Ok. I am trying to decide which to do first. I am planning on doing both of these tomorrow. I am putting in Callaham saddles and getting a bone nut installed. I am wondering if it would be better to


A: Install the nut with my OEM bridge/saddles adjusted how I like

OR

B: Install the new saddles and get them close to where I like then get the nut installed


Does this matter? I am thinking that I will be asking for the nut height a bit higher since I like my action higher. Ive adjusted the saddle height rather high, but it may feel too high once the new nut is put in.


Am I over thinking this? Obviously the nut height change won't be too drastic, so this might not matter at all... thoughts?

If the nut isnt cut correctly your going to throw all your low end intonation out. No amount of saddle adjustment will compensate for it. Saddle adjustment doesnt affect intonation below the 5th fret much at all. Low fret intonation is a constant nag of mine, something I've gone to quite extrordinary pains to correct.

Hence

A one piece copensated shelf nut carved from cow ankle.


The benefits of a bone nut are dubious at best. They have a lot more hinderances than other materials. Their hard to cut and prone to snagging the string. They offer no tonal benefits that I can hear on any fretted note. The hard to cut nature makes for hard work to get them to improve open string tone. They rarely wear with your frets so the slot heights need addressing every few years or so.

Change the saddles first, you'll find it benefits you far more.

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No no and no

The guy is the luthier at Charley's Guitar Shop in Dallas, of the SRV fame.

Would it be alright to stick with the plastic nut if Im getting fine intonation once I put in the new saddles? Maybe give it some time? Is this the gist of what you are suggesting? Or to install the saddles then go do the nut directly afterward.

I do not know for sure, but am concerned that this nut on my new neck might not hold the 11 gauge strings in very well (dont know yet.. new neck). I guess I could add a tree, but I figured a bone nut with correct size cuts would prove to be worthwhile.

The front edge to back edge angle of the nut slots needs to be not quite parralel to the natural string path over the nut. This is so you create a peak at the front edge of the nut, thus giving a clean breakpoint. You can use any material you like for a guitar nut. Some say the harder the better (i.e cow bone or brass), thats dealt with in my previous reply though.

Your low fret (frets 1-4) intonation is set solely by nut slot height and the position of the frets relative to the breakpoint of the nutslots. Saddle movement just doesnt affect that area of the fretboard as much as nut slot height does.

Leave your guitars nut alone. Put your new saddles in, adjust them to suit your intonation at the 12th fret. This will cover from the 6th/7th fret up to the 21st/22nd fret. Then make a decision about a nut after you have got use to the benefit of the new saddles.

Though I utterly despise graphtech stringsaver saddles, they just sound horrible. I like their guitar nuts. They give great string travel through the slots and are really easy to work with. They do dull down open string tone a tiny bit when compared to a bone nut. They dont affect fretted notes though, just the same as a bone nut doesnt. The nut on fender guitars is some kind of synthetic/plastic substance too.

I dont recommend you do nut work yourself, if you've never done it before. Its really easy to mess up, which ok isnt that bad. New nut no problem. You can easily damage a fretboard removing them though, particularly on fender usa guitars that are lacquered after the nut and frets are installed. Even rosewood guitars have lacquer onto the nut's sides.

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No no and no

Saddles first and then the nut follows as it should be "cut to suit" in line with the bridge saddles.

Oh, and, "+1" on the GraphTech nuts ONLY.

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You dig?

Forget bone nuts. Nuts have negligible affect on tone. There are very few reasons you need to change a nut but if you feel you must then go with LSR for tuning stability.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.