Annoying Twit Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) How would an ABM adjustible brass nut work? [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/abm_6260_webster_nut_bass.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...er_nut_bass.htm[/url] I can see that there are screws/bolts to screw down, but the slots are all the same size. How would that work on a six string bass, given that the strings are all very different sizes? Edited September 17, 2013 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Take a closer look at the pic. The grooves on the screws have different sizes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) It's interesting that the new Warwick adjustable nut (below), and the Alembic nut, uses a different method to this. The grooves in a well cut nut usually fall off slightly towards the headstock to give good string contact and a clear witness point at the front. The ABM adjustable screw method doesn't allow for this. The difference is probably minimal but there is a compromise of sorts going on here to achieve individual string adjustment. [attachment=143947:Warwick adjustable nut.JPG] Edited September 17, 2013 by ikay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1379416942' post='2212336'] Take a closer look at the pic. The grooves on the screws have different sizes [/quote] Thanks. They don't look VERY different sizes, but I see your point. You rotate the screws so that one of the grooves is orientated correctly to lay the string in. From looking at the picture, I thought that particularly the bass string grooves were much to small to put the strings in, and that they must lay on top. BTW: In theory it should be possible to get a clear witness point on the ABM nut if the screws don't lie horizontal, but are slightly angled so that the groove will be highest at the fretboard end. That doesn't mean that they will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I just can't see a great advantage in a nut like this, if a nut is filed correctly (most of them are) there's not much need to adjust nut height! I would go for the Just-a-nut III example that ikay posted, with height ajustment on each end of the nut we can set the overall height pretty decently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) Take a look at the grooves on almost any bridge, it just has to be deep enough to stop the string moving from side to side. It's more of a problem on the bridge as plucking hard could pull the string out of the groove, less of a problem at the nut. I agree an adjustable nut is a bit unnecessary and I had one for a while, set it once and never adjusted it again. Pretty pointless IMO. Edited September 17, 2013 by Fat Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I ordered three of these (4 & 5 string bass and 6 string guitar) to test on some instruments i'm currently building and i can say that i don't like the way they set up at all. On paper they sound great but you have to file a groove in to match each string and once you do they no longer turn / adjust very easily. The warwick version looks far better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) [quote name='CHRISDABASS' timestamp='1379502771' post='2213366'] I ordered three of these (4 & 5 string bass and 6 string guitar) to test on some instruments i'm currently building and i can say that i don't like the way they set up at all. On paper they sound great but you have to file a groove in to match each string and once you do they no longer turn / adjust very easily. [/quote] That's the sort of thing I wanted to know. I'm forgetting the idea of an ABM adjustable nut. [quote] The warwick version looks far better [/quote] It probably is, but I believe that they are over a hundred quid. At least the brass ones are. I'm thinking what to do nut-wise for a bass that cost £60. A filed plastic nut appears to be a proportionate strategy. The plastic JANIII is about £23, but that's still more than the £2 or so that I can buy a non-adjustable nut for. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_just_a_nut_iii_5string_45_mm.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...tring_45_mm.htm[/url] Edited September 18, 2013 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) [quote name='CHRISDABASS' timestamp='1379502771' post='2213366'] I ordered three of these (4 & 5 string bass and 6 string guitar) to test on some instruments i'm currently building and i can say that i don't like the way they set up at all. On paper they sound great but you have to file a groove in to match each string and once you do they no longer turn / adjust very easily. The warwick version looks far better [/quote] The more you file the grooves down the more you have to undo the screwy bits to get the action right. The less unscrewed they are the more loose they become. The looser they become the more often you end up readjusting them because they've moved when you changed the strings. I've a vague recollection one fell out completely and disappeared under a sofa when I had to change strings in a hurry and that was probably when I decided to bin it. I'm remembering now I don't like these things at all! Edited September 18, 2013 by Fat Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 I've purchased some needle files today. Now to do some filing of a non-adjustable nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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