12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

[RedBeard314]

Re: 12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

Hi guys (and gals)! I've read all your comments and info on the nut radius and I've found so much conflicting information. However, you ALL seem much more knowledgeable about this subject than I obviously am. So I'll just post my question and hope I don't sound too noobish and also I pray the question wasn't answered already (as I know some people can get pretty harsh in forums about repeat questions). I have a Jackson SLXQ soloist I recently purchased. It has a Floyd Rose special trem in it. I did what research I could to find an Original Floyd to fit it. Apparently an R3 is what I need. And I've found several. However my confusion starts with the radius of the fretboard, obviously. Jackson's website says it has a 12" to 16" fretboard radius. And the R3 (gold) Floyd comes with a 10" radius locking nut. Will this work on this guitar, without modification? If not, where can I find the correct gold nut to make this work? I don't think it has to be a Floyd nut, but I'd prefer it, if possible. Thanks for your help. BIGTIME!

 

[Zerberus]

Re: 12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

^^ Standard solution to this since 1986: just replace the trem, and not the locking nut. Problem solved. If you really want a touch of gold, use the gold locking blocks

But if you just HAVE to have a new nut (which BTW will often require you to dowel and redrill the mounting holes), then yes, R3 is the one you´re looking for.

Alternatively, the old Kahler Nut-Locks also have a 12" radius and were available in 1 11/16, but they are hard to find these days and a doweling + Redrilling is a guarantee in that situation. Note I specifically said "Nut Lock", not "locking nut" or "flip lock", as there were originally 3 styles and the Nut-Lock is essentially an OFR nut with a built in retainer bar at the tuner side and not a "behiund the nut lock" like the other 2.

And BTW for those ill informed souls that are /were reading the Floyd nut size list like it´s some kind of all-encompassing bible and dismissing the existence of any other dimensions: If you order a few thousand trems like most OEMs do, Schaller will make you locking nuts to any specification you can imagine and will even stamp the baseplates with your logo instead of theirs or Floyd Rose´s.

The official nut list actually goes up to 15 or at least used to. IIRC R15 was a 1 3/4 + 12", cut for a bullet truss rod, for example. While some were very rarely ordered (like the aforementioned R15, 2 Gibson specs and a Fender Bullet rod is unusual to say the least) they DO exist and so pop up every so often.

One other thing, though: Kahler nuts do not "introduce friction", that statement denotes a misunderstanding of basic physics as applied to guitar tuning. If the nut was cut like crap before, it doesn´t matter what you lock the strings with. But it´s not the LOCKING nut that introduces friction, it´s the ****ty nutjob that wasn´t up to par to begin with that´s causing the problem with teh strings binding in their slots. If ANYTHING a Kahler lock would reduce friction on a hockey stick headstock, because now the strings are going straight through the nut instead of skewing off at wacky angles as soon as the exit the trailing edge. .

 

[RedBeard314]

Re: 12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

I guess it's not imperative to actually have a completely gold locking nut. Just more for my OCD aesthetic taste. Perhaps I SHOULD just get the blocks and roll on like Mitchum. I DO NOT want to screw/cut/dowel any part of the guitar. This is just bad gris gris for me. So I believe your suggestion would be best. Are all blocks the same size? Where can I get just the gold blocks to fit this thing? Thanks for responding so quick. I'm trying to pull the trigger on all these parts so I can get this thing together... I will be purchasing this R3 complete trem from ebay (face palm), because there are no dealers in my area. And I'm weary of not buying the whole assembly because I'm afraid some parts will not be compatible from the Special to the Original. I'm new to this customizing shindig. ALL of my other guitars have been string-thru bodies. I guess before I order the gold blocks I'll look to see if the nut that comes with it will need those modifications before it can be installed. Fingers crossed.
So, just to be clear once again (bare with me) the R3 complete setup's nut WILL work on my fretboard, just with some redrilling? I feel like I talked myself in a circle. Thanks again.

 

[RedBeard314]

Re: 12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

I dont know where my head is at but its obviously not in the game. When I order the new trem, it will come with the new gold blocks... Will those fit in the place of the old ones? Probably a dumb question. But humor me.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: 12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

Are all blocks the same size?

For the most part yes. With teh exception of some rarer locknut designs I can`t think of any off the top of my head that won´t work fine on an OFR lock....

Where can I get just the gold blocks to fit this thing?

Stewmac and Allparts among others sell replacement locking blocks, btu you can get them literally just about anywhere, even a local store should have no problem ordering them, a good one may even have a set in stock.

And I'm weary of not buying the whole assembly because I'm afraid some parts will not be compatible from the Special to the Original.

Don´t sweat it, they are mechanically identical and share measurements 100%, only made by different people using different materials and machines in different countries.

So, just to be clear once again (bare with me) the R3 complete setup's nut WILL work on my fretboard, just with some redrilling? I feel like I talked myself in a circle. Thanks again.

Work, yes, but yes, it MAY also require minor modification (doweling and redrilling 2 small holes and possibly some minor filework on the ledge, though it´s much more likely to have to shim the nut up than to file the ledge to lower it). Maybe someone who´s done this specific swap will chime in with somethiung definitive there....

I dont know where my head is at but its obviously not in the game. When I order the new trem, it will come with the new gold blocks... Will those fit in the place of the old ones? Probably a dumb question. But humor me.

Yes, it will come with an entire locking nut. Or rather it SHOULD, that is the standard packaging. Should it however be missing completely for some reason, there is no mechanical reason why you can´t just keep using the old one, purely cosmetic.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: 12" radius locking nut ANYWHERE ?!

Yepper, that's a good ol' thread.

I have a 10"-radius Floyd nut on an Ibanez with a fixed-radius fretboard at 16". Works like a champ. (In addition to the obligatory 12"-16" Jackson, of course.)