Brass Nut Question

MediaCriminal

MediaCriminal

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My new Custom Shop Corvette Standard arrived today (see my post on the Custom Shop forum). One of the options I selected was the brass nut. The owners manual doesn't address this nut for obvious reasons. Can someone give me a brief instruction on how to make adjustments should I need to.

Also, the B, E and A nut "saddles" all have the same width groove. The D and G look to be narrower but they are both the same too. Is this how it normally comes? I would have expected each nut saddle to have a different width slot, each being progressivly wider to accept the different string widths. In other words 5 different width grooves instead of 2. Can anyone comment on this?

Thanks
 
f you went with a brass JAN1 you'll need to give the little screws a turn every string change.The nut is brass & that oxidates with air so you have to give them a turn to prevent them from ceazing up.
To adjust the nut,lift the string off the screw head & turn,that's about all there is to it mate.
 
Thanks... got it. What can you share about the size of the grooves in the 5 adjustable nut saddles?
 
The string grooves in the JAN1 are made to accomodate various string gauges.Other than that I dont know if there is anything else I can tell you about it.
 
the grooves dont need to be different sizes. the string will sit "on" the groove, not "in" it. it wont cause any problems
 
What Stroud said!

I thought the same of the brass nut saddle widths, but really they only need to hold the string side to side enough so it does not pop out. The string does not get as much flex at the nut as it might at the bridge closer to the right hand pulling the string. It just needs to be a place for the string to sit on and the downward tension of the angled headstock is enough to hold it in the grove. This shallow of a nut would not work as well with the Fender style headstock that does not have the angle.
 
Thanks everyone.... I understand now that this is how the nut screws are made and mine is no different.

Kind of wierd because the .085 A string is sooo much narrower than the groove in the nut "screw" that it actually sits off to one side and effectively changes the string spacing. The A string doesn't naturally want to go to the center of the wide groove. That's because it's the same size groove used also to accomodate the .135 B string.

I would think that the groove is also there to maintain the correct string spacing and they should be machined closer to the size of the string they will accomodate. I can see being a bit oversize to accomodate different string gages but an 085 A string on a 135 B groove is IMHO... unusual.

Check out the A string in this picture. You can also see that the E is off center too. I think I rather have the narrow screws used on the D and G and file them to size myself for the E and A. Are they available as a part?
 
That picture does not look like mine. I think the B & E are like yours. My E A D screws (if memory serves) have smaller grooves. In fact there are 2 groves at right angles (cross hair style). The 2 slots allows you to only turn the screw in 1/4 turns rather than half turns.

I got mine from the bass centre, but the item is not listed there anymore and thus no pic.

Those screw slots look too big to me.

I found this pic (I hope the link works) of a nut with similar screws to yours, but I still think your slots look too big.
 
David, yes, your picture is a similar nut to mine except it is a 4 string nut. Notice that the E and A are the same width and the D and G are the same. But on the 5 they had to make the A either the same as the B and E or the same as the D and G. They chose the B and E. I guess they only have two size slots available. Sounds great though, but I am cursed with being a mechanical engineer by profession and I question everything. Sometimes un-necessarily. Glad to see that someone else thinks the slots are a bit wide. I am going to see if I can buy just the screws and get a few of the smaller size and carefully file my own slots with a small rat tail file. I can also file a narrower slot in the center of the ones I have and try that. Like I said ...it sounds great and the folks that installed it are much smarter than me when it comes to tone so I'll collect more info first.

Thank you, Frank

This is what that brass nut is attached to...
 
Yes, the adjuster screws are replaceable. I got a set of 5 from Dana B. Goods before.

FYI,

O
 
MediaCriminal said:
David, yes, your picture is a similar nut to mine except it is a 4 string nut. Notice that the E and A are the same width and the D and G are the same. But on the 5 they had to make the A either the same as the B and E or the same as the D and G. They chose the B and E. I guess they only have two size slots available. Sounds great though, but I am cursed with being a mechanical engineer by profession and I question everything. Sometimes un-necessarily. Glad to see that someone else thinks the slots are a bit wide. I am going to see if I can buy just the screws and get a few of the smaller size and carefully file my own slots with a small rat tail file. I can also file a narrower slot in the center of the ones I have and try that. Like I said ...it sounds great and the folks that installed it are much smarter than me when it comes to tone so I'll collect more info first.

Thank you, Frank

This is what that brass nut is attached to...
Click to expand...

Nice :)
 
Ah, so you're cursed with the mech engr perfectionism/questioning too? I'm sorry. :wink:

I'd contact DBG on this one. It's a custom, you paid top dollar for it, they should make it right.

BTW, she's a beaut Clark.
 
lol... yes! I'm cursed!

Dana B. Goods is sending me out everything I need... gratis. Those guys are great.
 
MediaCriminal said:
lol... yes! I'm cursed!

Dana B. Goods is sending me out everything I need... gratis. Those guys are great.
Click to expand...

Yep, Warwick/Dana B. Goods has the best customer service/tech support I've ever seen! Tyler is awesome and is a HUGE help whenever I have problems :)
 
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