File down the nut slot?

[ptchristopher3]

Yes, I am the same decidedly unimproved person.

The idea of the nut is that you have to have a sharp edge at the front, but something like 1/2 the head angle works just fine. Then since you do not need a sharp edge at the back, best to get rid of that to improve movement of the string through the slot.

Funny how there is much debate over head angle while ignoring the slot angle and shape in the nut.

Oh, and this does NOT apply to Strat and Tele heads. There I just try to match the slot angle from the front of the (crazy narrow) nut to the tuner.

Could the OP let us know with what tool he plans to actually cut the slot?

I started in 1975 with the Hideo Kamimoto (sp?) book and my own custom ground files. MUCH easier now with ready made (if very expensive) nut files.

If the OP is near Boston, PM me and come on over and use my nut files.

Haha, but stop at Auto-Zone for feeler gauges if you want.

Chris

[ptchristopher3]

To blather on some,...

The string is not perfectly flexible.

Further EACH string is different.

This means that the string does not exit the front of the nut and head perfectly bridge-ward.

It arcs up very slightly.

So a superb setup would best account for this, since it can affect low position intonation to a surprising extent.

A fairly stiff flatwound low E will round the front off the nut far less directly than will a Nancy-boy .010" high E.

This has a few practical consequences if you want a best-of-the-best setup.

Staggeringly enough, the Hideo Kamimoto and Frank Ford method builds this in with no need to measure anything.

*******

A Plek machine does what it is told to do. So to cut a nut slot you need to tell the machine to consider the fret height (which it can measure far more accurately than you or I) AND consider the stiffness of the string and its consequent effect on the practical height at which the string breaks over the front of the nut.

There is a tiny amount of "uplift".

The Plek has no way to know this. Well actually it could know this if it measures the tops of each string over the front of the nut and then also measures the existing nut slot. And at some point I am hopeful the machine will include this (if not already?).

Anyway, yes lots of ways to get the job done. But the Kamimoto/Ford method still is the one that captures all the variables that matter and leaves out the ones that do not.

Go figure.

**********

And it gets worse,... more blather,...

My local GC has a great guy who is the "tech". Good person who wants the best for the players he tries to help.

He uses very careful procedures, as does a heart surgeon. But he knows a very little bit about guitar setup really.

GREAT guy.

So he misses some small but important things that can optimize a guitar, but he definitely can SIGNIFICANTLY improve a factory setup.

Great service at the local GC.

But a notable difference from the genuine luthier who used to be there with a very fundamental understanding of guitars.

That makes the current guy no less admirable at all.

On the other hand it does make heart surgeons seem a bit overpaid.

In my opinion.

OK, back to patching the concrete on my front steps.

Chris

[pingu]

Chris nice to talk again ...

So glad you're here dude !

Hey everybody ,
This Chris guy here is extremely knowledgable
on Guitar and technical matters ...

A diamond geezer !

[ptchristopher3]

Pingu,

Thanks but really best to let opinions stand on the actual merit of the physical situation.

Patrick2's mother can come on here tomorrow and have never touched a guitar in her life but have a view on nut compensation that is a breakthrough for us all.

So in my opinion it is best for every tech view to stand on its own. The wood and wires do not care at all about who knows whom, who is alleged to be smarter, etc..

Nice to say hi Pingu.

Chris

[LtKojak]

What happened to my post?

I can see that christopher is responding to some of the points I made, so it has been visible when I posted.

Was it censured? Why? It wasn't insulting or anything, AFAICR.

Is it not customary to tell the person of interest about the infringing of the rules by PM?

I have no words... because they were stolen!

[JazzNote]

I started in 1975 with the Hideo Kamimoto (sp?) book and my own custom ground files.

I'm happy someone is talking about this book. It is still my reference when i need to know more than i can remember - and i love it (of course i know that i come across hopelessly old fashioned and unflexible;-))

[ptchristopher3]

Right, you are hopelessly old fashioned and inflexible. Rather like wood and steel. How fortunate we are dealing with wood and steel.

I lost my Kamimoto book decades ago, but can remember some parts and illustrations as if I saw them minutes ago.

I was 16 in 1975. But the Kamimoto book was gold for me. OK well D. G.'s girly parts were gold to me then, but the Kamimoto book was a close silver,...

Yes, I recall as if it was minutes ago,...

Gurian guitars was a good 3 hour drive but an AMAZING source for wood and supplies just as I became old enough to drive there.

Good times.

Even better times came later, including now.

We deal with what is really centuries-old technology.

And places like Stew-Mac would have been an incredible thing back then.

But sometimes there are old methods that still get you to the best-of-the-best in the fastest and cheapest way. Weird.

Chris

[sgosnell]

In case I didn't make it plain originally, the feeler gauges go across the fretboard, in front of the nut. There is nothing behind the nut to prevent cutting at any angle you prefer. The file should only contact the edge of the feeler gauges up against the nut, when it reaches the preset depth.

[ptchristopher3]

100% understood sgosnell, thanks.

[MarkRhodes]

What happened to my post?

I can see that christopher is responding to some of the points I made, so it has been visible when I posted.

Was it censured? Why? It wasn't insulting or anything, AFAICR.

Is it not customary to tell the person of interest about the infringing of the rules by PM?

I have no words... because they were stolen!

Well, since you asked here, I will respond here. Two of your posts were reported as meant to provoke another member rather than further the conversation. That seemed to me a fair reading of them. There seemed no feasible way to edit out the provocation and save the beneficial content, so it all had to go.

No, it is not customary to notify people by PM when their posts have been edited or deleted. The reason is given at the post. (For example, "Insulting another member" or "Off-topic.") For the record, your posts could easily be read as insulting---at best goading---another member. Which is why the reason given for the second deletion was "Let it go."

Members are notified by PM if they are being warned or receiving an infraction. Neither was the case here.

[LtKojak]

OK, fair enough.

Your very truly,