What nut material was used in mid 90s Mexican teles?

[cyclopean]

I’m chasing some string buzz around, and I’m curious what nut material I’m dealing with. I’m currently using .11s but I had it strung up with .12s for a while until my carpal tunnel started yelling, and I may have loosened up the slots a little too much because of that. If I can’t get rid of the buzz by adjusting the bridge saddles I may get a new nut cut for it, and I’m thinking about my choices for that.

 

[Peegoo]

@cyclopean It's either melamine or cyclovac (urea formaldehyde--a thermoset plastic similar to phenolic).

 

[kinkstah]

Cyclovac (see Peego's post) would be my guess.

 

[Nick Fanis]

Some kind of plastic like the original vintage ones.Bone is very recent for Fender.

 

[Boreas]

I’m chasing some string buzz around, and I’m curious what nut material I’m dealing with. I’m currently using .11s but I had it strung up with .12s for a while until my carpal tunnel started yelling, and I may have loosened up the slots a little too much because of that. If I can’t get rid of the buzz by adjusting the bridge saddles I may get a new nut cut for it, and I’m thinking about my choices for that.

Just measure your slot heights on each string. Make sure you have a few thousandths clearance (business card) at the first fret when you fret/capo each string at the third fret. I usually don't have to measure, but have developed a calibrated eye. However many people here are going to want to know the measurements.

Describe your buzzing. I doubt you need a new nut just by using larger strings for a little while. If indeed a slot is too low, they can usually be built up carefully to remedy the buzz. Inspect carefully to make sure the nut hasn't cracked at the bottom of a slot.

 

[Freeman Keller]

As you have been told, it will be some sort of synthetic plastic material. The material itself really won't matter, how the nut is made will. It also sounds like you have been filing or sanding the slots a little, its possible that you have gone too far down.

If the problem is at the nut there is very little you can do a the bridge. First problem is to identify exactly where it is buzzing. Does it buzz with open strings or when fretted or both? Have you tried Boreas's little test of fretting at the third fret (which also holds the string at the second) - you should have a tiny gap at the first (you can measure it with feeler gauges or tap on the string over the fret, you should hear a ping). If it buzzes at the first few frets but not higher on the neck it is possible that you need more relief. And finally, whether you pass the Boreas test or not you should actually measure the distance between each string and the first fret - Fenders factory specs are 0.020 on all strings (the thickness of two business cards) - mine is a little less.

If you decide to buy or make a new nut there are two configurations that Fender has used. Some fretboards have a flat bottom to the nut slot and require a flat nut, some have curved bottoms following the radius of the f/b and require a curved nut. You can buy a synthetic blank that is curved on the bottom but has a little tab to make it work in a flat slot, you just file the tab off for curved. You can also take your nut out and see what you've got before ordering. Fender has a couple of different nut widths - measure yours.

I'll just add that I use bone for all the nuts I make unless someone requests something special. Bone is a nice material, I keep a stock on hand and can make about any nut you can name. Some people think that nut material makes a big difference in sound, I don't as long as it is fairly dense and hard.