Markelberry
Oct-16-2005, 7:12am
I just purchased an 84 Flatiron and the nut is black like ebony,would this be the material? Also would upgrading to pearl or bone make a big difference? It sounds fine now so I should maybe leave it alone.
c3hammer
Oct-16-2005, 10:29pm
From my limited experience, here are some comments on each material for a nut.
1. Ebony, very warm/fuzzy tone, medium to low life span
2. Corian (countertop material), warm to medium tone, medium life span, somewhat "sticky" tuning
3. Bone, bright tone, long life span
4. Pearl, very bright tone, longest life span
Obviously these are just relative terms, but you'll get the idea.
Go to http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/GenSetup/Nuts/nuts1.html
for a much more definitive look at nuts. Look at the page link for "checking the action at the nut". This is also a very good one to see how it works.
Cheers,
Pete