Thoughts on Fender LSR Nut for Strat?
- Thread starter BluesGuyJ
- Start date
Kamanda~SD
New member
Re: Thoughts on Fender LSR Nut for Strat?
Same material. XL just has their PTFE lubrication injected in to the material. Calling a regular TUSQ nut the same as plastic is ridiculous, just drop them on a hard surface and you can hear the difference. For the OP however I will agree that a XL is better for trem use.
Same material. XL just has their PTFE lubrication injected in to the material. Calling a regular TUSQ nut the same as plastic is ridiculous, just drop them on a hard surface and you can hear the difference. For the OP however I will agree that a XL is better for trem use.
Boogie Bill
New member
Re: Thoughts on Fender LSR Nut for Strat?
I think this is excellent advice. I do similar lubrication and maintenance on my G&L guitars equipped with the Dual Fulcrum Vibrato bridge that Leo Fender designed. These have always been a very stable system for me--I RARELY have any tuning stability issues when using the vibrato--I have set-neck hard tail guitars that don't stay in tune as well. I use the Big Bend's Nut Sauce in the nut slots, and all is good.
The one thing I do not like about the LSR and Wilkinson nuts is that they can get very dirty, and if not kept clean and dust-free you WILL have problems. A properly cut bone or graphite nut is a much better and easier solution...and cheaper, too!
One other thing to try: I use Fender's Super Bullet strings. I believe that the bullet-end does help with some tuning issues that occur with a vibrato bridge that uses a block. They make Bullets in Stainless; the Original Bullets are pure nickel; and the Super Bullets are nickel-plated steel (like a D'Addario XL). Worth a try, for a $5.00 fix.
Good luck!
Bill
I think this is excellent advice. I do similar lubrication and maintenance on my G&L guitars equipped with the Dual Fulcrum Vibrato bridge that Leo Fender designed. These have always been a very stable system for me--I RARELY have any tuning stability issues when using the vibrato--I have set-neck hard tail guitars that don't stay in tune as well. I use the Big Bend's Nut Sauce in the nut slots, and all is good.
The one thing I do not like about the LSR and Wilkinson nuts is that they can get very dirty, and if not kept clean and dust-free you WILL have problems. A properly cut bone or graphite nut is a much better and easier solution...and cheaper, too!
One other thing to try: I use Fender's Super Bullet strings. I believe that the bullet-end does help with some tuning issues that occur with a vibrato bridge that uses a block. They make Bullets in Stainless; the Original Bullets are pure nickel; and the Super Bullets are nickel-plated steel (like a D'Addario XL). Worth a try, for a $5.00 fix.
Good luck!
Bill
Cyberleader
New member
Re: Thoughts on Fender LSR Nut for Strat?
I've been curious about how well the LSR works in keeping a vibrato fitted (TREMOLO is the WRONG term for this device... See below) guitar in tune.
In trawling such sites and forums, such as this one and elsewhere, the overall opinion is divided pretty equally. Many like the LSR's already fitted to certain US Fender Strats, others hate them. Here are the pros & cons, as I've determined thus far...
Pros: If already installed by Fender, LSR's do work very well in most cases, so long as they are kept clean of debris. Tonality can be biased toward the bright side, which is totally understandable, given they're made of metal. So any change in pickups, should take that into account. LSR's are only as good as the entire vibrato setup and should work in concert with locking tuners and a properly set vibrato bridge. LSR's are certainly neater, less obtrusive than fitting a FR type locking nut or aftermarket roller nut. The height of the nut assembly (as with the latter systems) can be determined more easily, as they can be easily shimmed due to being screw fitted.
Cons: If not already installed by either Fender or a Pro technician, LSR's require a modicum of skill to install, because of changes required to the nut bed, thus are difficult to reverse the procedure. LSR's are over-complicated, many moving parts that can retain gunk and debris, or impart unwanted vibrations, especially to the high strings. Impart a bright tonality to the guitar, which granted, is a neutral point given the preferences of individual players. If sought as an alternative to other nut types, can be needlessly expensive.
Conclusions: The tuning instablity issues mostly occcur when the string/s are pitched up in frequency - pulling the whammy-bar up/bending excessively, more than in pitching down - 'diving'. These issues are generally not so prevalent with gentle (Gilmour) use of vibrato.
A well cut and lubricated TUSQ XL (no lube reqd), Graphtech, or bone nut, in most cases will suffice and of course is far cheaper and easier to install than either a FR style locking nut, LSR, or roller nut. I would argue that the LSR is probably better than an aftermarket (Wilkinson) roller nut for the following reasons - a) the LSR has a tighter string 'notch'. b) is of lower profile. c) Less vibration prone. d) Aesthetically is less obtrusive.
