Hello, I recently purchased a used '05 MIM Strat via CL and have been unable to get rid of severe fret buzzing on the G string first fret. I am convinced the nut is cut too low for that string, although it doesn't look worn, and there are no issues on any of the other strings.

My question is whether or not it is worth trying to fill & re-cut the slot on the existing nut (I have no experience with this kind of thing) or just purchase a new nut. If a new nut is the better option, where should I go to buy one and what should I be looking for. The original nut on my MIM strat appears to be a cheap plastic nut. Are there ready-cut drop-in nuts available at places like GC? Do you recommend a higher quality (and presumably more expensive) nut? If I had this work done at a guitar shop, what would the likely total cost be?

If anyone has experience filling and re-cutting a Fender plastic nut and can give any warning or advice, it is appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Hi pfalconflyer: I have plenty of experience cutting new nuts. It is straightforward so although I've heard of people filling slots with superglue and such to rebuild them I would never bother - a new one will always be better and is no trouble. However, it is so long since I had anyone else do it for me I have no idea what a current cost for the job would be. Making a nut from a blank is a good half to an hour's work, so you'll be paying for that plus materials (the bone blank).

Alternatively, you can buy ready made nuts for Strats which sometimes just drop into place, though more often you need to adjust the string slots downward a touch for perfect action. TUSQ nuts by Graphtech are a good option, such as the "TUSQ nut slotted Strat flat bottom", on this page:

http://www.wdmusic.com/tusq_nuts.html

Other makes are also available and likely just as good.

But before you do all of that let's just check that the nut slot really is the problem. Does the string buzz when played open but stop buzzing when you fret it at the first fret? If not, it ain't the slot.

And another rough-and-ready check you could run is this. Fret the string at the first fret and then study the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the third fret. Now fret the string at the third fret and examine the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the first fret. If those two gaps are pretty much the same then your nut slot is probably just about right. If the first gap is much bigger than the second, or if there is no gap at all on the second test, it might mean your nut slot is cut too deep. If the first gap is much smaller than the second it likely means your slot is not deep enough.

There are more scientific ways of checking these things, but that's a good initial indication if something is wrong.

Good luck - C

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If the string is rattling at the first fret (G# in this case), then it's not the nut. The nut plays no part in fretted notes.

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replies are spot on - we really need to know if you are talking about buzzing when you fret the guitar - or open string buzzing. it could be something as simple as the wrong gauge of string. Posting pictures of your setup might help.

in terms of nut - this might sound poncy - but get a bone/tusq/graphtech nut- stay away from "plastic" - the difference is immense (in my opinion).

There is a guy on ebay who makes all my nuts and acoustic bridge pieces - his name is treeroot - expensive - but worth it! I've got mammoth tusk on my acoustic and it sounds sweeeet!!

Evidently I'm in a minority here but I've had lots of success with grinding to powder, nut material of the same composition as the existing nut in the instrument. I then mix the dust in a drop of cyanoacrylate to a paste and proceed to fill and pack the errant slot with the mix. I let it harden and then recut the slot as appropriate. It works perfectly for me, is equally as durable as the rest of the nut and there is absolutely no difference in sustain or tonality. Granted, I've oversimplified the procedure for there is masking and waxing involved so the glue and/or it's fumes cannot come into contact where they aren't wanted and granted, a slot can be too far gone for this remedy but if it simply a matter of say a .013 string rattling around or bottoming out in a .018 slot, a whole new nut isn't really necessary and is somewhat excessive. I mean, a dentist wouldn't replace an otherwise healthy tooth due to a small cavity, right?

Clearly, YMMV.

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You dig?

Thanks for all who replied. I guess I wasn't clear enough in my description of the string buzzing. The buzzing is in fact only when the string is played open. When I fret at the first (or any other) fret, the buzzing is gone. Even raising the string height at the bridge to it's highest setting (way higher action than I would want) did not totally get rid of the open string buzz. I am convinced it's a nut slot cut too low. I will likely just try to find a drop-in pre-cut nut and deal with any fine-tuning necessary after installation.

Are there any tricks to removing the existing plastic nut? Obviously, my goal is to remove it cleanly without any damage to the (beautiful) Strat neck.

Thanks again for all your help and advice!

Why not just cut a square of paper. 2mm x 2mm. Fold it under the string, in the nut slot. Thats a good temporary fix.

If you are going to put the new nut in, are you equipped to cut the slots? Nut slot files are very expensive. The guitar just will not play in tune if those slots are not cut deep enough (Fender cut down to .020" above the first fret. I find that to be far too high).
It's a easy enough job to do, once you've already done it once. That first time can be pretty hair raising.

Give that a bit of consideration and if you decide yes, I'll gladly help.

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Hi, I also have a MIM Strat in which I changed the nut myself. I replaced mine with a Graphtech Black Tusq XL Strat Style Slotted Nut product #: PT-5000-00.

