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Wilson: Guitar Tech Talk Guitar
Tech Talk is from Chip Wilson in New
Orleans. If you have a question about guitar
building, repair, or maintenance, send it to Chip
at jumpinsomethin@aol.com. Musician/luthier
Chip Wilson lives in New Orleans, LA. Chip worked
with Borys Guitars when master archtop builder
James L. D'Aquisto served as a consultant before
Chip opened his own business, Better Guitars.
Better Guitars served as an authorized repair shop
for most of the top US guitar manufacturers. Chip
recently wrote a book review for
Guitarmaker, the quarterly publication of
the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
(ASIA). Chip is now
primarily a performer in New Orleans, typically
playing 25 to 30 gigs per month, as a soloist,
sideman, and with his own band A
Jumpin' Somethin'".
His 1999 release "A Jumpin' Somethin'" was
nominated for Best Traditional Jazz CD By A
Louisiana Artist by Offbeat Magazine, the
most widely distributed Louisiana music
publication. Chip is currently working on a new CD
for release in 2000. "A Jumpin' Somethin'" can be
obtained online at www.louisianamusicfactory.com,
or by contacting Chip at jumpinsomethin@aol.com
Could the
nut be the problem? Chip
answers: I think it's time to devote a few
columns to the issue of guitar setup, and let's
start with the nut. The most
common materials for guitar nuts include bone,
brass, graphite, plastic, Micarta®, Corian®
and Tusq®. My personal preference is bone,
although the occasional density inconsistencies of
this natural material have prompted the use of
several alternatives. Brass (which will tarnish,
and very popular 20 years ago when everyone seemed
to want heavy, sustaining solidbodies) and graphite
share the trait of being self-lubricating. The
string vibrations generate a little bit of fine
dust that helps the string slip easily. This also,
however, leads them to wear out a bit faster than
some materials. Plastic is used in inexpensive
guitars, with pre manufactured nuts that are often
poor fits. Plastic
breaks and deteriorates easily, and is a last
choice for a quality nut. Micarta has been popular,
but has the trait of compressing under string down
pressure. Corian chips relatively easily, but is
similar to dense bone. Finally,
the new product, Tusq seems to be very promising,
with few of the disadvantages of the other
alternatives. The ideal
nut should fit the nut slot perfectly. If the nut
is too small for the slot, or if it is a poor fit,
it may tip over, affecting intonation. If it is a
poor fit on the bottom of the slot, it can affect
the tone. The outside edges should match the
contours of the guitar. Ideally, the perfectly fit
nut should be held in place with just a drop of
woodworker's glue. I typically
bevel over the outside corners of the nut, and also
bevel the nut from the tuner side up to the top of
the nut, so that the contact points of the strings
are minimized, reducing drag. The string
slots ought to allow for the wound strings to
partially sit above the nut. The plain strings need
to be just a bit deeper, as they are more likely to
slide out of the nut if the slots are not deep
enough. The string
slots should bevel back toward the tuners. If they
are too flat, the strings will buzz in the open
position. The strings should not bind up or make
any noise during tuning in a well made nut,
although a bit of graphite or Teflon oil
lubrication is common to avoid this
problem. The
distance from the edge of the fingerboard can vary
with custom made nuts, but an average of 3 to 4
millimeters is common. The width of the neck at the
nut will determine the string spacing. I typically
will sand and polish a nut, although not all
materials will polish out equally
well. Next
month, I will discuss the bridge on
acoustics, flattops, and archtops. In the
meantime, it's a New Year . . . learn some
new songs, maybe experiment with some new
techniques. But above all, have a great
year, and be good to yourselves and those
who love you. Chip
Wilson ISSN: 1529-0956
Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. USA |
A
reader asks: I noticed in many of your
recent columns, that you talk about the nut a lot,
and the effect it has on the guitar. I have a nice
new guitar that plays in tune okay with a capo, but
sounds out of tune without it. 
The
string must sit high enough above the fret to
prevent rattling when it is vibrating as an open
string. The bass string slots ought to be a little
higher than the treble strings, to allow for their
greater vibration. As a general guide, if you are
holding the string down at the fifth fret, you
should be able to slip a business card under the
string. If it goes under, it's probably about high
enough. If a nut is cut so that the string is too
high, some intonation problems may occur in lower
fingerboard positions (which answers our reader's
initial question). The string will need to be
pushed down too far, causing it to bend a bit and
get sharp. Also, the first position chords will be
difficult to finger.
Play It Again Sam . . 66 Main St . . Montpelier VT 05602 . . Phone (800) 472-SAMS . . Fax (802) 229-0755