Nut Position
by Chris
Herrod, LMI Sales Manager
There
are a couple schools of thought on where the nut slot on a fingerboard should be
placed. LMI’s standard for years has been option #1 below. This will continue to
be the norm on our Pre-slotted/Pre-radiused fingerboards with the exception of
the boards that have a Fender-style nut slot. These “ready to ship” boards come
with the nut slot cut into the board, you simply remove the material behind the
nut slot and you are ready to go.
Our
custom fingerboard services now allow for a choice of either option #1 or #2.
This blog will help you understand the difference between the two options so you
can make the best choice for your building style. Option #3 is not available on
custom slotted boards, but we do have a couple of options available in our
Pre-slotted/Pre-radiused fingerboards selection.
#1
- The LMI Standard moves the kerf back half the width of the slot. Our slots are
.024”, so we move it back .012”. This puts the string’s break away point (the
edge of the nut) at “true zero”.
#2
- The “zero fret” option places the nut slot so that it is centered at the zero
point of the scale. This works for those who install a zero fret – a fret at the
nut position (with the actual nut getting placed just behind it to position the
string spacing and guide the strings towards the tuning machines). Some players
like a guitar with a zero fret as it helps eliminate the tonal differences
between fretted and unfretted notes.
Some
luthiers like this option because if they cut the fingerboard off at the zero
position, this leaves the edge of the fretboard half the width of the slot
(again, .012”) closer to the bridge. They do this to add compensation to the nut
in an attempt to achieve greater intonation between fretted and unfretted notes.
With the nut being slightly higher than the 1st fret, tension is added to the
notes when the 1st and subsequent notes are fretted. Compensation is added to
help reduce the subtle dissonance created by this tension.
Not
all luthiers agree that nut compensation is needed. According to Cat Fox of
Sound Guitar Repair in Seattle “The nut slots should be cut so that they are as
low as a fret would be. That’s why zero frets work. That’s why capos work. If
the truss rod is adjusted so that there is .010 clearance at the center of the
board between the string and the fret, everything works out perfectly. It all
depends on correct neck relief”. So Luthiers who follow Fox’s thinking (and
there are many) would order option #1, above.
#3
- On Fender electric guitars, the 1/8” wide nut is inlaid into the fingerboard
so that the fingerboard wood can be tapered down into the headstock. The slot is
cut 1/8” deep and the forward edge of the slot is set back, as in option #1
above. This option is not available for custom slotted boards, but we offer a
couple of options in our Pre-slotted/Pre-radiused fingerboard
offerings.
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