Nut Measurements:
Length - 1-11/16"
Width - 1/8"
Height - 7/32"
String Width E to E - 1-3/8"

I have found that the cheapest place to purchase Graphtech Tusq nuts is from Guitar Parts Depot. currently, they are selling the nut listed above for $9.99 each. You can go onto the Graphtech website for nut installation instructions which go over the entire process thoroughly. The one which I had purchased came with installation instructions.

You can score your existing nut around both edges with a sharp Xacto knife.
Either tap out the old nut from the side or if you are skilled enough like me, use a Dremel with a cutting wheel attachment and carefully cut a groove down the middle of the nut. Keeping in mind that the fingerboard has a radius to it, so that you don't ruin your guitar neck by cutting too deeply into it. Once you cut down the middle of the old nut it will collapse into itself and fall out of the slot.

My old nut on my MIM Strat was made of cow bone and not plastic. You will be able to tell once you cut through it by the smell whether it is bone or plastic. Mine reminded me of the smell of a tooth getting drilled at the dentist's office.

Remember to carefully clean out the nut slot of any remaining glue that might still be there. Then slide the new nut in from the side of the slot and center it. Then you will have to mark with a pencil where the edges of the nut overhang the slot on both ends. You will then need to sand off the excess nut material with a very fine grit of sand paper, which won't take very long at all. Once the new nut is ready, you can apply a couple of drops of wood glue in the slot and slide it into place from the side. I used an Elmer's wood Glue pen which has a small tip to get into small spaces to do mine.

It will hold the nut securely in the slot and also make it much easier to replace the nut in the future whenever it eventually wears out. I have also found that the new Graphtech nut will help eliminate tuning problems associated with using the tremolo because the strings will no longer get hung up or bind in the nut slots, since they are so slippery.

Good Luck!

if you want to know if your nut is ok Or not.

Fret the sting on the 3rd fret. The string should be close as possible from the fret wire but without touch it.

If the string touch the fret wire , it will buzz.
If the string is far from the fret wire , no buzz but harder to make a chord on the firsts frets

How to replace nut ? On youTube there surely some vidéos I guess. Luthier nut replacement with new nut ; around $60.

You can try to fix the G slot before replace nut.

Sand some dust on top of your nut put some on the nut G string slot with a drop of crazy glue and file at proper height.
Put some paint tape to protect your neck from the glue

You can use a string for a file if you don't have one. Low E, A,D make good nut slot file. Use the A string lower gauge for file your G slot.

With that fix, you will keep your original nut

Never knew that, thanks Stratele!
Does this method only work with glue repaired slots? It must be too difficult to cut bone this way, unless you use a thick slotting saw.

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It is a trick that I learn in on Dan Erlwine books. Yes it work on bone too but not easy like a real file.
I use that some time but I ordered a set of files from Stewart MacDonald. Enven on new guitar nut slot are not often cut at their best. I should always file it.

And a good cut slot make the playing more easy ; small diffence in eye = big difference in playing.

HOBBYIST, when you said ...
"I guess I wasn't clear enough in my description of the string buzzing. The buzzing is in fact only when the string is played open. When I fret at the first (or any other) fret, the buzzing is gone. Even raising the string height at the bridge to it's highest setting (way higher action than I would want) did not totally get rid of the open string buzz."

... my immediate thought was that perhaps the string is wound too high on the tuning post and not sitting in the nut with enough pressure. You might try checking that and making sure it is wound downwards on the tuning key post so as to be crossing over the nut with some downward force when the string is played open.

This could be the problem if winding upwards is the case.

Ha! Do you know, that's an excellent idea. I'd never thought of that. At the least, by raising the string three or four thou it would confirm for you if the problem is indeed the slot sitting at touch too low. Nice one, Nick.

Lots of other good thoughts on this thread. Just to give fair weight to different approaches, and since pfalconflyer is new to the Forum, I'd point out that Forum user Martian (above) almost certainly has more experience of doing these jobs in real life than all the rest of us put together. Well worth thinking about his method, pfalconflyer.

Good luck - C

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Now we all know that guitars do develop nut problems over time, however...
I have a bit of a problem readily accepting that this is a height issue rather than a width issue. Reason being that the synthetic bone nuts that Fender use on their guitars are incredibly consistent. What usually happens with bone is that the string when being tuned or re-strung will wear into a soft spot with a genuine bone nut. That takes years of string changes and tuning up and down to do on a synthetic bone nut.
I find slot width issues arise more often than height issues. Caused by players bending close to the nut a lot.

Brian Rowland makes a very good point about the last wind on the post being too high. (why you should always wind one turn under the last on a Fender). The G string on Fenders is problematic to say the least. It sits right on the cusp of needing a string tree to force more downward action to the tuner and get greater pressure on the nut. Making sure your last wind onto the G string tuner is near the headstock is of paramount importance.

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