Who's the best for nuts in the Midlands?

Cryptid

The guitar tech I use is wonderful for fret work and pickup installations but the last few nuts I've had filed there are all still binding strings. I'm OCD about tuning and can't deal with trebles going sharp before the end of a song. Drives me nuts. 

Any recommendations for a fine nut job?

I've never understood why expensive acoustics seem to all have this issue from the shelf. I understand nuts and saddles being a little higher than an individual would like, but surely they should be adequately setup to hold solid tuning for the string gauge they ship with? 

bermudianbrit

Noiseworks in Coventry is great overall. I've found that if he can't fix it it can't be fixed.

TheMadMick

Have you tried lubricating the slots? "Lead" from a pencil (actually graphite) or wax from a candle might help and it's cheap.

Soupman

@TheMadMick I've had this trouble for a while on one of my acoustics - lube just doesn't work on this particular guitar, it may do on some of course.
Mine is going to have to go to a tech. It's only the G string too.
(I am aware of the many possible innuendoes here. Some wag is  bound to start it off.....)
 
 

BillDL

One of the main causes of hang-ups on guitars that have wider (i.e. thicker) Gibson / Acoustic guitar type of nuts, and tuning machines that cause the strings to splay (when compared to Fenders), is the angle of the exit point of the string on the tuning head side of the nut.  The nut slot should be formed into a "delta" or a "flare" that is filed so that it leans towards where the string goes to the tuning machine.  That reduces the sharp angle you would otherwise have with the string exiting a slot that sits at 90 degrees to the flat side of the nut.  When done properly it creates a gradual exit that is rounded off and the only real friction left is towards the fretboard side of the nut slots where they need to take off from a sharp edge and not be either oversized (causes rattle and buzz) or too narrow where they grip the strings.  The bottom of the nut slots also needs to be smoothly rounded.  If it's in a V the string tension bearing down on the slot forces the string into the V and grips it.  There's an art to getting nut slots right on that type of headstock, but it's more trial and error than magic.

Here's a good article that addresses the points I've made.  It shows a nut where the slots have been purposefully cut at an angle.  That's fine when a new nut is being made, but on one with existing slots that run at 90 degrees the best you can do is flare out the exit area and angle the flare.

https://hazeguitars.com/blog/troubleshooting-tuning-the-nut

Soupman

^^ Good article, thanks Bill. Confirms my thoughts - a job for someone with experience.

guitarjack66

I would suggest @kelpbeds but only Mrs kelpbeds would be qualified to nominate him!
Yes, I went there (not literally of course!)

Cryptid

bermudianbrit said:

Noiseworks in Coventry is great overall. I've found that if he can't fix it it can't be fixed.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll get in touch and see if he can help save my sanity.

TheMadMick said:

Have you tried lubricating the slots? "Lead" from a pencil (actually graphite) or wax from a candle might help and it's cheap.

I've tried graphite powder, 'Nut Sauce' etc. Less loud pings when tightening the strings but they're still binding and going slightly sharp. It was even suggested to me that it might be my over-sensitive hearing picking up on the imperfect nature of the guitar  The effect is easily observed with a strobe tuner though, after pressing down on a string behind the nut it goes sharp.

@BillDL Thanks for the info and link to article. I read something similar when deciding whether or not to get a set of nut files and have a go myself. The majority of acoustics I've bought, new or second-hand, have had binding issues at the nut and while I don't mind taking them to a professional to sort them, it's awkward and annoying to have to keep taking them back when the problem isn't rectified. 

It'd be rewarding to learn to do it myself but I can only assume it's a real skill and test of patience to get it right, and too easy to go too far and have to start again. Call me crazy but I still think a new, expensive acoustic should have a nut cut well enough to hold solid tuning for the string gauge it's shipped with. 

BillDL

Cryptid said:

It'd be rewarding to learn to do it myself but I can only assume it's a real skill and test of patience to get it right, and too easy to go too far and have to start again. Call me crazy but I still think a new, expensive acoustic should have a nut cut well enough to hold solid tuning for the string gauge it's shipped with.

Agreed with both statements. I suppose that most dexterous and steady-handed people armed with the right tools and knowledge gleaned from some professional videos could drill out a cavity in somebody's tooth and fill it, but if you make a mess up and go too deep it's then going to take a professional to take more radical action and fit a crown or extract the tooth and insert an implant of make a denture.  Obviously that's an extreme analogy that also involves pain and potentially a court appearance, and it's not as though you can gain trial and error experience on a cheaper subject, but hopefully you get my drift

GavRichList

Howard Smith in Leicester is always my answer in such matters