My Gibson J-60 Plus has seen both a bone nut and a fossil ivory nut. In my opinion, TUSQ is the way to go if you’re sold on a plastic nut. May this article serve as a subjective guide or at least something to pick apart piece by piece with your buds at the guitar store. Both can vary, so the relationship between the two is more general in nature. Bone also self–lubricates, meaning it pairs better with that annoying B–string. Are nut width and string spacing the same thing? We’ll start at the bridge end, with guitar saddles. But these materials are, for the most part, the exceptions to the rule. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. No spam, nothing to sell,just sharing good info. If you are experiencing problems that lead you to look at the saddle or the tuners (intonation with the B–string is a common one), you may want to take a look at that nut. Learn More, Nut on a 1959 Airline/Valco Town and Country, Graph Tech TUSQ Slotted 1/4" Epiphone Nut, Fossilized Mammoth Ivory Pre-Finished Nut, Everything you need to know about body shapes, styles, and other considerations. GBP Why Your Acoustic Guitar has less frets than your Electric. NuBone is marketed as a lower cost, high–grade plastic alternative to bone. This comes in a few different types – e.g. For our purposes, we will consider three nut materials: plastic, fossilized ivory, and bone. Nut width, string spacing, scale length and neck profile are always included in the specifications but how these relate to another, and ultimately how the guitar then feels to play can only really be experienced first-hand. Flash Plastic: O.k. Working with a bone nut for angling, string relief, and slotting is decidedly easier than doing so with fossil ivory, in my opinion. Sustain. In the following article, we’re going to discuss what nut width is on your acoustic guitar and how it affects playability. If I misunderstood or misjudged Fender products in this price range? By clicking Subscribe, I agree my data may be used for marketing purposes including email communications and third party marketing. And if you had no nut at all? I would have never started playing guitar if these budget–friendly instruments weren’t available. As can be the case with other nuts, open notes don’t sound shrill or too loud. Especially when bone and fossil ivory will be just as good if not better. Guitar Saddles. Required fields are marked *. How The Acoustic Guitar Works (A SIMPLE GUIDE), The Best Acoustic Guitar Strings for a Warm Sound, The Difference Between Electric And Acoustic Guitar Strings, Short Scale Acoustic Guitars – Everything You Wanted to Know. Acoustic Guitar Set Up's Adjusting Action For Playability & Tone. Nut width is usually represented in inches, usually as a fractional measurement e.g. Cheap, plastic nuts plague these instruments. flash plastic is not the technical term but I guess it kind of describes the material in question here. The different specificaitons have been listed as either fractional or decimal, depending on which makes mroe sense as a format for the given nut width. However hard to work with, the fossil ivory is the best–looking nut around. No, nut width refers to the width of the nut only, string spacing refers to the distance between the strings. How does nut width affect how the guitar plays? TUSQ, Nubone and Micarta. And we care about the subtleties. Your Price $ 11.60 msrp:13.65,lowPrice:11.6. It’s commonly thought that nut width is important with regard to your approach to the guitar e.g. Graph Tech also makes a “TUSQ derivative” they call NuBone. It’s equally important to understand that the influence of nut material on tone can be undermined by poor setup. Manufacturers build guitars based on their own standards but an average nut width would be close to 1 11/16” or 43mm. Theacousticguitarist.com also participates in various other affiliate programs, and we receive a commission from purchases made through our links. For acoustic players specifically, the nut is no exception, and players often debate the best materials and setup. are an important little part of a guitar. e.g. TUSQ nuts boast “permanent lubrication” and definitely deliver in the self–lubrication category, being easy to shape.