Hooligan Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I purchased some time ago a West African Hard Ivory blank for my Les Paul. The plastic nuts just suck...... I sent it to mu luthier and recently got it back. I hope it does many things but mainly I am looking for more consistent tuning and possibly more sustain on open chords. Anyhow, I took some photos of it today. The photos are really mediocre at best but you can get the idea. I think I have accomplished my goals. I will tell you that I can even feel the difference in my fingers on my left hand. The vibrations in my finger tips is greater which tells me the hardness of the nut is doing it's job of not absorbing those precious vibrations. Before I put it all back together I taped off the fretboard and polished all the frets using Nevr Dull. I then gave the fret board a good polishing with some lemon oil stuff.......it looks much better in person I can assure you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I suspect your "luthier" doesn't know his *** from a hole in the ground. It sure looks like the slots are too wide and too deep. And what about the dead elephant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leewaun Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Ivory belongs on elephants not on guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 They've been getting a lot of ivory from frozen mammoth carcasses way up north, but I think cattle bone is probably a better idea. And there have to be synthetics of some kind that will emulate ivory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 . And there have to be synthetics of some kind that will emulate ivory. That's why Graphtech calls the product "Tusq". And the OP could have bought and installed one of their pre-slotted nuts for a fraction of what he paid for that abortion. Sorry, OP, nothing personal but others may learn from your "experience". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 That's why Graphtech calls the product "Tusq" There you go! I knew someone would know the answer. I hope to get the plastic nuts on my Sheraton reissues replaced, and Tusq sounds like one to consider. Thanks, Ron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarxBros Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I suspect your "luthier" doesn't know his *** from a hole in the ground. It sure looks like the slots are too wide and too deep Add to that the back taper is poor, an he didn't even try to angle them to the tuning keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I have to agree with Ron. Those slots are too deep and wide. I have put the pre-sloted Tusq nuts on most of my electric guitars and they work great. And they look a lot better, and I'm sure sound a lot better, than what your so called "luthier" did to your guitar. If I had gone to pick up my guitar, and saw that; I would have got my money back, or insisted on him doing it correctly. On second thought, I wouldn't want him to touch it again. I'd want my money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Strum Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I agree with the others about too wide, too deep. I also question someone posting pictures of their nut, this is a family forum. However, you are a fellow Ohioan, so I can't be too critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ef_in_fla Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Go get a refund on that mess and buy yourself a Graphtech pre-slotted nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooligan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hey thanks for the heads up on the craftsmanship. I am fairly new to electrics. the same shop did the bone nut and saddle on my breedlove acoustic and it's fantastic. I am suspecting that someone other than the shop owner did this one. If this job is ruined they owe me more than my money back. I have $35 in that blank nut. The elephant died sometime before 1963 , the year it was imported to the US from the Congo. It was legaly purchased recently in the US from an estate auction . I will not argue where ivory belongs or not, you have your opinions and you've stated them. Personaly I see nothing wrong with this peice of ivory on a musical instrument with which many may get some pleasure. Besides, this particular animal was dead before I and I bet a few of you were born. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telechamp Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Ivory belongs on elephants not on guitars. Right on, Leewaun! There are many alternatives out there other than ivory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Mammoth, Walrus, and even whales (their TEETH are called ivory) all produce ivory. Tusq (graphtech) sells a pre-slotted that fits the Sheraton?????? Time for an upgrade or 2 methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLesPaul2006 Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Im thinking of trying the graphtech tusq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 I am fairly new to electrics Nut-wise, there's really no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Presto Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Hey thanks for the heads up on the craftsmanship. I am fairly new to electrics. the same shop did the bone nut and saddle on my breedlove acoustic and it's fantastic. I am suspecting that someone other than the shop owner did this one. If this job is ruined they owe me more than my money back. I have $35 in that blank nut. The elephant died sometime before 1963 ' date=' the year it was imported to the US from the Congo. It was legaly purchased recently in the US from an estate auction . I will not argue where ivory belongs or not, you have your opinions and you've stated them. Personaly I see nothing wrong with this peice of ivory on a musical instrument with which many may get some pleasure. Besides, this particular animal was dead before I and I bet a few of you were born.[/quote'] I found this quote on Bob Colosi's site: www.guitarsaddles.com. It might shed some light into the West African Hard Ivory question/concern. Dave "HISTORY and COOL INFORMATION: Hard Ivory came from smaller animals that lived in Western Africa and are referred to as “Forest Elephants.” The tusks are smaller, lighter in color and are measurably more dense than standard elephant tusks. The forest elephants of Congo and Liberia had very strict harvesting controls imposed by their respective governments, eliminating nearly all of the poaching. This is one reason for the extreme rarity of this ivory. Unlike other areas of Africa, they were overlooked by hunters as potential “trophy elephants” because of the diminutive size of their tusks. Additionally, if these elephants were legally hunted for any purpose, one tusk was allowed to be retained by the permit holder, the other was required to be turned into the government. For this reason it is nearly impossible to find these tusks in pairs, which adds to its rarity. Much of this material I currently have came from tusks which were exchanged as gifts (legally) between U.S. and African dignitaries in the early 20th century, and eventually sold at estate sales." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Strum Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Bob Colosi makes excellent nuts, saddles, and pins. I've done buisness with him and he comes highly recommended on a number of guitar sites. Before you decide on something, he will communicate with you by e-mail and/or phone. He's a real straight shooter as far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Presto Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Bob made me a bone nut for my '76 Guild D-25. It was very polished and fit almost perfectly in my neck. It really added a lot to my tone; obviously more so with open strings. But definitely an improvement over the old stock nut which wasn't bone. It was some sort of man-made something. I've been wanting to try the West African Hard Ivory for a nut. Pretty expensive, though...like $45.00 thereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leewaun Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Right on' date=' Leewaun! There are many alternatives out there other than ivory.[/quote'] I got no problem with the use of mammoth tusk for nuts as they went extinct a long time ago. I would like to get mammoth nut for my guild but it already has a bone nut. But ivory is just wrong. Elephants are still being killed by poachers all the time for ivory and buying it legal or not just encourages the ivory trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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