As an engineer by profession and watched so many nut making videos on UA-cam I can tell that Bryan’s has a very analytical mind with clear approach to any problem. Thanks so much for sharing this I myself had previously tried making nut from scratch and never succeeded. I tried pre made nut from Stewmac and that to took two attempts and six months to get it right. Can’t tell so much of frustration I went through and almost gave up before making it work. After watching this 1st and this 2nd series of his nut making videos finally my concept are now clear and now have more confidence in making my own…. Thank you so much Bryan … much much appreciated
I had 2 hernias repaired last week at a major university hospital, I have had bad pains for a while, my doctors said I needed hip surgery, so I got a high tech scan that showed 2 hernias. They set me up for a consultation with a surgeon, this man is the head of the surgery department , maybe late fifties or 60. He looked at the images, felt my groin areas, told me this will be a 1.5 hr operation. He asked if I had any questions, so I asked "can I assume you have done a bunch of these before?" He said "Yes", I said "I thought so" Ok then, no other questions. I bet this didn't need a ruler either :)
I would hope not. :) However, if I have someone working on one of my expensive acoustics, if he can't use a ruler, I will go somewhere else. Oh, I'm pretty sure a guitar's nut slot is a bit different from your's. :)
There's a huge difference between "can't" and "doesn't". A ruler is a relatively inaccurate measuring device. Calipers, micrometers, lasers are accurate. Rulers are okay for building houses but when I'm doing the valves on a 4-stroke dirt bike, the window is .005" (and I don't want to be at either extreme of that). I sure don't use a ruler for that, nor do I use one on guitar setup. If someone insists I use a ruler, I'd PREFER for them to go somewhere else. The guitar in this video is a 1948 D-28.
@@Bryankimsey Keep in mind that we humans have varying levels of acuity and sensitivity. Stirling Moss used to say that he could recognize faces in the crowd while going sideways at 100mph on a racetrack, and he lost that ability when he got older, so he knew it was time to quit. Major league baseball players can see a pitch coming at them at high speed, and they can hit that ball with a 3' wooden stick,,, I can't do that. Years back I worked with some tool & die makers, old guys, they always carried a 6" scale in their shirt pocket. I was a bed scraper and the tolerance was .0002 and all my work got inspected and logged into a build notebook.
I understand reactions!!! At 62, I'm still doing this. Yeah... the reactions aren't quite what they were 20 years ago but my smoothness is way up. ua-cam.com/video/hrtouyz3YD4/v-deo.htmlsi=kJHmdyK92Afgzk8i&t=213
Hi, Bryan. Quick question. I’d like to swap out the nut on a guitar. The nut that came on this guitar does not have an angled bottom. Is it possible to add a nut with an angled bottom to a slot that previously housed a flat bottom nut?
Well, #1.... why? #2.... If you're trying to do this for looks, you'll have to route an angled slot and that will reduce the amount of wood and support in that important area. You could mitigate this by shimming the nut slot with a piece of mahogany and then cutting your angle into that.... you'd end up with a little shim remaining on the f/board side and a little fresh cut on the tuner side but it would reduce the amount of overall bite. #3 if you have an angled nut blank in hand, just sand it square. If you're trying to use a premade blank or have limited room to sand it flat, drop it in your parts drawer and get a proper nut blank with a flat bottom. Stew Mac #6020-V or similar.
@@Bryankimsey Thanks for the insight, Bryan. I was watching your recent nut slotting videos, and it got me to pull out my calipers and measure the Eastman nut. I was not really surprised that the spacing was off, but I was surprised how much the spacing varied. Figured I'd try my hand at cutting another one from a blank provided by Bob Colosi to get them the same distance from each other as you did in the video. He got me all squared away on how I'd need a flat bottom nut as a replacement if that is what I already had.
