Graphtech NUTS. How good?

[Sea Chief]

Hi- 1st Im not affiliated at all with this Co.

I recently bought a dog of a squier strat for £20 from a recycling place. Filty doorty, with 'Very Metal' stickers all over, no strings & nut broken: an absolute f8kn disgrace. Got the thing in shape pdq tho, & plumped for a 'Graphtech PQ 5000 nut' from ebay. I thought it'd be a ruddy arse to do but no, a bit of sanding (lovely material to sand) jiggery & in. And what a result- with 10's strings which sit well in grooves, it seems to give superb sustain, ring & overall playablity. This (made in china!) gtr is outstanding to play now. Its just an excellently designed thingy, & looks like the stock fender nut too. Made in canada (I do like canadian stuff- it just seems well designed & superbly made as a rule). Highly recommended.

Im now looking at my 2008 gibson sg special nut, which kind of pings out too-white like Tiger Woods' teeth (the Graphtech one is better- a sort of 'british teeth' colour, really rather lovely). Also it seemed not to like a set of 10's on too as it went badly out of kilter on the 1st few frets tuningwise, so I had to stay with 9's & Id much prefer 10s.

So has anyone any experience of these nuts? & anyone replaced one on a gibson? Im ok doing a job on my squier 'spare' gtr, but Id be nervous to try my gibson, unless its do-able. It does seem well glued in. SC

[Paleo Pete]

I've only had one guitar with a graphite nut, factory installed in a Washburn BT2. It seemed to work pretty well, I never had any complaints. Don't know a thing about that brand, I've heard of it but that's it.

Probably the reason your Gibson acted up when you changed string gauge is the nut slots are a bit too tight for the .010 gauge strings, they don't settle to the bottom of the nut slots, so when you fret those first few frets you push them out of tune because they have to travel further to touch the frets. This can probably be cured fairly easy by a competent guitar tech by re filing the nut slots. But check around before doing it, find out who the local players trust and recommend. Many so called guitar techs barely know how to change strings...and I've seen a few who didn't even know that...Which is exactly why I started learning to do all my own guitar work.

Replacing the nut, should you decide to try it, is not that hard to do. As you may already know. It should be no different than doing it on the other guitar. If you don't know how to do it right, get a good guitar tech to cut the nut slots. Use a very small drop of glue on the vertical surface of the nut to hold it in place, NOT on the bottom. NEVER use super glue on anything on any guitar. Actually plain white Elmer's glue will do fine for the nut. String pressure does more holding it in place than the glue does.

To remove the old nut, get a wooden dowel, hold it against the nut on the fretboard side. Pop the dowel with a small hammer and it should pop loose. Check it first, some have varnish or lacquer on them, score that with a hobby knife before trying to remove it. Carefully...Clean everything well, foam board fingernail files work quite well for small scale precision sanding jobs.

The most important part is the nut slots. They must be done correctly and the slot depth is critical. That's why your strings are pulling out of tune now when you change string gauges. Too high, that's what happens. Too low you get fret buzz. That can be fixed by shimming, but it's lots better to get it right to begin with. They must also be at a slight angle so the strings don't buzz on the nut itself. So if you don't know how to do it correctly find a good guitar tech.

If this was mine, I would simply recut the nut slots on the existing nut and carry on unless there's another good reason to replace the nut. It is possible to cut them wider to fit heavier strings without going deeper. And that's my best advice, find a good guitar tech to redo the nut slots and keep the existing one if it's otherwise in good condition. I only replace a nut if it's broken or too low. I Had to replace the one on my Takamine acoustic, and was very disappointed to find out they put a cheap plastic nut on my $800 guitar...It has bone now...I cut the nut slots myself, and I was scared, it was my first one. But the tech I brought it to knew I wanted to learn, and he had taught me but when I asked him to do the nut slots on the Takamine he just handed me his nut files....YIKES!!! And refused to let me pay him for teaching me...

I can't think of anything I missed but I'd bet I did...I'd just have someone who knows what he's doing recut the nut slots to fit .010's.

[Sea Chief]

Hi Paleo Pete-

good info there much appreciated. I guess I could try and cut the string slots down myself and if I cock it up I can either remove nut myelf or get a tech do it. Im sure its a very precise job- id hate to mess up my gibson even if it is a 'cheapy'.
The main reason for thnking of ddoing it is the success of the 'Tusq' Graphtech nut put on the squier- it really is a fab sound to it, even if it might have a tad of 'brightness' to it, really rings so damn well, infact dare I say it, better/ a better nut by a margin than my gorgeous butterscotch coloured 2-knob '83 US strat I sold 20 yrs ago (but still hanker after).


