BI
A little easier to work than bone
There was nothing to discover about Tusq tone, several of my electric and acoustic guitars have Tusq nuts. Those that had mushy plastic nuts got bone instead, and the tone has the same quality level, it's just that bone sounds a shade warmer, and Tusq a shade brighter.
I'd be happy with either but this time I didn't feel I had the patience to sculpt a bone blank so I took a pre-formed Tusq nut. Still had to shorten it with a saw, make it less tall with that saw, and then thinner with sandpaper. Tusq is a little easier to work with, cutting it was not as lengthy , but the difference I like best is Tusq dust does not fly off as much as bone dust.
It tends to fall to the ground, cleaning up around my kitchen table was not as tedious, and the dust does not irritate my skin or my nose, it seems to be more chemically neutral than bone powder.
Polishing Tusq takes less time than polishing bone and removing micro scratches is more efficient with the same sandpaper grits. So, if you are used to working with bone, spend less time doing the last thinning down and polishing because you might remove too much material, almost happened to me at the last step.
Two of the string slots are perfectly half-round but two had a slightly flattened bottom, saw it with my loupe, but shaping them with a tiny bit of 600 sandpaper is quick. Just have to be careful not to touch the sides of the slot to avoid making it wider.
Lastly, the nut looks beige in the pic, which disappointed me a bit because my bass is black and white, but bone is rarely pure white either, so I was going to accept the compromise. However the real thing is pale greyish white so it matches my bass' colors very well.
I'd be happy with either but this time I didn't feel I had the patience to sculpt a bone blank so I took a pre-formed Tusq nut. Still had to shorten it with a saw, make it less tall with that saw, and then thinner with sandpaper. Tusq is a little easier to work with, cutting it was not as lengthy , but the difference I like best is Tusq dust does not fly off as much as bone dust.
It tends to fall to the ground, cleaning up around my kitchen table was not as tedious, and the dust does not irritate my skin or my nose, it seems to be more chemically neutral than bone powder.
Polishing Tusq takes less time than polishing bone and removing micro scratches is more efficient with the same sandpaper grits. So, if you are used to working with bone, spend less time doing the last thinning down and polishing because you might remove too much material, almost happened to me at the last step.
Two of the string slots are perfectly half-round but two had a slightly flattened bottom, saw it with my loupe, but shaping them with a tiny bit of 600 sandpaper is quick. Just have to be careful not to touch the sides of the slot to avoid making it wider.
Lastly, the nut looks beige in the pic, which disappointed me a bit because my bass is black and white, but bone is rarely pure white either, so I was going to accept the compromise. However the real thing is pale greyish white so it matches my bass' colors very well.
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Jelentem!
F
Suitable for Acoustic Basses
Bought if for my acoustic bass. It is intentionally little bit oversized. I easily shaped the hight, width and radius with sandpaper. Sound is well improved. String spacing is also perfect. Grap tech TUSQ is definitely an improvement to your instrument.
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Jelentem!
M
If you're not experienced there's a catch
I was replacing original Fender Mexico Fretless jazz bass nut (which was by all means crappy). It worked like a charm and now I'm a bit happier than before. There are two issues if you're not expecting what you're getting though:
1. it's HUGE, you'll have to sand it from all sides and you'll end up with maybe a third or quarter of the original size (that takes time and you'll have to hit the radius right which might be challenging)
2. the string spacing is different than on the original which might not be your taste
1. it's HUGE, you'll have to sand it from all sides and you'll end up with maybe a third or quarter of the original size (that takes time and you'll have to hit the radius right which might be challenging)
2. the string spacing is different than on the original which might not be your taste
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Jelentem!
L
Good nut but not for me
TUSQ is a great material to make nuts out of. Durable with possibly superior sonic attributes as compared to plain plastic ones.
However this Graph Tech nut has a smidgen narrower string spacing than the original one which came with my Beatle bass, which I did not like. I purchased this nut hoping it'd have wider string spacing than the original. Hence the reason for my disappointment.
The nut itself is well made though and perfectly fine if you like the string spacing that it features.
However this Graph Tech nut has a smidgen narrower string spacing than the original one which came with my Beatle bass, which I did not like. I purchased this nut hoping it'd have wider string spacing than the original. Hence the reason for my disappointment.
The nut itself is well made though and perfectly fine if you like the string spacing that it features.
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Jelentem!
RL
Always great parts
I love the consistent quality of Graph Tech products and they are always my go-to option. I usually change the nut on any stock guitar I buy.
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Jelentem!
J
Needed to replace very old cracked nut - works perfectly
My old nut (not replaced in 30 years) cracked whilst changing strings so I got this as a quality replacement. It is easy to fit and so far does a great job.
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Jelentem!
A
Good replacement or upgrade
Tusq nuts are great.
I bought this a replacement as my previous nut split during a string change.
Very easy to fit and sand down, they make a difference to your sound over standard plastic nuts on guitar.
Good slippery material which helps tuning stability a lot!
I bought this a replacement as my previous nut split during a string change.
Very easy to fit and sand down, they make a difference to your sound over standard plastic nuts on guitar.
Good slippery material which helps tuning stability a lot!
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r
Great!
It’s a great nut! Easy to install, the material is easy to work with when cutting slot height and width!
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Jelentem!