Why is Fender putting plastic nuts on guitars over $1,000?

[Randwulf]

Bone is not stronger ....because it varies a lot. It's inconsistent. In a perfect world, yes, it may be stronger. The nut's I've had fail have been bone. It splits if it's not the perfect piece.

everyone has different experiences but I'll take a bone nut any day.....I've never had guitars with cheap plastic nuts but a lot of my former students have and a lot of theirs cracked...if it's good bone I doubt it will crack...that comes down again to people being cheap and not selecting good quality bone to use for their nuts.

 

[Randwulf]

I find actually playing my guitars even more therapeutic.

I totally agree......I've made a few myself it's a good experience!

 

[Randwulf]

There is no reason you shouldn't like 'em. I like 'em too. They're purdy, classy, and traditional. But, not "superior," in and of themselves, by most objective measures.

I've heard some high end luthiers prefer camel bone because as heavy duty "beasts of burden" their bone is denser.......you can hear the difference in the "Stones" song eh????? he he he....Keith only uses camel on his teles....he told me hisself y'all!

 

[Randwulf]

So I've made guitar and bass nuts out of various materials, and bone as mentioned varies a lot. So what does it "sound like" if it varies naturally?

"Plastic" is a term which includes all sorts of things including Vespel, which is what Blue Chip makes their picks from and which costs a shocking amount of money which of course means it must be really good.

There are hard dense plastics and soft plastics; plastic that are brittle and plastics with a lot of elasticity. Just to say "OMG A plastic nut!" doesn't tell us much about quality. Someone will probably claim "bone is more musical" and its true, when I was a kid there would often be a cartoon in which somebody played skeletons like xzylophone


EDIT: FOR SOME REASON I CAN'T POST A LINK

I think he's referring to the ubiquitis cheap white brittle plastic that are on every Fender and Gibson......they bought 10 million of them from a dealer in China 60 years ago for $1000 and still have 2 million left.......

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

I know my experience is peppered with bad luck, but I’ve had bone nuts on two guitars. Both catastrophically failed. Replaced with Tusq and haven’t had a problem.

Was there a different sound? Yes - one went ‘crunch‘ and the other managed to sound like a guitar. I’d be okay with ‘synthetic bone’ or whatever they choose to call their polymer.

 

[CX Hunter]

I've worked in the Indian music business for 25 years, and people were complaining about plastic nuts and jawaris (the bridge) on sitars when they first started replacing the old ones made from deer or camel. Mostly because, the cork sniffers need to have something to obsess and complain about. But as top players like Shahid Parvez began to report that the better quality nuts made from Delrin and Delrin-like materials were actually requiring less maintainence and sounded no different, all the punters began grudgingly to admit they couldn't actually tell the difference.

 

[Wound_Up]

I got a Telecaster Player Plus ordered today. The first thing I had done was put a Graph Tech nut on it. How does Fender justify those cheap plastic nuts on expensive guitars? Seriously, the Graph Tech might cost a couple extra dollars for them at most, if they installed it at the factory.

$4k Gibson Custom Shop guitars come with plastic nuts too. So, what? It's easy enough to change one out. I don't understand the problem here.

 

[wyclif]

Synthetic in this case means plastic.

"Synthetic bone" is like saying "jumbo shrimp", "civil war", "true fiction", or "working vacation."

 

[wyclif]

$4k Gibson Custom Shop guitars come with plastic nuts too. So, what? It's easy enough to change one out. I don't understand the problem here.

The problem isn't that you can't change it out, it's that some people feel like if you're paying $4K or more for a guitar it should come stock with a bone nut.

 

[somebodyelseuk]

I got a Telecaster Player Plus ordered today. The first thing I had done was put a Graph Tech nut on it. How does Fender justify those cheap plastic nuts on expensive guitars? Seriously, the Graph Tech might cost a couple extra dollars for them at most, if they installed it at the factory.

You replaced a plastic nut, with another plastic nut. Better still, according to Graphtech, you replaced a Graphtech nut with a Graphtech nut.

 

[dogrocketp]

It was a logical step after gig bags weren't just for sub-$100 guitars anymore.

I’m a gigging musician, I only use gig bags unless I fly. Almost all of the musicians I work with use gig bags. I have a stack of hard cases in case I sell one of my guitars to a troll who only plays in his basement.

 

[coolrene]

Bone won’t wear out with the movement of the wound strings, but Tusq will ring better. It’s for you to arbitrate depending if your guitar sounds dark. Plastic is neutral and ok if cut right.

