You have to file the nut on your brand new replacement Fender neck yourself!!!

[gjones]

According to this video, the replacement necks Fender are selling, don't have the nuts filed ready to play. That's very disappointing. I'd expect more from Fender.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=racmaWTYvNg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=racmaWTYvNg[/url]

[JapanAxe]

As long as the nut slots have been started, it seems fair enough to me that you (or your chosen) tech should have the final say in the guitar's set-up, of which nut slot depth is a significant part.

Plus you can always get MDP to do it for you:

[Green Alsatian]

MDP's nut-jobs always remind me of this:

[icastle]

What are they supposed to file them down to?

[xilddx]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1380661885' post='2228754']
As long as the nut slots have been started, it seems fair enough to me that you (or your chosen) tech should have the final say in the guitar's set-up, of which nut slot depth is a significant part.

Plus you can always get MDP to do it for you:


[/quote]

Is that a nut or a piece of fried squid? Ridiculous.

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1380663422' post='2228788']
What are they supposed to file them down to?
[/quote]

They'd have to put them on a body, string 'em up, file them to what they think the customer might want, take them off.

Then fill the neck bolt holes so the customer doesn't complain they're getting a second hand neck.

Looking at the way the nut is filed on my old Fenders, I reckon we should be glad Fender don't do it.

Edited October 2, 2013 by Fat Rich

[stoo]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1380711683' post='2229243']
They'd have to put them on a body, string 'em up, file them to what they think the customer might want, take them off.

Then fill the neck bolt holes so the customer doesn't complain they're getting a second hand neck.

Looking at the way the nut is filed on my old Fenders, I reckon we should be glad Fender don't do it.
[/quote]

Is their fretwork so bad that they couldn't judge the required nut slot height from the line of the fret crowns?

[discreet]

Mighty Mite et al have fully prepared nuts on their aftermarket (and Fender-licenced) necks... don't they?

Snort! I said 'nuts'.

[Stacker]

Guess you'll have to stone/dress the frets, too? I know I had to with a Mighty Mite Jazz neck.

[ras52]

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1380710165' post='2229213']
That's one of his neater efforts.
[/quote]

I thought it was his dentures...

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1380659663' post='2228687']
According to this video, the replacement necks Fender are selling, don't have the nuts filed ready to play. That's very disappointing. I'd expect more from Fender.
[/quote]

They are going to dictate your string gauge, tuning, playing style, action preference etc. to you too?

[ras52]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1380721004' post='2229500']
They are going to dictate your string gauge, tuning, playing style, action preference etc. to you too?
[/quote]

And yet... isn't that what they do when then ship complete instruments?

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1380722195' post='2229532']
And yet... isn't that what they do when then ship complete instruments?
[/quote]

So in short, they shouldn't supply spares, and only supply complete instruments. Which is how I recall they worked for a great deal of time (hence licensing other companies to make spares). Its appropriate to when they ship complete instruments, since any other way, they would no longer be 'complete'.

[Stacker]

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1380720767' post='2229496']
I thought it was his dentures...
[/quote]

[url="http://www.drbukk.com/content/34-dr-bukk-styles"]Like these?[/url] I think he's at work there, too!

[fretmeister]

[quote name='stoo' timestamp='1380717205' post='2229405']


Is their fretwork so bad that they couldn't judge the required nut slot height from the line of the fret crowns?
[/quote]

Do you want them to guess about your bridge height and whether you need a shim?

Or even whether you are fitting it to an official fender body?

Anyway the fret height is irrelevant until your choice of strings are on it and up to tension AND you have set the truss rod how you like it.

[stoo]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1380750734' post='2230212']
Do you want them to guess about your bridge height and whether you need a shim?

Or even whether you are fitting it to an official fender body?

Anyway the fret height is irrelevant until your choice of strings are on it and up to tension AND you have set the truss rod how you like it.
[/quote]

Fair point about the string choice as gauges will have a small effect on the width of the slots required, but I'm struggling to see how any of the rest of it would have any effect?

As far as I can work out, the base of the nut slots ought to be at the same height as if there were a zero fret - any lower than that is obviously not going to work, and any higher is only going to make it harder to get intonation setup properly..... no?

If you're playing so hard that you need a massive step up from the 1st fret to the nut to avoid fret buzz while playing open strings, then what happens when you're playing at the 1st fret?

[6v6]

To be fair, many of their complete instruments arrive requiring setup attention such as cutting the nut or a fret dress, so I don't see why the replacement parts would be any different.

(Before I get flamed, no I'm not a Fender hater, I even bought a brand new Fender recently and the setup was initially pretty bad but OK after some basic adjustments. It won't be perfect until it gets a proper luthier setup which will involve cutting the nut slightly and dressing the frets to allow a lower action, same as the replacement parts. It does sound great tho )

[Fat Rich]

Also people building a custom instrument might want custom string spacing.

I prefer the very slightly tighter spacing on my 70s Jazz (due to the neck bindings reducing the width of the nut) than the more standard 60 reissues.

But the main reason is probably money. It's one less process they need to do, and one less thing that could go wrong and result in the neck being returned.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Fat Rich

[goingdownslow]

[quote name='stoo' timestamp='1380753527' post='2230286']
Fair point about the string choice as gauges will have a small effect on the width of the slots required, but I'm struggling to see how any of the rest of it would have any effect?

As far as I can work out, the base of the nut slots ought to be at the same height as if there were a zero fret - any lower than that is obviously not going to work, and any higher is only going to make it harder to get intonation setup properly..... no?

If you're playing so hard that you need a massive step up from the 1st fret to the nut to avoid fret buzz while playing open strings, then what happens when you're playing at the 1st fret?
[/quote]

This is also how I see it.
I can't see the need for the amount of adjustment available on my Warwick Thumb basses. I would prefer to have a zero fret.

[Spike Vincent]

All valid points as to why the nuts aren't filed, yet the aftermarket Fender nuts are?