Hello Kimsey…just discovered your website…unbelievable so good! I am trying to contact you but I can not find an email from you. So I will ask it here if I may? Bought a pre-owned HD28 2020 at the TFOA in The Netherlands. Amazing guitar. Bought it especially for downtuning 1 step next to my standard tuned D18. I need some numbers for String Height and Relief before I go to my luthier for a set-up. Can you provide me with some numbers please in order to avoid string-buzz if that is a risk at all? Again I am planning on downtuning 1 step and using a capo up to max 4th fret. Thank you sir! Playing style is very light, no picks, just bare fingers always and soft down strums. Rgds Jasper
You want this: www.bryankimsey.com/setup/actions.htm "Buzzing" is _entirely_ up to you. I could set the strings a nano off the frets and if you could play lightly enough, they wouldn't buzz. Conversely, I could set them 1" off the board and if you pluck them out, you're gonna buzz. You are going to have to experiment yourself to find out what you need with this specialized technique.
Hello Bryan, is it a good idea to make a video on how to set-up a D28/D18 when someone mainly downtunes the guitar 1-step? Guess the numbers will differ… complicated stuff?
I don't tune down, therefore I have no practical experience with that. As with the other response, it's all about YOU and how well YOU can control the string that'll prevent buzzes. I'd start with a low action and increase it with .010" thick shims until you find the point that balances "playability" with "buzz-resistant". Make a new saddle that action. What's the point of tuning down? To make the guitar "softer" or to change the pitch?
No...the vibration amplitude is because of the shorter length but the actual tension is the same. If it increased, you'd break strings and throw the guitar out of tune as you played up the neck. Capo is no different from fretting.
Yes. As you fret higher and higher up the neck, the nodes get smaller and shallower. This is why you can have a lower action as you FRET up the neck. The action of the low E OPEN might be .093" at the 12th fret, but if you fret the 11th fret, now the action at the 12th fret (with the 11th fretted) is probably something like .006" I cover the _concept_ here: ua-cam.com/video/fjZm1BEPYQg/v-deo.html
As an engineer by profession and watched so many nut making videos on UA-cam I can tell that Bryan’s has a very analytical mind with clear approach to any problem. Thanks so much for sharing this I myself had previously tried making nut from scratch and never succeeded. I tried pre made nut from Stewmac and that to took two attempts and six months to get it right. Can’t tell so much of frustration I went through and almost gave up before making it work. After watching this 1st and this 2nd series of his nut making videos finally my concept are now clear and now have more confidence in making my own…. Thank you so much Bryan … much much appreciated
I had 2 hernias repaired last week at a major university hospital, I have had bad pains for a while, my doctors said I needed hip surgery, so I got a high tech scan that showed 2 hernias. They set me up for a consultation with a surgeon, this man is the head of the surgery department , maybe late fifties or 60. He looked at the images, felt my groin areas, told me this will be a 1.5 hr operation. He asked if I had any questions, so I asked "can I assume you have done a bunch of these before?" He said "Yes", I said "I thought so" Ok then, no other questions.
I bet this didn't need a ruler either :)
I would hope not. :) However, if I have someone working on one of my expensive acoustics, if he can't use a ruler, I will go somewhere else. Oh, I'm pretty sure a guitar's nut slot is a bit different from your's. :)
There's a huge difference between "can't" and "doesn't". A ruler is a
relatively inaccurate measuring device. Calipers, micrometers, lasers are accurate. Rulers are okay for building houses but when I'm doing the valves on a 4-stroke dirt bike, the window is .005" (and I don't want to be at either extreme of that). I sure don't use a ruler for that, nor do I use one on guitar setup. If someone insists I use a ruler, I'd PREFER for them to go somewhere else.
The guitar in this video is a 1948 D-28.
@@Bryankimsey Keep in mind that we humans have varying levels of acuity and sensitivity. Stirling Moss used to say that he could recognize faces in the crowd while going sideways at 100mph on a racetrack, and he lost that ability when he got older, so he knew it was time to quit. Major league baseball players can see a pitch coming at them at high speed, and they can hit that ball with a 3' wooden stick,,, I can't do that. Years back I worked with some tool & die makers, old guys, they always carried a 6" scale in their shirt pocket. I was a bed scraper and the tolerance was .0002 and all my work got inspected and logged into a build notebook.
