Nut materials

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Nut materials

I listened through the volume compensated clip where it went E chords back and forth on the two nuts. I hear a lot more B and high E string presence with the brass nut. It kind of made the chord sound muddy because they rang out brighter than the low notes. I know the low E will sound brighter as well, but it didn't stand out in the clips.

After that, I couldn't take any more of the blah sounding direct guitar tone. If there's a portion of the test where he goes back and forth between a fretted note on each nut, give me a time stamp and I'll listen.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Nut materials

I agree. The brass nut sounds interesting and bright but the stock plastic or tusq plastic nut is plenty solid and predictable and sounds good and fine and balanced.

At 18 minutes he compares the plastic nut to the brass nut on a bass. You can both hear the difference and see the difference in the frequency analyzer. And I think he's playing all fretted notes! It's in A blues scale and you can hear him hammer from what sounds like 5 to 7 on the D string. At the end of the phrase you can hear him for sure slide from 5 to 7 on the A string. So I think he's actually playing all fretted notes. But listening you notice a difference and also on the frequency analyzer you can see a difference.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Nut materials

I agree. The brass nut sounds interesting and bright but the stock plastic or tusq plastic nut is plenty solid and predictable and sounds good and fine and balanced.

I wouldn't use this as definitive evidence of how this guitar would sound with an amplifier, but if this is how a brass nut behaves with an amp, I wouldn't like it.

If he doesn't do a direct comparison between fretted notes on a guitar, I'm probably not going to listen to much more. Even if he did, for all I know he's not picking consistently. I'm not trying to be argumentative, it's just something I needed to hear in person.

Unless somebody comes in with something really compelling, I'll say maybe the nut material does affect the tone of fretted notes and I just can't hear it. If it does, I think it's one of those factors that's below pick material/shape/technique, string material, any slight adjustment of any knob on the guitar or amp, cleanliness of the soldering, whether or not you're going directly to the amp or through a bunch of pedals... you get the idea.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Nut materials

Yep, you'd need to do the fretted notes recorded and edited side by side......and certainly maybe with and without typical amplification. Of course guitar has a different tonal balance to bass, so the two aren't necessarily perfectly relevant results-wise.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Nut materials

Well, whether or not it affects the fretted notes doesn't really matter, considering how much effect it has on open notes. Would you consider brass brighter than LSR roller or SS zero fret?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Nut materials

Roller nut + Roller saddles!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Nut materials

Well, whether or not it affects the fretted notes doesn't really matter, considering how much effect it has on open notes. Would you consider brass brighter than LSR roller or SS zero fret?

I'm giving a reluctant yes, as I've owned a guitar with an LSR. The open notes were not obnoxiously bright like in the video with the brass nut. I have no first hand with brass, though.