Brass nut: good or bad?

[BloodRose]

I have a bass with a brass nut and Ive seen some guitars with them too. I would assume this would make for a brighter/snappier tone. Is this desirable or not? Im just wondering cuz if its a good thing, why arent they more widely used? On the bass, its prolly a good thing, but on a Les paul style of guitar??

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

The nut only matters for your open strings. I would guess that if you play a lot of cowboy chords it would be a pretty significant change. Brass is actually slightly softer than bone (brass is mohs hardness of 3-4, bone is 4-5) so it wouldn't surprise me if it is less bright than a regular nut as more vibration would be lost from it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

Back in the early 70's, brass was the rage. We can probably blame Alembic and the Grateful Dead. The benefits were supposed to be more sustain and a deeper & more resonant tone.

But eventually the practice fell out of fashion when most players found that they preferred the sound of a bone nut, Micarta nut, Tusq nut or even the original plastic nut.

It's been a long, long time and the tone of a brass nut is hard for me to remember let alone describe.

But to me Bone, Micarta or Tusq just has a more pleasing tone than brass, and most experienced players would agree.

I make my own nuts out of bone. Sometimes Tusq if I'm in a hurry.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

Eric Johnson has used a brass saddle for the high E string to supposedly beef up the tone and make it sound thicker and not so thin. I've done this too and it works. I also prefer Tele's with brass saddles over Tele's with steel saddles.

So that should tell you something about the tonal quality of brass. It'll warm up your tone and make your strings sound thicker.

But I no longer use it for nuts and haven't for about 40 years! The only place I use it, is for the saddles of my Tele.

Tele's can sound so bright and steely that brass saddles can change the tone for the better on a Tele. But it's not a change for the better for everyone - some players prefer steel saddles on their Tele.

 

[speed2dirt]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

I changed the Corian nut on my 2012 Les Paul to a brass one. It made a significant difference in resonance and tone. That was my first experience with brass and has made me a believer. That said, I have a bone nut on my Warrior and it works well too. Just different for different applications. That 70s Tribute Les Paul now screams vintage goodness.

 

[stringbender11]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

Yep, like Lewguitar said, brass was really widely modded onto a lot of guitars in the 70's. I've never tried one but want to.

 

[Farkus]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

I have a brass nut on a Strat and I like the tone a lot. When played open my low E sounds like a piano.

Like Lew I use brass saddles on my Tele...less punch but smoother tone than steel saddles but still sounds like a Tele.

 

[gordon_39422]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

Brass is softer, less dense, than bone. As such, it absorbs string energy making for a less bright tone... Hence Eric Johnson's E -string saddle... Tele's are VERY bright by nature, so using the vintage tone via the brass saddles is attained by the taming of the glass like highs... It does however, offer more even order harmonics to the open strings which make it sound more interesting than your normal nuts. I've never tried it on LP's because we were taught in school that it will make an instrument darker, and starve the natural sustain of an instrument.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

Thanks for the info! I assumed it would be brighter being metal (per se), but definately see how it would "soften" the tone now. I had an old carvin x220 that had brass nut and I thought it was odd as the guitar was all maple, but I know now that it was to warm it up...

 

[Jeffblue]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

Brass nut will add some sustain. Should sound great.

 

[LogicallyInsane]

Re: Brass nut: good or bad?

I know Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd used a brass nut on his Explorer right at the tail end of his time with Skynyrd.. So theres another example.. I have no idea how it would change the tone though. I've always figured it would be a PITA to slot them, which is why I've never tried them.. lol