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Post subject: 1st Timer: Gauged Nut Files or Swiss Needle Files?
Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 11:27 am
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Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:04 pm
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Guys:

I own a Fender American Strat and Tele and a Martin acoustic/electric dreadnaught.

I've been reading up (Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair Guide) and I think I'm almost ready to try to do my own basic setups (neck relief, saddle height, nut action and tremolo bridge). If I get good at it, I may do this for friends, too, but I don't intend to make this a business.

The only tool that I don't have, but think I need, is a tool to adjust nut action.

Here are my questions:

Do Fender and Martin nuts typically require adjustment, or are they within spec from the factory?

If adjustment would be required, should I use a gauged nut file set or would a Swiss needle file set be adequate?

Thanks for any help.


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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 8:32 pm
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Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 12:21 am
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Location: Memphis, TN


hi there... basically all nuts on well made guitars [like your Fender and Martin] come setup with their own factory spec straight out of the box. but that doesn't mean that it's the right height for everyone. some people like it lower, and some people even like it higher. every time i buy a new guitar i have to cut the nut down because i use very big strings, so nothing i buy is setup for that straight out of the box. but when i setup guitars for other people [which i do every day of my life], i will often times cut the nut down a bit even if they're just using 9's or 10's. low string height at the nut is one of the most important aspects of getting a guitar to play right, and to improve intonation all across the fingerboard - from the first fret to the last. however, cutting a nut down to the correct height for each string is a lot more complex than it sounds. if you make one 'extra' cut in there, you can cut the slot too low, and then you've got massive fret buzz from the string hitting the 1st fret. it's very important that you take each slot cut very very slowly and evenly and with the correct angle going from the beginning to the end of the nut slot. and the best way to check your height at the nut is to depress each string at the 4th fret, and then check the clearance of the string at the 1st fret when you press down on it [while still holding down the 4th fret]. at that point there should be just a tiny amount of clearance between the first fret and the bottom of the string. just enough space to slide a piece or two of paper under. if there's no clearance there, you've cut too low. i would practice on really cheap guitars until you get the hang of it. then it'll be second nature to you once you figure it out. it's very time consuming to do it right, but that is a skill that not a lot of people know how to do, so it's sort of an invaluable piece of knowledge to have when you're setting up your own guitars.

and yes, you will need a good set of actual nut files to do this job correctly. stewmac.com is the best place for these tools, and they have anything else that you might need for setting up your guitar as well. here's a direct link to the files that you'll need...

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Speci ... Files.html

there are also a good amount of 'do it yourself' books available there on learning how to setup your guitar correctly.

hope this helps, and have fun with it. and let me know if i can be of any further assistance.
adam

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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:45 pm
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:29 am
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Location: Puget Sound
lulutheegg wrote:

hi there... basically all nuts on well made guitars [like your Fender and Martin] come setup with their own factory spec straight out of the box. but that doesn't mean that it's the right height for everyone. some people like it lower, and some people even like it higher. every time i buy a new guitar i have to cut the nut down because i use very big strings, so nothing i buy is setup for that straight out of the box. but when i setup guitars for other people [which i do every day of my life], i will often times cut the nut down a bit even if they're just using 9's or 10's. low string height at the nut is one of the most important aspects of getting a guitar to play right, and to improve intonation all across the fingerboard - from the first fret to the last. however, cutting a nut down to the correct height for each string is a lot more complex than it sounds. if you make one 'extra' cut in there, you can cut the slot too low, and then you've got massive fret buzz from the string hitting the 1st fret. it's very important that you take each slot cut very very slowly and evenly and with the correct angle going from the beginning to the end of the nut slot. and the best way to check your height at the nut is to depress each string at the 4th fret, and then check the clearance of the string at the 1st fret when you press down on it [while still holding down the 4th fret]. at that point there should be just a tiny amount of clearance between the first fret and the bottom of the string. just enough space to slide a piece or two of paper under. if there's no clearance there, you've cut too low. i would practice on really cheap guitars until you get the hang of it. then it'll be second nature to you once you figure it out. it's very time consuming to do it right, but that is a skill that not a lot of people know how to do, so it's sort of an invaluable piece of knowledge to have when you're setting up your own guitars.

and yes, you will need a good set of actual nut files to do this job correctly. stewmac.com is the best place for these tools, and they have anything else that you might need for setting up your guitar as well. here's a direct link to the files that you'll need...

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Speci ... Files.html

there are also a good amount of 'do it yourself' books available there on learning how to setup your guitar correctly.

hope this helps, and have fun with it. and let me know if i can be of any further assistance.
adam



Excellent advice!


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