I understand reactions!!! At 62, I'm still doing this. Yeah... the reactions aren't quite what they were 20 years ago but my smoothness is way up.
ua-cam.com/video/hrtouyz3YD4/v-deo.htmlsi=kJHmdyK92Afgzk8i&t=213
Great stuff Bryan you really know what's going on with a acoustic guitar!
Gonna frame this comment and put it on the wall.
Think twice, react only once
Hi, Bryan. Quick question. I’d like to swap out the nut on a guitar. The nut that came on this guitar does not have an angled bottom. Is it possible to add a nut with an angled bottom to a slot that previously housed a flat bottom nut?
Well, #1.... why?
#2.... If you're trying to do this for looks, you'll have to route an angled slot and that will reduce the amount of wood and support in that important area. You could mitigate this by shimming the nut slot with a piece of mahogany and then cutting your angle into that.... you'd end up with a little shim remaining on the f/board side and a little fresh cut on the tuner side but it would reduce the amount of overall bite.
#3 if you have an angled nut blank in hand, just sand it square. If you're trying to use a premade blank or have limited room to sand it flat, drop it in your parts drawer and get a proper nut blank with a flat bottom. Stew Mac #6020-V or similar.
@@Bryankimsey Thanks for the insight, Bryan. I was watching your recent nut slotting videos, and it got me to pull out my calipers and measure the Eastman nut. I was not really surprised that the spacing was off, but I was surprised how much the spacing varied. Figured I'd try my hand at cutting another one from a blank provided by Bob Colosi to get them the same distance from each other as you did in the video. He got me all squared away on how I'd need a flat bottom nut as a replacement if that is what I already had.
Bob's a good dude!
Hello Kimsey…just discovered your website…unbelievable so good! I am trying to contact you but I can not find an email from you. So I will ask it here if I may?
Bought a pre-owned HD28 2020 at the TFOA in The Netherlands. Amazing guitar. Bought it especially for downtuning 1 step next to my standard tuned D18. I need some numbers for String Height and Relief before I go to my luthier for a set-up. Can you provide me with some numbers please in order to avoid string-buzz if that is a risk at all?
Again I am planning on downtuning 1 step and using a capo up to max 4th fret. Thank you sir! Playing style is very light, no picks, just bare fingers always and soft down strums.
Rgds Jasper
You want this:
www.bryankimsey.com/setup/actions.htm
"Buzzing" is _entirely_ up to you. I could set the strings a nano off the frets and if you could play lightly enough, they wouldn't buzz. Conversely, I could set them 1" off the board and if you pluck them out, you're gonna buzz.
You are going to have to experiment yourself to find out what you need with this specialized technique.
Hello Bryan, is it a good idea to make a video on how to set-up a D28/D18 when someone mainly downtunes the guitar 1-step? Guess the numbers will differ… complicated stuff?
I don't tune down, therefore I have no practical experience with that. As with the other response, it's all about YOU and how well YOU can control the string that'll prevent buzzes. I'd start with a low action and increase it with .010" thick shims until you find the point that balances "playability" with "buzz-resistant". Make a new saddle that action.
What's the point of tuning down? To make the guitar "softer" or to change the pitch?
Hi Bryan, what are your thoughts on a zero fret?
They're great as long as they are the same size as the rest of the frets. A proper nut IS a zero fret
Isnt the 'tension' vibration of the string different at the nut to that of a capo on a fret?
No...the vibration amplitude is because of the shorter length but the actual tension is the same. If it increased, you'd break strings and throw the guitar out of tune as you played up the neck. Capo is no different from fretting.
@@Bryankimsey Then the vibration amplitude is bound to affect the way strings perform differently up and down the neck?
Yes. As you fret higher and higher up the neck, the nodes get smaller and shallower. This is why you can have a lower action as you FRET up the neck. The action of the low E OPEN might be .093" at the 12th fret, but if you fret the 11th fret, now the action at the 12th fret (with the 11th fretted) is probably something like .006" I cover the _concept_ here:
ua-cam.com/video/fjZm1BEPYQg/v-deo.html