This worked do you have a narrow neck guitar that you want to be wider?

[deacon Mark]

Someone brought me a Epiphone Flattop to have a peghead crack fixed not major damage but need attention. I mentioned the neck being narrow it was 1 5/8 and I found neck harder to play. The fellow who brought it to me said it did seem narrow. I then took my string spacer out for an 1 11/16 nut and determined I could do this narrower neck on that pattern and it would work. It is sort of like taking the specs to a maximum. So he told me to go ahead and put a new nut on the guitar. Well I did and frankly I don't remember ever doing this exact type of thing for someone because normally they are use to what they have. Well in this case when I finished it made the guitar completely feel different on the fingerboard. All of a sudden it was not cramped and the slight width increase did not cause and problems with the high or low e coming off.

It was then that it hit me sort of like when you file the nut down and get the string at the proper distance over the first fret. That usually make everyone very happy. Well in this case I was impressed because just making the strings a bit wider changed the whole perspective and feel. In fact I think normally I avoid guitars with neck less that 1 11/16 but I am guessing this set procedure could be applied and work in many cases. Sometimes I see those Gibson's from the late 1960's with the narrow neck and now this has me thinking.............hum...........

[Gitterbug]

What's the distance from the high E string to the start of the fret-end rounding after the mod? I'm asking because what may work for an acoustic guitar with relatively high-tension strings may not work with e.g. a 0.09" strung Casino. On my G&L Tribute the top E string slips too easily over the edge of the fingerboard.

[deacon Mark]

What's the distance from the high E string to the start of the fret-end rounding after the mod? I'm asking because what may work for an acoustic guitar with relatively high-tension strings may not work with e.g. a 0.09" strung Casino. On my G&L Tribute the top E string slips too easily over the edge of the fingerboard.

1/32 s. Like I said to the max but plays fine no string coming off neck.

[icr]

For some reason inexpensive classical guitars have the strings way too close together at the nut. My Tiwan Yamaha and my hand-made Japanese Yamaha classicals both have the same width fingerboard, but the plastic nut on the Tiwan guitar had the stirngs so close together I couldn't play it. I made a new nut to match the hand-made one with much improvement in playability.

[rpjazzguitar]

A friend of mine commissioned a classical guitar by a well known Brazilian luthier.

He made a point about wanting the nut slots to be cut in a particular way.

As if turned out, the builder did this job last, with my friend in the shop, watching.

My friend was expecting a micrometer. Instead, the builder eyeballed it and cut the slots, bam bam bam. As fast as he could hack away at them.

My friend was horrified.

Then he played the guitar and it was perfect.

Go figure.

[deacon Mark]

A friend of mine commissioned a classical guitar by a well known Brazilian luthier.

He made a point about wanting the nut slots to be cut in a particular way.

As if turned out, the builder did this job last, with my friend in the shop, watching.

My friend was expecting a micrometer. Instead, the builder eyeballed it and cut the slots, bam bam bam. As fast as he could hack away at them.

My friend was horrified.

Then he played the guitar and it was perfect.

Go figure.

if you do it a lot it can get pretty much routine eyeballing. Yes masters can, myself I work slower.

[nopedals]

Modern guitars (especially epis) have narrow string spacing. Take a look at any vintage fender or Gibson. The E strings are out near the edge of the fretboard. The difference is the nut. The bridges are generally the standard 2 inches I think.

[deacon Mark]

I say Bill Barker in his shop doing the nut spacing and it was interesting how he did it. He put the nut on and then marked the two e strings with a sharp pencil where he wanted them. Then he marked the exact middle and then started doing the spacing all by eyeing the nut and marking where he wanted the string to sit. He would get it done then if it looked wrong or off he would erase the pencil marks and then get it where he wanted. To my knowledge he ever took at ruler or measurement in the process at all it was all done simply by eyeballing the nut, pencil, and work at it till it looked ok. Me, I have the nut spacing ruler it saves me time.

He sure made great guitars and his sets up were amazing.

[rob taft]

I spent 10+ years working as an inside and outside machinist in a major shipyard, and before that I worked with my Dad building sailboats. I use my eye to cut a nut slot. Would I do that to turn a propeller shaft or machine a coupling on a lathe or anything requiring precision work. No way, I'd use a micrometer or the appropriate measuring tool. I actually own a fret slotting gauge ( I'm a tool junkie) and have used it once but it is easier for me to do it by eye