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RE: Alternate Material for nut (in reply to Guest)
quote:
ORIGINAL: LorenzoBonc
Hey Guys,
I have a question for you luthiers. What would be the problem ...if any ....of having a nut made from metal....say Copper, silver or maybe the same metal the Frets are made from.....comments, thoughts??? Am I crazy to even ask?
I had a customer who had a saddle made of 24 carot gold. He thought it helped the sustain on his classic guitar. I've tried brass and composites and couldn't detect any difference. Of course this was mostly saddles not nuts but I suspect it would make little difference in the voice of your guitar.
RE: Alternate Material for nut (in reply to Guest)
Ain't hardly nuthin' new.
One Torres guitar, the one commonly referred to as FE 08 that was built for the Sevilla Exhibition of 1858, has solid silver frets, saddle, nut and machine head plates. Another example, the FE 17 built in 1864, was originally set up the same way but the current fingerboard and frets on it are replacements. These are both fancy guitars and the silver was probably used primarily for looks. Silver is rather soft and would make a really lousy fret material. The FE 08 has seen very little actual use.
FWIW, the nickel silver (aka German silver) alloy that's typically used for fret wire does not contain any silver at all. It's a copper-based alloy like brass and the silvery color comes from it's nickel content which is usually between 12% and 18%.
RE: Alternate Material for nut (in reply to Guest)
Buy some brass bar at Ace Hardware and file a nut. It will make a nut, so will Corian or so will fossilized dog poops. None of them will give you an edge that will make it head and shoulders above bone or ivory. In fact metal nuts might even cause some damping you don't want.
If you want brass nuts, practice a lot and then play to an audience.
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: Alternate Material for nut (in reply to Guest)
pepe romero, a luthier, who is the son of one of the famous romeros, uses brass nuts and claims they aid in clarity and brightness (or so says g.s.i.). many in the steel string crowd swear by tusq for nuts and saddles. by the way, PdL bought a romero guitar with a brass nut. i am not sure if the brass nut was the tipping point to make the sale.
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