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Thread: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

  1. #1
    Registered User Terry Allan Hall's Avatar
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    Default Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?



    The skinny being that the Zero Glide Replacement Nut Systems borrows the “zero fret” concept to reduce nut friction by 93% increasing tuning stability, playability, and open string tone.

    Easily installs in minutes with no permanent alteration to your fretted instrument whatsoever.

    Available preslotted to fit common string spacings and unslotted to fit everything else.


    Apparently, it'll be like the "zero fret" on various European instruments (Framus, Hagstrom, Hoyer, Hofner, etc.)...may put one on The Poorman's EM150, and if I like it, possibly my GM50 Gold Tone.

    http://www.zeroglide.com/

    Anyone else try it/consider it?

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    Mediocre but OK with that Paul Busman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    I'm intrigued. I look forward to reports from those who have done it.
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    Mandolin User Andy Miller's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    I guess you could make that work as well as a well-made bone nut, but I think it would be more work!

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    Registered User Rodney Riley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Interesting... veerwry interesting...

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    Registered User Tavy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Now there's a funny thing.... I'm actually a big big fan of zero frets, but the whole idea of them is that you level the zero fret at the same time as all the others and then get a perfect setup every time. But with this system you can't do that - in fact it might even be harder to get that zero fret to the right height.

    Just my 2c worth... John.

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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    The ad says they will send three frets of different heights and also ask for measurements if your mandolin isn`t the same spacing as what they advertise..

    I like the idea myself but will wait until someone else tries it and lets me know how they work....But for 30 bucks it might be worth a try....

    Willie

  7. #7
    Registered User Terry Allan Hall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by Willie View Post
    The ad says they will send three frets of different heights and also ask for measurements if your mandolin isn`t the same spacing as what they advertise..

    I like the idea myself but will wait until someone else tries it and lets me know how they work....But for 30 bucks it might be worth a try....

    Willie
    My thinking, as well...

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    Slow your roll. greg_tsam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    $30 bucks for the kit but you have to pay your local luthier for installation unless you DIY..
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    If the Zeroglide's zero fret is shaped like a normal fret, wouldn't the point at which the strings make contact be slightly further from the first fret than the original nut (assuming the nut was perpendicular)? If so, the Zeroglide would need to be installed closer to the first fret than the original nut or the open string would be a little flat relative to the fretted notes. Maybe the difference wouldn't be noticeable.

    Might make more sense if the instrument was built with this nut in mind. I have a few instruments with zero frets and I like them.

    Patrick

  10. #10

    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Interesting product, but like others here, I'll wait and see if it really does do anything better than a traditional nut. So the jury's out, but I'll be watching for the verdict.

    rm

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    Registered User Malcolm G.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    [QUOTE=PseudoCelt;1039561]If the Zeroglide's zero fret is shaped like a normal fret, wouldn't the point at which the strings make contact be slightly further from the first fret than the original nut (assuming the nut was perpendicular)? If so, the Zeroglide would need to be installed closer to the first fret than the original nut or the open string would be a little flat relative to the fretted notes. Maybe the difference wouldn't be noticeable.
    Might make more sense if the instrument was built with this nut in mind. I have a few instruments with zero frets and I like them.



    Looks like the nut is relieved to compensate for the fret's dimensions.

    When filing 8 slots in a bone nut, it can be difficult to get all contact points to be exactly equal. This is a solution.

    I am sorely tempted.
    Malcolm Grundy from Montreal

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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm G. View Post
    Looks like the nut is relieved to compensate for the fret's dimensions.
    Yes, I think you're right. I found it hard to tell from the mandolin image, but some of the other images on the website are clearer.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    I too will wait for further reports, but it seems to me that making a nut thin enough to accommodate the addition fret would result in a pretty weak nut. Long ago I had a nut that broke off the thin pieces that separate the courses. There's not a whole lot of material there to start with, but of course, modern materials might make up for that.

    BTW, I am also a big fan of zero frets. At one time a friend told me that they were the mark of a poorly made instrument, but I disagree. If you want the open strings to sound just like the stopped strings, you need to have them stopped against the same material, IMO.

    If Gold Tone stays true to course, we'll probably see this on all their instruments eventually.
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    Registered User Marc Berman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim2723 View Post
    There's not a whole lot of material there to start with, but of course, modern materials might make up for that.
    I think the ZerO Glide nut is bone.
    Marc B.

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    Destroyer of Mandolins
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    In that case I would have reservations. Unfounded at this point I admit, but nevertheless...

    If it were some high-tech super resin or something I'd give it a better chance. But as I said, I'll wait for now. I prefer to spend my money once others have done the deed. Cowardly, yes, but practical. I am, after all, phlegmatic by reputation and a natural skeptic according to reliable authority.