If one's Stratocaster comes already fitted with an LSR, then unless issues occur with the LSR assembly, all should be fine. However, if deciding to replace a standard nut on the grounds of tuning/vibrato instablitiy, then the above becomes applicable and most certainly prudent.
To bring this bang up-to-date... Darrell Braun Guitars (YouTube) has recently previewed a new solution for guitars with vibrato/tuning instablilities. This device goes by the name 'Nutbuster' (sounds painful) and is essentially a simple floating string locking mechanism, with fine tuning capability. Specifically designed for guitars fitted with any kind of tranditional vibrato system (Fender-two/six fulcrum, Bigsby, Duesenberg, Vibrola etc...). The device requires no modification to the guitar whatsoever as it floats upon the strings between the nut and the first machine head (over the truss adjuster). This device would thus negate the issues of vibrato systems fitted to Gibson headstock (3 aside) guitars, where there is a tendancy for the the strings to beome 'hung' on the nut, due to string angle to the top machine heads. The device works on the principle of locking each string to each other and in practice, the strings are returned to their 'tuned' position by the tension between each string, essentially homogenising across all strings, keeping the wound strings in check. Pros - all the above. Cons - A very expensive solution, but possibly worth it, if tuning instablity is a serious gigging issue.
That said, as one can see by this excellent design, which is elegantly simple in execution, anyone with a decent pillar-drill and a small block of brass, could easily reverse-engineer this device at a fraction of the cost. :bandit:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How did this happen? The misnaming of the vibrato system. Most likely promoted by the manufacturers themselves but widely disseminated by guitarists with minimal technical undrstanding and then expounded on by internet myth, that essentially the two devices/techniques amount to the same acoustic outcome - to which I say - Bollox Grandad! :angryfire
The 'Whammy bar' device fitted to many guitars is generally and erroneously called a 'tremolo' device. This is wrong, for the following reasons.
A true tremolo device is an electronic circuit comprising of a manually or automatically adjusted/set LFO (low frequency oscillator). This device changes the amplitude (gain, volume) of an audio signal by a determined rate/frequency. Akin to moving a volume pedal up and down at a set rate. It does not therefor change the pitch (frequency) of the the note being played. These circuits were once commonplace on many semiconductor/valve amps of the 60's and 70's. Are still to be found as an FX pedal, fitted standard on some amps, as a modelling app on modern amps, or as pluggins on all DAW's.
In the world of guitar playing... Vibrato is the change of tension of the string and thus the pitch (frequency) of a note or chord being played on a stringed instrument (...or more traditionally in vocalising). Commonly by either bending a string up and down quickly, or vibrating a finger on the string, or by use of a vibrato assembly, which changes the pitch of a note/s by movement of the bridge assembly. It does not affect the amplitude of the signal.
The Tremeloes - a UK R&B/Pop ensemble formed in the 1960's and apparently still going... Famous for - Silence is Golden, Yellow River, (Call me) Number One... etc...
The common manufacturers of vibrato devices -
Fender, Bigsby, Vibrola, Goldo/Duesenberg, Floyd Rose, Hipshot, Babicz, Schaller, Gotoh, Ibanez, Trem King (Ach! See what I mean?)
And if anyone doubts my analysis on this issue - Here's what the Fender's horses-mouth has to say....
[ https://www.fender.com/articles/tech-talk/pitch-or-volume-the-difference-between-tremolo-and-vibrato ]
I've been curious about how well the LSR works in keeping a vibrato fitted (TREMOLO is the WRONG term for this device... See below) guitar in tune.
In trawling such sites and forums, such as this one and elsewhere, the overall opinion is divided pretty equally. Many like the LSR's already fitted to certain US Fender Strats, others hate them. Here are the pros & cons, as I've determined thus far...
Pros: If already installed by Fender, LSR's do work very well in most cases, so long as they are kept clean of debris. Tonality can be biased toward the bright side, which is totally understandable, given they're made of metal. So any change in pickups, should take that into account. LSR's are only as good as the entire vibrato setup and should work in concert with locking tuners and a properly set vibrato bridge. LSR's are certainly neater, less obtrusive than fitting a FR type locking nut or aftermarket roller nut. The height of the nut assembly (as with the latter systems) can be determined more easily, as they can be easily shimmed due to being screw fitted.
