If you haven't cut a nut before, Stewmac sell pre-slotted ones which you can get down to size by sanding the base rather than the slots.
I prefer bone and Stewmac have always been a good source. The last Tusq nut I made was in the sun for a long time and went a very deep yellow-ish, not very nice. Strings which sit low in the nut however, can be more prone to sticking so if I'm making a nut I'll have the top of the strings sitting above the level of the nut, not so much on the unwound ones. You can't tell from the pic if the treble string slots are too low, that depends on string height over the first fret. Most Fenders have always had plastic nuts. Tusq won't give.ĭo you want to replace it because it's black (I would!) or because it's plastic, or is there a problem with it? Many plastic nuts will work fine. The dense Black TUSQ XL material has strong harmonic characteristics such as a clear low end and bell-like highs for bringing your guitar tone back to life. Try pressing the back of a craft knife blade into an edge. The Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL Slotted Epiphone-style Nut is a high-tech material for making custom string nuts. Some plastics are quite hard and it can be difficult to tell the difference. From the crappy alignment in its slot I would hope that nut is not original.
