Will a bone nut improve the tone on my MIM Tele
- Thread starter Joey
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Well maybe on the open strings maybe not. As soon as you press down a string your finger becomes the nut.
I think a properly cut nut is more important than the material its made from.
I think a properly cut nut is more important than the material its made from.
Actually as soon as you press down a string the fret wire becomes the nut. But the point is a good one. The nut only affects action and tunability, for the most part, and that only has to do with how well it's fitted and slotted. The material it's made of affects the tone but only when playing open strings, which is almost never the case. So why worry about it?
If you want to change the tone, look at your amp, your strings, your pickups, your pots and your saddles. Any of these will have a bigger impact than the nut.
sidneystreet
Tele-Afflicted
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2005
- Posts
- 1,663
I agree 100%
That happens often. Rarely does any Fender leave the factory with a properly cut nut.
Try this press down lightly on that string behind the nut and play that string if it sounds ok all it might need is some angle added.
+1.
Let us know which MIM model you have; some are more painstaking assembled than others, I find.
No one has mentioned that the MIM cut is cyclovac, a synthetic bone composite. Way better IMO once it is cut properly but darned good material IMO, as good as bone often and no where as inconsistent. I know Mark's got very very extensive experience with 90's and early 00's MIMs. I would suggest they have improved a lot - a typical MIM 08 nut will be cut nicer than a '98.
+1.
Let us know which MIM model you have; some are more painstaking assembled than others, I find.
No one has mentioned that the MIM cut is cyclovac, a synthetic bone composite. Way better IMO once it is cut properly. I know Mark's got very very extensive experience with 90's and early 00's MIMs. I would suggest they have improved a lot - a typical MIM 08 nut will be cut nicer than a '98.
Yep the newest MIM stds are way better made than the ones from 12 years ago.
Stratburst
Friend of Leo's
I always swap out the plastic nut for bone as a matter of principle; ever since I spent over $200 on setups because my Les Paul Studio wouldn't stay in tune, even with .12's installed. Each store tech would say the same thing: oh yeah, we can make it stay in tune, no problem. But no joy: the damn guitar would always slip. It was especially bad because I was gigging regularly.
Finally, I went with a tech a friend recommended and his first response was, "It's the POS plastic nut." He swapped it for bone and - voila! - the guitar no longer goes out of tune.
However, if the nut's good on the MiM, then it probably just needs to be properly cut.
Finally, I went with a tech a friend recommended and his first response was, "It's the POS plastic nut." He swapped it for bone and - voila! - the guitar no longer goes out of tune.
However, if the nut's good on the MiM, then it probably just needs to be properly cut.
Alex M
Tele-Meister
Bone, being a natural and porous material, will have tonal inconsistencies. TUSQ or other synthetic materials actually make better nuts because they maintain even density &c.
And of course everyone else is right--only on open strings will it matter.
How recently has this problem developed? Is it when the first string is open that it sounds dead? If not, you'll need to look for another solution. How old are the strings? It could just be a dead string or a fluke, so changing them might solve it much cheaper than replacing the nut.
And of course everyone else is right--only on open strings will it matter.
How recently has this problem developed? Is it when the first string is open that it sounds dead? If not, you'll need to look for another solution. How old are the strings? It could just be a dead string or a fluke, so changing them might solve it much cheaper than replacing the nut.
As mentioned the guitar is a 2009 and strings are new. The overall fit, finish, playability and tone of the guitar is great. The only problem is the E string does not ring when open and gets a little better when fretted. I did raise the saddle a bit and put some relief on the truss rod to ensure it was not fretting out. After all of your input, it sound like the problem lies in how the nut was cut. I'll take it to my Tech to have a look. Perhaps the string is sitting too low in the nut.
Louthunder
Tele-Holic
A bone nut will have a slight effect on a good acoustic guitar, but it is slight.It effects the resonance of the guitar as whole. It would have to be a well made acoustic to even benefit from something as slight as that!
sean79
Poster Extraordinaire
Did you try this yet?
musicalmartin
Poster Extraordinaire
This is very true Mark .my new Baja had a slight sort a pinching sound on its first string at first .It went when I fretted ,.Nut I thought ... I opened the slot just a tad ..no joy ....a tad more ...no joy ...a slight angle down ... no joy ..... a bit more angle ...perfect joy and bliss.Bang on.
I used my special custom nut slot tool ..an Exacto saw !!!
Happy Tele
Tele-Holic
no
Im getting a bone nut cut for my Squier CVC, I didnt choose bone but thats what the tech uses. The stock nut is cut pretty poorly thats why Im changing it.
I have tusq, cyclovak (what Fender uses on AVRIs), and bone and they all sound the same to me but I dont have golden ears ol
What, no one raving about fossilized walrus tusk? Gentlemen, I know it's the weekend, but standards of cork-sniffing must be kept high!
Alex M
Tele-Meister
What, no one raving about fossilized walrus tusk? Gentlemen, I know it's the weekend, but standards of cork-sniffing must be kept high!
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