    Besides, if it provides a zero fret there's no good reason to make it out of anything except a material that would best do the job, since it cannot contribute to the tone otherwise. Bone (or pearl or horn or whatever) would become irrelevant. The material of the nut portion drops out of the equation, it then serving only to align and maintain proper spacing.
    Last edited by Tim2723; Apr-04-2012 at 10:31am.
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    I agree with Tim, it could be made out of metal and then it wouldn`t break like he said a bone one did that he tried in the past....I have filed and messed with bone nuts a few times because the strings didn`t ride in the slots equally so I think this an idea worth trying....

    Willie

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    Registered User Terry Allan Hall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Berman View Post
    I think the ZerO Glide nut is bone.
    I've been told it's Tusq, but I've found no info confirming that...just sent off an email inquiring, will post answer when it comes.

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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Anyone tried a Gold Tone Mandolin yet? zero glide or no.

    They seem to be coming up at reasonable (relative I know) prices.

    Just askin.

  19. #19
    Registered User Terry Allan Hall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Berman View Post
    I think the ZerO Glide nut is bone.
    Just heard back that they are, indeed, bone.

    ****************************
    Quote Originally Posted by epicentre View Post
    Anyone tried a Gold Tone Mandolin yet? zero glide or no.

    They seem to be coming up at reasonable (relative I know) prices.

    Just askin.
    Play a GM50, myself...am only judging from this one, and from having played a borrowed Banjitar for a few months, but I feel Gold Tones are excellent instruments for the money, much better than their prices would indicate.

    Last edited by Terry Allan Hall; Apr-04-2012 at 3:35pm.

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    rock in rôle Paul Statman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    I'm so excited. I didn't want to replace the fretboard (again) to have a zero fret. At the next re-fret (or naughty nut behavior, whichever occurs first) I'll be installing one.
    *Don't hold your breath, those of you who are waiting for guinea pig feedback -not just yet!

  21. #21
    Registered User Gerry Hastie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by mandopixie View Post
    I'm so excited. I didn't want to replace the fretboard (again) to have a zero fret. At the next re-fret (or naughty nut behavior, whichever occurs first) I'll be installing one.
    *Don't hold your breath, those of you who are waiting for guinea pig feedback -not just yet!
    I'm sure you'll be an excellent guinea pig and we'll look forward to the results when you get round to having it fitted. This just seems like a good idea. Are Gold Tone producing their instruments with this nut as standard?
    GerryHastie

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  22. #22
    Registered User Terry Allan Hall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gerry Hastie View Post
    I'm sure you'll be an excellent guinea pig and we'll look forward to the results when you get round to having it fitted. This just seems like a good idea. Are Gold Tone producing their instruments with this nut as standard?
    Don't think so, at least at this point, but at one of my favorite pickin' parlors, the proprietor, who first told me about the ZerO Glide, is convinced that they will be, starting in 2013.

    No idea where he got that info or how accurate it is.

  23. #23
    Registered User Bryan Gunsher BG Pups's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    I've installed one on my Eastman 315. I used the pre slotted one and it was a touch too wide for me. The e string would slide off of the fret edge. But Eastman'shave slightly thinner fretboards compared to most other mandolins. This should fit better with other mandos. I was able to get a very nice setup. They do provide 3 frets to choose from for getting close to the same size fret as stock. The biggest downfall to me is that it makes the tone much thinner. I replaced the Zero Glide nut yesterday with a new bone nut and the tonal difference is huge. All of my tone came back with the new bone nut. All in all it does do what they claim but I didn't like the fit or tone that it provided to my mandolin.

  24. #24
    Ursus Mandolinus Fretbear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    It is interesting, but I don't see how this offers any advantages over an expertly set-up nut, and do see one thing that gives me pause. I have had to replace more than one mandolin spacer that was fit along with a zero fret, because one of the dividers between the strings having broken off. There is no direct downward string pressure on the spacer of a zero fret as there is on a conventional nut, and if they are too thin the sideways pressure of playing can snap those dividers off quite easily. As has been noted, this design requires the spacer to be thinner than a conventional nut would be.
    The "reduce nut friction by 93% increasing tuning stability, playability, and open string tone" is strictly marketing and the truth is that a conventional nut (that is perfectly dialed in) already delivers all three.
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    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone trying the Gold Tone Zeroglide nut yet?

    From Fretbear - "....an expertly set up nut...".Zero frets have been used on guitars for donkey's years. Refering to Fretbear's comment,one of the reasons for using a zero fret,was to make it cheaper to install the nut,which was usually maybe less than good re.it's slotting depth.The slots could be too deep,it didn't matter,the fret set the height. Many makers of high end guitars such a Gretsch have used zero frets on their instruments. I've no doubt that maybe they felt that there was some benefit,but i think that a lot of it was to do with convincing folk that it made their instruments 'superior' in some way.I see the addition of a zero fret as just another thing to wear out & to require eventual replacement.If you like the idea,give it a try,if not .....
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