really bad nut

[daybed]

So Ive had the H150 for a week now and everything is perfect besides the nut. The tone on this thing is amazing with the seth pickups. The nut is real bad, the strings just slip in and out, the g string is cut at slight angle so the string wont lay properly. The thing just wont stay in tune. Someone I know has a 535 and he had the same probem from the factory. Is this a common problem for Heritage? Having a bone nut made for it this week, ill be so sad to be without it for a day or two. All this being said, I love this guitar, it simply makes me play better.

 

Nathan

[barrymclark]

So Ive had the H150 for a week now and everything is perfect besides the nut. The tone on this thing is amazing with the seth pickups. The nut is real bad, the strings just slip in and out, the g string is cut at slight angle so the string wont lay properly. The thing just wont stay in tune. Someone I know has a 535 and he had the same probem from the factory. Is this a common problem for Heritage? Having a bone nut made for it this week, ill be so sad to be without it for a day or two. All this being said, I love this guitar, it simply makes me play better.

 

Nathan

I would call the dealer you got this from. They should make it right.

[Spectrum13]

Daybed,

 

Heritage comes with a "factory" set up. Two of mine were ordered with bone nuts and both were cut well but higher than I like. Than was fine, you can always cut deeper but not higher. The other factory nuts were replaced. That is "normal for a factory guitar unless it was MIJ.

 

When your 150 comes back after being setup to your playing style it will be better than ever.

[yoslate]

Heh.... This issue is like the swallows and Capistrano. Lots of posts, historically, on this topic. Conventional wisdom: Do exactly what you've done. Get it to your luthier for a new one, material of your choice, and have him cut it to your spec. The boys at Parsons Street don't have a stellar track record with nuts, although mine have been dead on.

[Orangepicker]

You should talk to your dealer about it and have him give some feedback to Rendal at Heritage about it. I have had the discussion with Rendal that to my liking the nut slots are too high. He told me that Heritage slot heights are lower than the factory Gibson setups and that if a customer requests it lower then it can be done but they have set up dimensions that they adhere to. I always lower the action and the nut slots on mine. I have noticed that more recently the overall height of the nut seems to be lower and the string slots leave some of the strings exposed above the top edge of the nut.

[mtpatty]

You should talk to your dealer about it and have him give some feedback to Rendal at Heritage about it. I have had the discussion with Rendal that to my liking the nut slots are too high. He told me that Heritage slot heights are lower than the factory Gibson setups and that if a customer requests it lower then it can be done but they have set up dimensions that they adhere to. I always lower the action and the nut slots on mine. I have noticed that more recently the overall height of the nut seems to be lower and the string slots leave some of the strings exposed above the top edge of the nut.

 

I had the nut blues too! (Not bc of the factory) I got my H150 off the bay and it was shi**y...so I changed to an Earvan and that was bad news...so now I have a TusqXL and I am in Heaven- took the repair guy like an hour or less...Heaven, heaven, heaven...

[Thundersteel]

I replaced the nut on my H150 last weekend, and installed a black Graph-Tech graphite nut on it. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but I now know what to do/what not to do the next time I replace one.

[Patrick]

I'm not that great of a guitar tech . . . now that I think about it, I'm not that great of a guitar player either . . . but I don't think that the guitar nut is much of a matter of preferrence for the height setting. I believe that it's either correct, or incorrect when it leaves the factory. I believe that's why Ren said that he has a specific spec that is supposed to be adhered to. I just think that they need to be more consistent in hitting that spec.

[Thundersteel]

but I don't think that the guitar nut is much of a matter of preferrence for the height setting.

 

It plays a role with setting string height for the open strings. If it's too low, then you'll get fret buzz on the open strings. If it's too high, then you won't be able to set the action properly.

[Patrick]

It plays a role with setting string height for the open strings. If it's too low, then you'll get fret buzz on the open strings. If it's too high, then you won't be able to set the action properly.

 

Exactly my point. If the nut was set correctly at the factory, you should get no fret buzz on open strings and you should be able to set the action to your desired height without any problems occuring. If either situation represents a problem . . . . then the nut was done wrong. I'm just assuming.

[barrymclark]

Exactly my point. If the nut was set correctly at the factory, you should get no fret buzz on open strings and you should be able to set the action to your desired height without any problems occuring. If either situation represents a problem . . . . then the nut was done wrong. I'm just assuming.

The cut of the nut can be different per the likes of he player. It is as important to the feel of the neck as the bridge height or truss rod adjustment is. There isn't one correct nut cut even for the same guitar. Now, what has been common practice for a number of years is the manufacturer setting the guitars as they see fit. Some though, still have the nut cut high so that adjustment can be made without nut replacement. I can't say for sure that is what Heritage is doing as I have never heard directly from them on this but it wouldn't surprise me at all if that is there approach.

[GuitArtMan]

It plays a role with setting string height for the open strings. If it's too low, then you'll get fret buzz on the open strings. If it's too high, then you won't be able to set the action properly.

Exactly - just like a fret can be too low or too high. Think about it: if a fret is too low, it will buzz off of the fret or frets higher than it. If a fret is too high, it will cause buzzing off of the frets lower than it. A nut is the same. Too high and the action/intonation will suffer; too low and it will buzz. It aint rocket science. I think the ideal hieght for a nut would be that of a zero fret.

[Thundersteel]

I think the ideal hieght for a nut would be that of a zero fret.

 

I've often wondered why more manufacturers don't use a zero fret. That way, the only thing critical about the nut would be string spacing.

[Patrick]

The cut of the nut can be different per the likes of he player. It is as important to the feel of the neck as the bridge height or truss rod adjustment is. There isn't one correct nut cut even for the same guitar. Now, what has been common practice for a number of years is the manufacturer setting the guitars as they see fit. Some though, still have the nut cut high so that adjustment can be made without nut replacement. I can't say for sure that is what Heritage is doing as I have never heard directly from them on this but it wouldn't surprise me at all if that is there approach.

 

That make perfect sense to me. "Per the likes of the player . . . important to the feel of the neck" I understand the reasoning better now. Thanks!!

[barrymclark]

I've often wondered why more manufacturers don't use a zero fret. That way, the only thing critical about the nut would be string spacing.

I love zero frets... but I also like rediculously low action.

[slider313]

I had a really bad nut last year when a wasp found his way into my bathing suit and stung me on my left one.

[tulk1]

I had a really bad nut last year when a wasp found his way into my bathing suit and stung me on my left one.

How'd it take so long for the thread to go there?

[GuitArtMan]

I had a really bad nut last year when a wasp found his way into my bathing suit and stung me on my left one.

I hope you used this stuff on it:

[slider313]

The pain from the sting wasn't as bad as the itch it caused for the next three days.