New nut time

[carfish7]

So, my Newport needs a new nut as the slots are deep enough to create buzzing problems. Do I try and find a blank that is made out of that black "graphlon" stuff or should I just go with a hunk of bone? I'm so used to seeing the black nuts but don't know if there is any real reason to go the extra distance trying to locate a blank. Bone might sound better anyway, right?

Not too worried about "originality" either as it has been modded fairly extensively already.

The good news is a former Hamer craftsman is going to do the work and he LOVES laying his hands on our favorite brand.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

As I am vegan, I use TUSQ (a man made ivory) which is supposedly 3 times stronger that ivory or Nu-Bone (another man made substance) which replaces bone. Both, IMHO are fantastic

Both types are easily available in the USA (more so than over here)...

[tomteriffic]

Or Corian, which is often referred to as synthetic marble/stone.

[veatch]

Bone blanks are cheap and easily available (usually a cow hip bone is used - hardley a rare resource)

I prefer unbleached bone. Stew Mac has them, I'm sure.

Opinions vary - trust her own ears.

[Bobby Marshall]

I would use the engineered stuff if I knew I was going to keep and play the guitar. Bone if contemplating selling as the corksniffers seem to prefer it.

[stobro]

I think an ivory-colored nut would look better with a bound fretboard than the black material. Another option is to just shim the bottom of the current nut to raise the strings. I have a 12-string Hamer Special that had some slots cut too low. Rather than pay to have someone cut a new 12-string nut, I just raised the one I had with a couple of thicknesses of paper.

[Uncle Thor's Hamer]

I put a vintage bone nut on my Newport Pro. The lighter color looks better to me than the original black. And I like the look of the surface compared to glossy manmade molded materials. Tone? Dunno if it is better or richer or whatever. Sounds fine to me. I've also put Tusq nuts on other guitars and they have been fine. The nut is theoretically only a factor when playing an open string. Once you fret, the nut is out of the picture.

Here's where I got my blank http://www.ivoryseller.com/?nav=products&cat=1⊂=7

There's a bit more info about materials and some other options at http://www.guitarsaddles.com/products.asp

[Feynman]

Ebony and crowns - that is awesome.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

I put a vintage bone nut on my Newport Pro. The lighter color looks better to me than the original black. And I like the look of the surface compared to glossy manmade molded materials. Tone? Dunno if it is better or richer or whatever. Sounds fine to me. I've also put Tusq nuts on other guitars and they have been fine. The nut is theoretically only a factor when playing an open string. Once you fret, the nut is out of the picture.

Here's where I got my blank http://www.ivoryseller.com/?nav=products&cat=1⊂=7

There's a bit more info about materials and some other options at http://www.guitarsaddles.com/products.asp

WOW! Every one from a once living creature! I mean, it's all pretty sick in my mind but ivory is the icing on the cake for me! A beautiful elephant killed only for it's ivory for aphrodisiacs & ornaments/trinkets. Unbelievable that people still tolerate this kind of sh*t...

[lincsman]

Graph Tech TUSQ are fitted to all my strats never had a problem