Great help- I will keep your info in my GTR folder and give it some thought. thx SC

[Paleo Pete]

Guitar Nut Removal & Replacement | Shaping and Filing Pre-Slotted Nuts | Materials, Spacing

Making a guitar nut from scratch - Strange Guitarworks
Some info there that may help, and I've seen comments that torch tip cleaners will work for cleaning up nut slots. But be very careful, if they are already the correct depth, you don't want them deeper...but to make the existing slots a bit wider for heavier strings, this may be a good way to go. But again, be careful, it's way easy to cut them too deep.

[wizard333]

Its the only thing I use on electrics. No 'lube' required and the only thing that is slippery enough to stay in tune well.

[Sea Chief]

Its the only thing I use on electrics. No 'lube' required and the only thing that is slippery enough to stay in tune well.

what you mean Tusq/ Graphtech nuts? if so have you changed/ put one onto a gibson by any chance?

Im wondering if a Tusq nut might help brighten the slightly 'dark' charcter of my sg (2008 worn SG with bog std gibson 490 pickups you see). It transfomed my dog-end squier strat into an utter player now, bright and rings beautifully.

[wizard333]

Yes I mean graphtech, but the Tusq XL not the regular Tusq. Graphtech used to call the Tusq XL "Tremnut" and Tusq was a synthetic bone product for use on acoustics and acoustic saddles, but they confused the issue when they started calling both products Tusq. Make sure it is Tusq XL and not regular Tusq.

Yes I personally have 30+ guitars, including 6 Gibsons, and that stock Gibson corian stuff is crap, the first thing I do is replace it with Tusq XL. I'm a tech and I've installed it on many Gibsons and other guitars. The only time I'll even use bone is by special request and I really only recommend it on acoustics where you aren't bending strings all the time, and even then, the regular Tusq (not XL) which is their synthetic bone replacement, is easier to work and sounds better.

[Sea Chief]

Wizard you're just the man I need to talk to then. I did find all the various XL/Tusq/not XL/ then numbers etc etc a complete headache to wade thru.. but thankfully there were only two 'fender strat' ones & I plumped for a TUSQ PQ5000 (whatever the heck its made of, a completely different material between Tusq and Tusq xl ? i don underdstand) and Id be happy with the same material again, in the SG.. but you say not?

I would take your advice tho on the specific SG replacement for the corian (which afaict is cut for 9's strings, so much so that without a precise slot thingy to widen Im stuck with 9's/ as 10's as I mentioned I tried & just sat too high so tuning up the creek: strange I cant simply put on a set of bog std 10's on a gibson, without it needing to go to a godam luthier to adjust/ shave s'thing, that doesnt seem right at all for a £500 GTR).

Once Ive chosen the one if I can pick your brains as to exactly how to remove/ replace the SG nut? Ive scalpel, hardwood block and the basics in tow.. but you sound like the man to ask definitely of the way to address exisiting one for starters.

[wizard333]

Even if you buy a slotted replacement, it needs the slots adjusted for your strings and your guitar. I highly recommend you take it to a tech to get it done correctly. I have $300 in files just for nut slot adjustment if that gives you an idea. That doesn't count my nut shaping files. Also, even if it is the correct size nut for your SG, which uses the standard 3/16" Gibson width, if you want it to feel right and not have any sharp points or sick out from the sides, again, you need to find a *GOOD" tech to do it. When I replace a nut for someone, even if I'm using a slotted pre-formed nut and I don't have to make one from a blank, I do a lot of sanding to make sure it fits the slot EXACTLY and feels smooth as you run your hand from the side of the neck in front of the nut, past the nut to the headstock, and that the pointy bits at the front of the nut are sanded smooth so as you play in open position, nothing pokes your hand and it feels organic. I charge $65 to replace a nut and frankly that is under-priced given the time I put into it to make it perfect.

A good tech isn't making a mint off you or over-charging, if anything we far under-charge based on our knowledge, experience, and the time put in.

[Paleo Pete]

I won't dispute a thing wizard says. I prefer bone myself, I'm just old school I guess. But the one I have on my Peavey Patriot, (factory stock) does quite well. I've never had any complaints.

I completely agree with him though, if you don't know how to do it right and don't have the right equipment, find a good tech.