tommorichards Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Im may be thinking of upgrading a few aspects of my main bass, and i saw an ad for these. Besides being made of brass, is the height adjustment bit useful? And are they any good on the whole compared to any other brass nut. or even bone. (i have an old dog bone that is the right size.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Have had all three just-a-nut models at one time or another. To be honest, if you get a standard nut cut right in the first place you're not missing anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Just-a-nuts 1 and 3 are both great, however avoid just-a-nut 2s as they are made of plastic and the guiding rails snap off plus it has sharp corners. IMO a nut is a nut is a nut, but as far as good ones go, the JAN 3 is probably one of the best out there IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markorbit Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 If you like swapping strings and trying out different gauges (recently I've been experimenting between TI Flats, Jamerson LaBellas and Roto88s amongst others) an adjustable nut would be very useful. I've broken two 'bone' nuts on the G side over the last year or two so I've just bought a couple of Just a Nuts for a project bass I'm working on. Personally I think this part of the bass SHOULD be adjustable, just like the bridge saddles and intonation, so I'm giving one a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I had the JANII on my old Corvette which was handy, however it suffered the usual problem of the plastic retainers snapping off. Doesn't hinder the bass in any way but was annoying, as were the sharp corners which needed rounding off. Currently have the original brass one on my Fortress, much better and each string is adjustable which is great. Dunno if i'd retro-fit one over a decent standard nut, but nice to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Probably useful if you're a persistant tinkerer or like experimenting with different strings. Personally, I just set an instrument up so it plays nicely for me with my usual strings and just leave it alone after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1225690' date='May 9 2011, 11:17 PM']Probably useful if you're a persistant tinkerer or like experimenting with different strings.[/quote] Or not. I've got the original brass JaN on my Thumb and strung it with 100-45 slinkies recently - the 65 gauge D is a teeny bit too big for the slot and catches as I tune it. The height adjustment also isn't very useful because half a turn equates to quite a lot of height, and the individual brass saddles sometimes get stuck - I noticed my E doesn't move at the moment, not that it matters... I would agree with the above that a good nut cut to the right height is all you need. Also despite the nut being brass and the frets being brass, open strings don't sound like a zero fret, they still sound like they're stopped at a nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepbass5 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) Doctor J, Is on the mark, I bought my Warwick Streamer second hand, with broken JANII so needed replacing. I looked up on the Warwick site down loaded the info. And the JAN III is better but never had to adjust it. Much prefer a zero fret and a nut as a string guide. My opinion is you are after good solid contact why have a nut that is pivoting on two Allen keys? And falls off when you take your strings off. Any good fixed nut is better Bone or brass. Thomann.de were the cheapest i found if you do go ahead. but i bought other things to make up postage Edited May 17, 2011 by deepbass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1225855' date='May 10 2011, 09:13 AM']Or not. I've got the original brass JaN on my Thumb and strung it with 100-45 slinkies recently - the 65 gauge D is a teeny bit too big for the slot and catches as I tune it. The height adjustment also isn't very useful because half a turn equates to quite a lot of height, and the individual brass saddles sometimes get stuck - I noticed my E doesn't move at the moment, not that it matters... I would agree with the above that a good nut cut to the right height is all you need. Also despite the nut being brass and the frets being brass, open strings don't sound like a zero fret, they still sound like they're stopped at a nut.[/quote] You can actually buy the different brass inserts to cope with guage changes. However - like anything new with Warwick written on it - not cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 [quote name='lemmywinks' post='1226241' date='May 10 2011, 02:42 PM']You can actually buy the different brass inserts to cope with guage changes. However - like anything new with Warwick written on it - not cheap.[/quote] I did email Warwick to ask if they did these and where I could get them, but I never heard back. Suppose I could've pursued it a bit more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1226248' date='May 10 2011, 02:50 PM']I did email Warwick to ask if they did these and where I could get them, but I never heard back. Suppose I could've pursued it a bit more...[/quote] That's strange, they're usually really good at replying, last time i got an email from Hans Peter Wilfer. Here's the link anyway, 3 different guages: [url="http://shop.warwick.de/product_info.php?info=p1506_Screw-for-Brass-Just-A-Nut.html"]http://shop.warwick.de/product_info.php?in...Just-A-Nut.html[/url] Much cheaper than i remembered too so i take my above comment back, they're quite reasonably priced IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If you don't tinker and are set on one gauge of strings then I'd personally go for a well cut well fitted nut BUT if you tinker and adjusting your relief/action or are into changing gauges for differing situations then they can be a good thing. I have the JAN I nut on my Warwicks and I love it and I'm a bit peeved that I don't have one on another of my basses as I'm going to have to knock the nut of and shim/file it. As has been said, the JAN II is probably best avoided! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XylemBassGuitar Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 It seems to me like the height-adjustability feature is dangerous. As long as the height of the nut was set correctly to begin with, leaving about .01" - .005" (.25mm - .13mm) between the first fret and string when the third fret is pressed, you will probably never have to change its height again, even if you change your string gauges. It seems to me that a more useful feature would be adjustable slot widths (though I'm not sure how you'd do this). Also keep in mind that you aren't really getting and special tonal effects from a nut during any time that you are fretting a note; you only really hear the nut on the open strings. I would spend the extra money on a standard nut [i]blank[/i] of your choice material and have a good tech or luthier cut it to fit your bass really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 My warwick i think has the JANII, it snapped once in almost 5 years of ownership (only 6 months ago or so) and was repaired very cheaply by a proper dealer, I think with the same thing. Other than that, I've never had cause to even touch it (hell I didn't know it was adjustable until it broke and I looked it up). IMO that's a good thing, that it was set up just right, but I would say that if you don't need the adjustability, don't splash out on the extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 Well from the replies, it seems like uits mainly for constant string rotation. However, i think im going to go for a home made bone or brass nut. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommorichards Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Well, i went with a bone nut. I just finished making it today. Heres a picture of it finished And heres my build thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=138446"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=138446[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I LOVE the JANs. JAN III is by miles the best design. Warwick admitted the JAN I had a number of design faults, the stupid screw design being the main one, the JAN II was total sh*t, sharp edge, and the retainers broke off. But the JAN III is fabulous. I have had the moulded one and currently have the brass one. The brass one is lovely but the moulded one is just as good, it's purely a looks and money issue I reckon. I think the height adjustment is useful, just for getting the optimum set up. The four string only comes in 38mm (Jazz Bass nut width) so bear that in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I bought a JAN2 for my Warmoth gecko 5-string as I was never particularly happy with the nut height when i put it together, and a proper luthier helped me set it up. I spent a long time tinkering with the neck and the action and the saddles and nut height, now its sweet as a ...a nut, and the JAN has been a great help in dialling on a really slick low action. Construction looks a little less than robust but mine's lasted well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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