 

[Triton Thrasher]

Bone is from C14 based animals (typically cows)

That’s the elusive low-energy beta tone.

 

[TeleGS]

I don't know about everyone else, but for some reason zero frets make my OCD go wild. And I think that plastic nuts will do just fine if they are cut properly and lubricated. I do think that if your going to put a guitar for over $1,000, you should put a better nut on it. People paying $1,000 for a guitar can probably spend like $5 more to get a good nut. Sorry, maybe that's just me

I don't play a lot of cowboy chords on an electric so the nut doesn't come into play. Maybe that is what they were thinking. Consistent with Leo's thinking, make it as good as it needs to be, everything after that is a waste.

Gold bond powder is good stuff, just don’t use the green bottle for your nuts.

Pro tip of the day.

 

[rand z]

I always make my own nuts (from bone) when I pick up a new electric guitar.

It's Standard Procedure.

I do put TUSQ (or something similar) on most of my acoustic guitar's.

I think that they transmit energy better... and, therefore, ring with slightly more sustain.

Also:

I believe BONE is best for a Telecaster used for Trad Country, and the like.

However, if you're playing Blues or Rock (or have a vibrato), you might want to checkout self lubricating nuts.

Extreme bends will be easier... and the guitar will snap back, in tune.

p.s. Fender and Gibson seem to lack any REAL guitar players' in their ranks. They could use a few to help off-set their BIZ peeps. BTW, I'm available.)

imo.

 

[alanmcohen]

I live for the day when the nut material on my guitars is what is holding me back. I bet Chris Buck wouldn't ever notice what his nut was made of. He plays relatively inexpensive guitars and makes them sing. I wish switching out the nut on any of my guitars would make me sound like that. So for me, I'll worry about the nut material when my tone and ability is worthy.

 

[Kansas]

I got a Telecaster Player Plus ordered today. The first thing I had done was put a Graph Tech nut on it. How does Fender justify those cheap plastic nuts on expensive guitars? Seriously, the Graph Tech might cost a couple extra dollars for them at most, if they installed it at the factory.

The assumption is that GraphTech nuts are cheap plastic. Graph Tech nuts are synthetic bone, not cheap plastic, and sound great. They are also perfectly sized for the job meaning your guitar comes out of the box playing more consistently. The idea that a nut is only worthy if some bloke sits there all afternoon hand filing on it is wrong, and if you want a super high end hand worked guitar get out your wallet. You have to pay for it. I’m a fan of all the quality Graph Tech products. Their guitar picks are in my view the best sounding guitar picks out there. Try them.

 

[bobalu]

I have nothing against plastic nut as long as they are cut right. Also, not all plastic are the same. Some are more durable than the other. Synthetic bone nut, from what I could tell, is very hard plastic with bone powder infused in them. So it's not the same cheap plastic nut you would get with a $100 beginner guitar. By the way even with these cheap plastic nuts, if they are cut right, they work just as well. But that's just me.

Totally agree here. I know that Gibson used Nylon in the 50's and although it's a "plastic", it's extremely tough with good lubricating properties in terms of string glide. I have one on my 2008 LP Standard. It's also a relatively expensive material. I'm not defending the use of plastic for Fender, but I think there are far too many types of plastic to lump it into the garbage heap for nuts. As mentioned, GraphTech is plastic as well. I totally understand the reaction to the label of "plastic" on a $1,000 + guitar though.

Just sharing my thoughts here. Peace all!

 

[Samohtnadroj]

I got a Telecaster Player Plus ordered today. The first thing I had done was put a Graph Tech nut on it. How does Fender justify those cheap plastic nuts on expensive guitars? Seriously, the Graph Tech might cost a couple extra dollars for them at most, if they installed it at the factory.

I bought a $1500 MIJ Fender Swinger that came with a "plastic" nut. I still write great songs with it and play great shows with it. The plastic nut has never been a concern to me cause I know I could put a Graphtech one in it (also plastic) for $15.

 

[tfarny]

Bone isn't necessarily better, and "graphtech" is another version of plastic. If it's not made of metal, brass, or bone, it's some kind of plastic. And there is nothing at all wrong with Pao Ferro as long as you don't mind the look and it's a good piece. Feel-wise, the one I have is indistinguishable from Ebony. I'm also about to start giving away my electric guitar hard cases. They take up way too much room and are only really useful to a touring musician.
But overall, is Fender offering a good value product right now? Not hardly.