elantric, that strengthens the case for filling in nut slots. So the elders recommend cyanoacrylate glue. That sounds good to me, and it's consistent with the Corian description above. Think I'll use some masking tape to avoid a disaster. DJ -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMC Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Tape is a must, low tack drafting tape or the blue low tack tape you get at Lowes when you are going to paint. As for the superglue I would suggest putting a tiny drop on a thin toothpick to apply to the nut slot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I would recommend swapping the nut for bone or better (elephant or walrus ivory). You will notice the improvement immediately, made a big difference to my studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sktn77a Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Who did the setup? They shouldn't have set the nut so low that the open string buzzes on the first fret. I would ask them to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Who did the setup? They shouldn't have set the nut so low that the open string buzzes on the first fret. I would ask them to replace it. Gibson did the setup perhaps? I've never seen a new les paul with a nut slotted correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil325 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I would recommend swapping the nut for bone or better (elephant or walrus ivory). You will notice the improvement immediately' date=' made a big difference to my studio. [/quote'] isn't ivory illegal nowadays or did they change that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Theres some outfit online has nut material they claim is partially fossilized Mammoth Tusk. I gotta wonder the resonant property of anything partially fossilized? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmurray Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 isn't ivory illegal nowadays or did they change that It's illegal to import it, but there are places around that still have stocks. It's not illegal to sell if it's already in stock. Here's some available; http://www.elephantivorytusks.com/ivory-guitar-nut-blank-standard.html http://www.ivorybuyer.com/sales/guitar.htm I say go for it, the elephant won't be coming back, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJustice Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 OK - been away for a little bit, fixing the slot! The string is no longer too low. Yay! I used the method of a member who has chosen not to disclose it in public. it involves cyanoacrylate glue and a tiny bit of paper from a string envelope... :- @ mcmurray : I will get a new nut eventually, probably a Graphtech Tusq, but right now I want to have the guitar with me every day for a while, so I needed a quick fix @ sktn77a : I got the setup done at the local guitar workshop. I think they sort of agreed initially that it might have been a bit low DJ -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I usually charge $20.00 duckies for that. Glad to help when I can. AXE® Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJustice Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Saved my day, AXE! And with that, I have decided to do my own guitar setups in the future. Think I'll leave the nut change and other surgical procedures to the pros for now, though. DJ -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 You can PM or email me any time you need to... Guitars is all I do. Play em and fix em ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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