bluezguy Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 I've always wanted a Gibson ES-125TDC so, I decided to buy a new Epiphone ES-125TDC. It really is a well constructed beautiful instrument but the D, A and low E strings are always 'thuddy' and dull sounding. Using 10-46s Gibson, D'Addario and a few other brands - I can no longer blame string brand. Next, I replaced the standard wooden bridge with a US made ABR-1. No luck ... same problem. I'm hoping you folks can save me the expense of a trip to a luthier so I come asking you about the nut. As long as I've been in the Gibson guitar game, I've never heard of a 'Delvin" nut material. Is it a quality nut material? Maybe I should replace this nut with bone (my personal favorite). Bottom line is, are any of you having the same problem with a Delvin nut in your Epiphones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) Delrin is a synthetic material similar to the Nylon 6/6 material that Gibson and Epiphone used for nuts in the '50s and '60s. It imparts a unique tone different from bone, as it seems to make for a softer attack and more snarl (at least to my ears). Since George's guitar is of that vintage, it makes sense to use it in order to best try to reproduce hs guitar's characteristics. I have a delrin nut on my James Bay 1966 Century, John Lennon Revolution and 1965 Casinos, McCartney Texan, and Gibson John Lennon J-160e. I believe the high-end Gibson Historic Les Paul reissues like the R59s, etc. have delrin nuts too, for historical accuracy. So as you can see, it's very common to use delrin on reissues of historic models from the '50s and '60s. It is often used on modern guitars with trem systems, too, as it is very slippery so doesn't bind. Red 333 Edited October 1, 2020 by Red 333 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluezguy Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 Thanks for your reply! I forgot I posted this question. Turns out the nut had real bad slot cuts ... they were too narrow. I bought some stew mac nut tools and fixed the problem. Also, I found a genuine Gibson 'Legendary' P-90 for the bridge and purchased a new SD Antiquity pup for the neck. Sorry Epiphone, the epi pro pups were not doing it for me however, the instrument is now a life long keeper and will never be tuned out of open G😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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