Thinking Outside the Box with My Nuts
Most of the time people bring you instruments that require straight forward solutions; fret dresses, saddle adjustments, intonations, neck adjustment, etc. But every now and then someone will ask you for a solution to a problem you may have never considered before.
Enter this magnificent 1983 battle worn Fender Stratocaster. Only a year younger than myself, this epic riff stick came to the shop for a little pampering and a major face lift. Equipped with a Floyd Rose floating tremolo system the owner had grown tired of the metal locking nuts feel and had an intriguing request. Could i replace the nut with bone?
That was a bloody good question! Could I? Why not?
What ensued was a good 48 hours of research yielding basically nothing. If anyone had ever done this before they weren't being very forthcoming about it.
Despite this lack of evidence for the possibility, it seemed entirely plausible that with a large enough blank and careful crafting, a bone replacement could be achieved that would work with a floating trem.
After a brief consideration I decided "Sure, what the hell!"
There is a large amount of routed space in the neck for the original metal nut that is standard with the Floyd Rose. Luckily I keep a stock of oversized nuts (pun intended) so decided to craft the nut sculpturally. The nut would need to be large but not freakishly so. I gave it a long sloped curve to give as much elegant visual appeal as possible while maintaining functionality.
To ensure smooth tensioning on each string I carefully filed each slot with a long gentle descending incline. After careful height adjustment ensuring a comfortable 1st position action, I polished and rounded the edges and voila.
To ensure smooth tensioning on each string I carefully filed each slot with a long gentle descending incline. After careful height adjustment ensuring a comfortable 1st position action, I polished and rounded the edges and voila.
Possibly the first replacement bone nut for a Floyd Rose tremolo system EVER!
I love getting these requests from guitarists and it goes to show sometimes you just have to go for it with modifications. In this case I got to achieve a great looking and fully operational result, leaving me and this wicked riff stick's owner stoked.
Till next time stay safe, riff hard, and get modded!
Chris Re-Animator.