Cons: If not already installed by either Fender or a Pro technician, LSR's require a modicum of skill to install, because of changes required to the nut bed, thus are difficult to reverse the procedure. LSR's are over-complicated, many moving parts that can retain gunk and debris, or impart unwanted vibrations, especially to the high strings. Impart a bright tonality to the guitar, which granted, is a neutral point given the preferences of individual players. If sought as an alternative to other nut types, can be needlessly expensive.
Conclusions: The tuning instablity issues mostly occcur when the string/s are pitched up in frequency - pulling the whammy-bar up/bending excessively, more than in pitching down - 'diving'. These issues are generally not so prevalent with gentle (Gilmour) use of vibrato.
A well cut and lubricated TUSQ XL (no lube reqd), Graphtech, or bone nut, in most cases will suffice and of course is far cheaper and easier to install than either a FR style locking nut, LSR, or roller nut. I would argue that the LSR is probably better than an aftermarket (Wilkinson) roller nut for the following reasons - a) the LSR has a tighter string 'notch'. b) is of lower profile. c) Less vibration prone. d) Aesthetically is less obtrusive.
If one's Stratocaster comes already fitted with an LSR, then unless issues occur with the LSR assembly, all should be fine. However, if deciding to replace a standard nut on the grounds of tuning/vibrato instablitiy, then the above becomes applicable and most certainly prudent.
To bring this bang up-to-date... Darrell Braun Guitars (YouTube) has recently previewed a new solution for guitars with vibrato/tuning instablilities. This device goes by the name 'Nutbuster' (sounds painful) and is essentially a simple floating string locking mechanism, with fine tuning capability. Specifically designed for guitars fitted with any kind of tranditional vibrato system (Fender-two/six fulcrum, Bigsby, Duesenberg, Vibrola etc...). The device requires no modification to the guitar whatsoever as it floats upon the strings between the nut and the first machine head (over the truss adjuster). This device would thus negate the issues of vibrato systems fitted to Gibson headstock (3 aside) guitars, where there is a tendancy for the the strings to beome 'hung' on the nut, due to string angle to the top machine heads. The device works on the principle of locking each string to each other and in practice, the strings are returned to their 'tuned' position by the tension between each string, essentially homogenising across all strings, keeping the wound strings in check. Pros - all the above. Cons - A very expensive solution, but possibly worth it, if tuning instablity is a serious gigging issue.
That said, as one can see by this excellent design, which is elegantly simple in execution, anyone with a decent pillar-drill and a small block of brass, could easily reverse-engineer this device at a fraction of the cost. :bandit:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How did this happen? The misnaming of the vibrato system. Most likely promoted by the manufacturers themselves but widely disseminated by guitarists with minimal technical undrstanding and then expounded on by internet myth, that essentially the two devices/techniques amount to the same acoustic outcome - to which I say - Bollox Grandad! :angryfire
The 'Whammy bar' device fitted to many guitars is generally and erroneously called a 'tremolo' device. This is wrong, for the following reasons.
A true tremolo device is an electronic circuit comprising of a manually or automatically adjusted/set LFO (low frequency oscillator). This device changes the amplitude (gain, volume) of an audio signal by a determined rate/frequency. Akin to moving a volume pedal up and down at a set rate. It does not therefor change the pitch (frequency) of the the note being played. These circuits were once commonplace on many semiconductor/valve amps of the 60's and 70's. Are still to be found as an FX pedal, fitted standard on some amps, as a modelling app on modern amps, or as pluggins on all DAW's.
In the world of guitar playing... Vibrato is the change of tension of the string and thus the pitch (frequency) of a note or chord being played on a stringed instrument (...or more traditionally in vocalising). Commonly by either bending a string up and down quickly, or vibrating a finger on the string, or by use of a vibrato assembly, which changes the pitch of a note/s by movement of the bridge assembly. It does not affect the amplitude of the signal.
The Tremeloes - a UK R&B/Pop ensemble formed in the 1960's and apparently still going... Famous for - Silence is Golden, Yellow River, (Call me) Number One... etc...
The common manufacturers of vibrato devices -
Fender, Bigsby, Vibrola, Goldo/Duesenberg, Floyd Rose, Hipshot, Babicz, Schaller, Gotoh, Ibanez, Trem King (Ach! See what I mean?)
And if anyone doubts my analysis on this issue - Here's what the Fender's horses-mouth has to say....
[ https://www.fender.com/articles/tech-talk/pitch-or-volume-the-difference-between-tremolo-and-vibrato ]
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