Brass nuts!

StanleyAccrington

Anyone using or has tried a brass nut on their guitar?  I've been reading the brass v steel saddle posts and wondering if it could be a case of 'double jeopardy' if I had a brass saddle and a brass nut on the same guitar. 

ESBlonde

There was a big sales push in the mid/late 70s where the new accessory companies sold brass saddles and brass nuts as an 'upgrade' for your LP, Tele or Strat. The Yamaha SG2000 had an inlaid brass plate under the bridge too, but you hardly ever see any of those guitars still fitted with brass nuts. I guess the mojo for brass nuts wore off.

crunchman

Think Gordon Smith guitars have brass nuts.

sawyer

Yeah Gordon Smith still use brass nuts

ICBM

They were very common in the late 70s and 80s, anyone old enough will remember them, and may even have fitted one .

I think they do change the sound slightly, but nowhere near as much as the saddles. Theoretically they only make a difference on the open strings anyway... although I'm never sure if that's 100% true.

I have one on my old Rickenbacker - which I didn't fit, it was on there long before I owned it - and it doesn't seem to be doing any harm so I have no plans to change it.

BahHumbug

As @ICBM says, I fitted a brass nut to my Strat copy in the 1980s (I was a teenager at the time).  I can't really think why I would ever want to do it again.  I don't think it made any noticeable difference to anything apart from 'looks'.

Fretwired

I have a brass nut on my Epi Dot ... I didn't notice too much different in the tone .. maybe a little brighter .. but I like the nut. The strings don't stick and it's better than the cheap plastic thing that the guitar was shipped with.

Sassafras

I had brass nuts on both my Gordon Smiths. They were height adjustable which was quite handy. I don't know how you'd quantify the difference in sound they make since no 2 guitars sound identical. My guess is that any change in sound is minimal.

guitars4you

ICBM said:

They were very common in the late 70s and 80s, anyone old enough will remember them, and may even have fitted one .

I think they do change the sound slightly, but nowhere near as much as the saddles. Theoretically they only make a difference on the open strings anyway... although I'm never sure if that's 100% true.

I have one on my old Rickenbacker - which I didn't fit, it was on there long before I owned it - and it doesn't seem to be doing any harm so I have no plans to change it.

totally agree - recall many Mighty Mite sales in the day of such parts including many to pre-CBS Strats - Strange you never see those guitars for sale today with such mods as they've all become original again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recall the Ibanez 1/2 1/2 nut as well in the 80's on select models

hairmetal

All the Fender Malmsteen Strats have them.

steveledzep

Yes, my two Gordon Smiths have adjustable brass nuts.

BenSirAmos

I put a brass nut on my Tele long ago when the original nut broke. I didn't really notice any difference. I think I swapped back to bone and didn't notice a difference. Now I can't even remember what nut is on it.

Where I did find a difference was in how much easier it was to cut the nut slots to the optimum depth with brass. With bone nuts, it is too easy to just go a little deeper and whoops, too much. This never happened to me when I cut  brass.

sweepy

For the Malmsteen look 
https://i.imgur.com/rP9ktxX.jpg

Funkfingers

I fitted one on my brother's late Eighties Epiphone-By-Gibson* Sheraton II. A definite improvement over the original plastic P.O.S. (Shame that he won't let me set about the tuners, pickups, and controls.) Thank Clapton for superglue.


* One with this hyphenated name inlaid into the headstock rather than with the "By Gibson" script on the truss rod cover.

thermionic

Bronze can be made with oil or graphite added so that is self-lubricating. Surely that would be a good material for a nut?

ICBM

thermionic said:

Bronze can be made with oil or graphite added so that is self-lubricating. Surely that would be a good material for a nut?

It would, definitely.

Actually surprised no-one has done it already - start a company!

FX_Munkee

Brass does have a pretty low coefficient of friction with steel. Bronze is better but bronze is pretty expensive stuff.

PTFE would be the ideal surface, wonder if it can be made hard enough?

merlin

FX_Munkee said:

Brass does have a pretty low coefficient of friction with steel. Bronze is better but bronze is pretty expensive stuff.

PTFE would be the ideal surface, wonder if it can be made hard enough?

Delrin (teflon) might do it. 

Corvus

thermionic said:

Bronze can be made with oil or graphite added so that is self-lubricating. Surely that would be a good material for a nut?

I did think about making Oilite nuts for my Gretsches to help with the eternal Bigsby vs very splayed headstock thing (bronze oil-impregnated as self-lubing bearing material). Solved the problem by selling the Gretches though... Tusq worked well anyway, a little better than bone, if not as nice sounding on open strings. That 'self lubing' Tusq is brilliant on my Strat, haven't had to lube the slots at all.

MrBump

My new Gordon Smith Strat has a brass nut, as all GS's do, I believe.  Again, not sure how you quantify the sound... acoustically, it sounds different to my other stratty guitars with Tusq or plastic nuts.  I'd say open strings sound more mellow, less bright.  But that could be a build up of ear wax on my part.

richardhomer

I had a factory fitted one on a late 70s Mugen acoustic (and bridge saddle too FWIW). Whatever tonal impact it had, the bass strings seemed to cause notches where the windings compressed it causing some tuning issues.

I certainly wouldn’t fit one by choice.