Zero glide nut? Basically a fret added to the nut. Thoughts?

[Fire]

It's basically a fret added to the nut. has anyone used this?

It supposedly allows for really low action and the same string sound open as when fretted.

I think this might be great on my mando, but what about on my electric? The low E string might buzz.

Here is the link to it. The page actually plays the video of the install.

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/

[MikeEdgerton]

Isn't that basically a zero fret?

[sblock]

Well, a correctly made nut will hold the string no higher (or inconsequentially higher) than a zero fret will. If adding a zero nut results in lowering your action, then chances are good that your original nut was not properly optimized!

Zero nuts work fine on all instruments, including on electric guitars. And no, the strings will not buzz if you add one -- not unless you already have other problems, like a neck that isn't quite straight or has the wrong amount of relief in it, or an early fret that stands up too high.

Some people love zero frets because they are simple and easy. Others dislike them for (mainly) aesthetic reasons. Plus, with a zero fret, you still usually need some kind of a guide to keep the strings in place (from moving sideways), so the zero fret often has to be backed up with something that looks quite a bit like ... a nut. So, a real nut serves both purposes: it prevents up-down and sideways motion on the top end of the string while positioning it properly.

The zeroglide nut is basically a zero fret with an integral nut-style guide behind it. But, unlike a zero fret (which gets leveled like all other frets), the height of the zeroglide has to be adjusted very carefully at installation time. And if you need to do that, then you are not really saving much work over the alternative possibility, which is simply to use a regular nut and cut the nut slots to the correct depth -- which is the height of a fret! Many folks therefore view this system as superfluous.

These things sell mostly to folks who own low-end instruments that come with badly cut nuts. They can be installed (usually) without professional help. They do work. But so does fixing your nut!

[Rodney Riley]

...but what about on my electric? The low E string might buzz.

Shouldn’t buzz. These take the guesswork out of getting the slots at the right depth when filing them. All stings are at the same level above the finger board. As long as the first fret is seated and level. All strings will be the same distance away from that fret. Down the neck where the lower E string of a guitar would need vibrating room, you might have to raise the bridge to stop any buzzing. Neck relief should actually stop it from happening, but every instrument has it’s issues.
Thanks sblock, explained it better than me.

[Mark Gunter]

Just an FYI - a two page discussion on this last year: https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...%2Bglide%2Bnut

[Fire]

Thanks guys.

[G7MOF]

It makes it easier to set the nut slots as you can't then over file the slots to deeply.
Fylde mandolins in the UK have used this for many years

[Rodney Riley]

Hoffman Lutherie uses pins in his ukulele nuts. Like this one he used on my Mandolin. Can change string sizes at any time with no worries about slot sizes.

[Bill McCall]

Gypsy guitars have been built this way for well over 50 years. Hasn't seemed to hinder anyone's playing.

They also allow for a more even tone across all fretted notes, as the open string is essentially fretted as well.

ymmv

[Frankdolin]

Hoffman Lutherie uses pins in his ukulele nuts. Like this one he used on my Mandolin. Can change string sizes at any time with no worries about slot sizes.

Zero frets are fine, I'm not feelin' this at all. It really seems nuts, pun intended.

[sblock]

The pins rely on a bit of sideways tension too hold the strings in place against the pins, due to the fact that the tuning pegs are not in line with the nut positions. But this is not true of all pegheads (e.g., many guitars, some mandos), so it doesn't generalize. Furthermore, the string can buzz against these pins when struck hard. Then there is the problem of proper pin placement, which is harder to fix than simply cutting a nut slot. Also, the degree of sideways tension is not uniform across the strings, due to all the different alignments. It is, frankly, an inferior system, and there are very good reasons why most luthiers have not adopted it. Finally, in my opinion, the unsubstantiated assertion that this system somehow allows for "more even tone across the strings" is a complete load of bunk. Conventional nuts exist because they work exceedingly well, when cut properly, and are much easier to adjust or replace when necessary -- and they do NOT produce tonal artifacts across the strings.

[Bertram Henze]

...unlike a zero fret (which gets leveled like all other frets), the height of the zeroglide has to be adjusted very carefully at installation time. And if you need to do that, then you are not really saving much work over the alternative possibility, which is simply to use a regular nut and cut the nut slots to the correct depth -- which is the height of a fret!

I agree with this.

I am partial to real zero frets ever since I invented one on my TB one night in Ireland (scale too long, no capo, so I sawed the nut slots down into the fretboard wood until fret #1 became the new fret #0). The great benefit is that you never have to re-file or change the nut after a change of string gauge, because the slots don't need to be exactly cut - they just need to be wide enough for the strings. String binding never occurs either. This was a blessing in the years when I experimented a lot with different string gauges on my Fylde OM, and I don't think I'd buy an instrument without a zero fret ever again.

But you can't install a zero fret on an instrument that has none, because there is no room for it on the fretboard; this Zero Glide looks like a compromise, but not a convincing one.

[Jill McAuley]

Zero frets are not exclusive in inexpensive instruments - Herb Taylor uses them on his instruments.