What's up with my Nut's?!?

[mysticguitar]

Over the the past few years I have bought more than a few guitars and many, don't know the percentage, have nuts where the low E and high E are not equal distance to the edge of the fretboard, and it's always the high E that is to close. This can sometimes result in the string going off the edge alot or occasionally. The guitars are MIM fenders. Shouldn't the nuts to be spaced evenly? The guitars are over $500. Am I expec
ting to much?

[jorri]

Yeh they should be even.

Is it closer from the edge or centre of string?

I always think it should be the centre, so in fact the low E should be closer. However, some thing measure from the edge, where it leaves the thinner string feeling closer.

Nut replacement pretty common really. Is it plastic? Material/nut blanks are very cheap but labour or tools are not.

[mysticguitar]

Yeh they should be even.

Is it closer from the edge or centre of string?

I always think it should be the centre, so in fact the low E should be closer. However, some thing measure from the edge, where it leaves the thinner string feeling closer.

Nut replacement pretty common really. Is it plastic? Material/nut blanks are very cheap but labour or tools are not.

The high E is closer to the edge, by 1/32, and you can see the spacing is uneven, it affects playing but as you say they should be equal, which is why I'm returning it.

[timtam]

There are two schools of thought on string spacing. One is that the string centres should be the same distance apart, the other is that the string edges should be the same distance apart. Since the strings have different diameters, those two approaches result in slightly different string spacings. And the first one may look more like the spacings are not consistent, because the edges of the thicker strings are closer together. Also, the second depends on string gauge, the first is gauge-independent. There are different thoughts on which is best for 'feel', ie whether one or the other is less confusing for the fingers.

[mysticguitar]

Well if one "school of thought" means the high E is too close to the edge and slips off then its faulty thinking.

[timtam]

The two spacing schools of thought have nothing to do with whether a high or low E is too close to the edge. I thought you were saying that the inter-string spacing was uneven, as well as one string being closer to the edge. Apologies if I misread. Inter-string spacing and edge proximity are entirely separate issues. You can execute either spacing approach (same or different string-edge-to-string-edge spacing) and end up with an E too close to the edge or just right.

Sounds like it's either a dud nut, or the bridge choice has wide E-E spacing that makes some nuts/necks more marginal. Sometimes high Es too close to the edge have been common for a significant proportion of a particular guitar range. For example some of the initial MIA Am Pro's had that problem. On later ones it's been resolved by switching to a bridge with E-E spacing of 52mm. But poorly cut or mounted nuts, or fretboards too narrow for the nuts used, can obviously also contribute to the problem, as can rolled fretboard edges and excessive fret end bevel angles.

[Horsefeather]

Yes, they're offset slightly so that during strenuous exercise they don't smash into one another but slide past.

[hwestman]

Are you sure that it is the nut that's a culprit?

A neck that isn't mounted straight / is slanted will put either E-string closer to the edge.

The good news is that it's very easy to remedy.

Loosen the strings a bit and unscrew the neck screws slightly.

Align the neck to the desired position and retighten the screws.

[andy_tchp]

Yes, they're offset slightly so that during strenuous exercise they don't smash into one another but slide past.

Outstanding.

[mysticguitar]

Are you sure that it is the nut that's a culprit?

A neck that isn't mounted straight / is slanted will put either E-string closer to the edge.

The good news is that it's very easy to remedy.

Loosen the strings a bit and unscrew the neck screws slightly.

Align the neck to the desired position and retighten the screws.

It's the nut. I'm familiar with the misalignment issue, I have spent time with sweetwater trying to correct the e to close to edge on previous guitars, it's the nut, thanks though.

[mysticguitar]

The two spacing schools of thought have nothing to do with whether a high or low E is too close to the edge. I thought you were saying that the inter-string spacing was uneven, as well as one string being closer to the edge. Apologies if I misread. Inter-string spacing and edge proximity are entirely separate issues. You can execute either spacing approach (same or different string-edge-to-string-edge spacing) and end up with an E too close to the edge or just right.

Sounds like it's either a dud nut, or the bridge choice has wide E-E spacing that makes some nuts/necks more marginal. Sometimes high Es too close to the edge have been common for a significant proportion of a particular guitar range. For example some of the initial MIA Am Pro's had that problem. On later ones it's been resolved by switching to a bridge with E-E spacing of 52mm. But poorly cut or mounted nuts, or fretboards too narrow for the nuts used, can obviously also contribute to the problem, as can rolled fretboard edges and excessive fret end bevel angles.

It's unacceptable either way.

[mysticguitar]

I don't get it......if your spending $500 or more on a guitar then the guitar should be free of such obvious defects....I don't get it.

[jvin248]

.

If all of the guitars are off then it's by design...
If it's just one model switch over or a month of production it's probably the factory machine setups.
If it's just a single guitar then it's the setup person that day at the factory.

You can always swap the nut to put in the spacing you like best. It's somewhat dangerous for first timers though as the nut slots need particular cutting techniques or you end up with tuning issues when using cowboy chords or sitar sounds when playing open strings. It's a $5 mod I've seen people sell off guitars after not getting it right.

(+1 the neck to body alignment, you're already aware of, is the most common 'practically falling off the fretboard' complaint but others reading the thread in the future may not be nuanced enough).

.

[mysticguitar]

If someone goes to the Sweetwater Site and chooses a guitar, say the Vintera Mustang, and zooms in on the pics of the guitar nut, they will see the strings evenly spaced, if they check the dots on the fretboard they will see the strings evenly spaced in relation to the dots..,...this is how the guitar should come to you when you purchase it, in this case about $900.

[jorri]

Yeh they should be even.

Is it closer from the edge or centre of string?

I always think it should be the centre, so in fact the low E should be closer. However, some thing measure from the edge, where it leaves the thinner string feeling closer.

Nut replacement pretty common really. Is it plastic? Material/nut blanks are very cheap but labour or tools are not.

The high E is closer to the edge, by 1/32, and you can see the spacing is uneven, it affects playing but as you say they should be equal, which is why I'm returning it.

Sounds like the way to go.
All in all the option of "centre vs edge" is going to affect the lower string more, and mean if any apparent inconsistency is there it would be feeling the low string is too close. So it seems we'll within the range of quality control. I have had some alignment issues on cheap guitars but they seemed fixable, whereas this doesn't.