G-400 Nut replacement

[essessemm]

So I'm upgrading the pick-ups in my G-400 to the Seymour-Duncan Hot Rodded set this weekend as recommended on these boards, but I'm thinking that I may as well have the plastic nut replaced at the same time.

 

Is it worth it to replace it with a better material (if so which)? Will I notice increased sustain? Right now the sustain is OK, but not amazing.

 

Thanks for the input.

[RotcanX]

I like to replace the nuts on my Epis with ones made of bone, but in all honesty I think it's more a question of self satisfaction than any concrete improvement in tone or sustain. As long as the nut you have is cut properly so as not to cause tuning problems or fret buzz, it's fine. But feel free to have a bone or other material nut installed... they tend to add a feeling of quality at the very least.

[essessemm]

Thanks for the input. The nut I have is fine in all respects -- it's mostly an issue of how cheap the damn thing looks. I may upgrade for that simple fact.

[RotcanX]

I hear ya. I've been refining the art of making bone nuts over the past couple of years and it's very rewarding. Bone polishes like fine ivory and once done it really looks good on any guitar and definitely adds to the feeling of quality. Hopefully you can find someone that can do a decent job of it; I've seen some bad ones:

 

 

I prefer to do 'em like this:

 

 

Of course the best part is that you can get the material for free. One day my dear old mother presented me with a pair of really fine soup bones good for at least 30 nuts!

[essessemm]

I'd imagine carving them is a bit of an art form. How long does it take you to make one start to finish? i.e. how much labor am I looking at?

 

Besides the nut files for the grooves, what other tools do you use?

[RotcanX]

Well, I find that a bandsaw with a small 1/8" blade is dandy for cutting out the basic shape, and a belt sander is really useful for finishing the final contours, especially since I am starting from a hand-cut blank which needs to be squared off before starting (as opposed to the nice rectangular blanks that are sold commercially). I used to try shaping with files but bone is hard and it's a lot of work! The bandsaw really speeds up the process and it also helps to keep your nails nice and short while you're at it. For polishing I use fine (600 grit) wet sandpaper, then steel wool, then Brasso polish.

 

I've got it down to about 20-25 minutes from rough chunk of bone to finished, installed, and slotted nut. But I do a lot of them.

[Dave]

I hate the smell of a bone nut against a sander. It's bad enough when done by hand with a sheet of sandpaper on the bench.

 

They do look nice when finished, though, and the materials are cheap if you use free bones.

[RotcanX]

I hate the smell of a bone nut against a sander. It's bad enough when done by hand with a sheet of sandpaper on the bench.

 

Heh heh yeah kind of smells like being in the dentist's chair... shudder. You get used to it though. One thing that does smell amazingly nice is rosewood. Sometimes I have to sand up some rosewood dust to colour epoxy and it is the most fragrant wood I have ever worked with...