Ebony Nuts?

[Eric Knapp]

Hello,

My viola playing daughter asked me a question I don't have an answer for. Has anyone tried using ebony or other hardwoods for nuts and saddles on acoustic guitars? My daughter pointed out that the violin family has been using them for a very long time.

Thanks,

-Eric

[Bob Gramann]

I’ve used it on some of the fretless basses that I’ve built. It works well in that application. I use pin bridges. The breakover angle at the saddle on mine is such that I think it would wear the bridge fast if it were hardwood.

[Alan Carruth]

Violin family instruments use flat wound strings almost exclusively, which don't cut into the nut the way round windings do. I say 'almost' exclusively: I can't recall seeing any new violin strings that were not flat wound, but I have not seen them all.

Violin makers are very fussy about how they cut the nut. The strings are just barely off the fingerboard surface, and the nut slot is vanishingly close to level at the front edge, ramping back in a smooth curve. The slot is supposed to be 1/3 of the string diameter deep, although you can get away with deeper on a plain steel high E. This minimizes ant sawing the windings might do.

I have used bone nuts on fiddles. Naturally I get into trouble with the 'violin' crowd. I tried lignum vitae nuts on fiddles, but they're hard to glue to the end of the fingerboard.

[Eric Knapp]

Violin family instruments use flat wound strings almost exclusively, which don't cut into the nut the way round windings do. I say 'almost' exclusively: I can't recall seeing any new violin strings that were not flat wound, but I have not seen them all.

Ah, that make sense. Archtops frequently use wood saddles and they usually have flat wounds.

Violin makers are very fussy about how they cut the nut. The strings are just barely off the fingerboard surface, and the nut slot is vanishingly close to level at the front edge, ramping back in a smooth curve. The slot is supposed to be 1/3 of the string diameter deep, although you can get away with deeper on a plain steel high E. This minimizes ant sawing the windings might do.

Violin family makers do seem very particular about lots of things. They have a very long history to live up to.

I have used bone nuts on fiddles. Naturally I get into trouble with the 'violin' crowd. I tried lignum vitae nuts on fiddles, but they're hard to glue to the end of the fingerboard.

I have some lignum vitae, I might try that. I also have a LOT of small pieces of ebony and I think I'll make some tests with it. On a guitar I make for myself the longevity of the nut is not that big of an issue.

Thanks,

-Eric

[Eric Knapp]

I’ve used it on some of the fretless basses that I’ve built. It works well in that application. I use pin bridges. The breakover angle at the saddle on mine is such that I think it would wear the bridge fast if it were hardwood.

Good point about the wear on the saddle. I think the nut has more potential and I'll make a few tests with some really hard woods.

-Eric

[Barry Daniels]

I made some for a steel string guitar about 40 years ago but I didn’t like the tone of the open strings. It took away a lot of brightness in the tone.

[Mark McLean]

Historically, a lot of Martin guitars had ebony nuts, especially the 15 and 17 series (the all mahogany ones), but also some 18 series. Pre-war Gibson guitars and mandolins too.

[Paul Rhoney]

Just anecdotally, I one time made a copy of a Fender Bass VI and was pretty well done with the instrument, but was still waiting on some special bridge saddles to arrive in the mail. I got impatient to play and hear it, so I fashioned a quick bridge saddle out of ebony. It sounded better with the ebony bridge than it did after the correct bridge saddles arrived and were installed.