Sibob Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 (edited) Are they literally just for giving open strings a more even sound compared to fretted notes? Or are there other areas that can benefit from them? This may or may-not* be related to the next neck build for my jazz project! Cheers Si * it is related Edited October 26, 2008 by Sibob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Zero frets are supposed to solve set up issues with setting nut height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Cheers CK, I think it might be worth going down this route, certainly if it's an feature that takes little effort to include in a build. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwilym Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 hi Si I've got one bass that has a zero fret. Although it is probably to do (as you suggested) with evening out the sound, so that open string sound sounds close to the fretted sound of the bass, I also thought this was an integral part of the Buzz Feinten tuning system, but I've never thought to confirm this. Sound wise, I think it's a very close call, as long as you've got a decently set up nut, which i wouldn't have thought should be a major issue. I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep on whether to include a zero fret in a build or not. cheers G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Likewise brass nuts were popular at one time to make open strings sound more like fretted notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 I have a zero fret on my bass and have had a couple of others in the past. The idea seems to be more popular among European luthers. The basses with the zero fret have all been very consistent note to note and open to fretted, but I think it is mainly just a way of doing things. Like G says, I wouldn't lose sleep but personally given my experience I would have one given the choice. Cheers ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 I have two basses with them. They seem to be necessary/helpful on headless basses. In addition to the sounding issue and possible ease of set-up, they may well help to reduce wear on the nut (but is this an issue?) Am I right in thinking that they're usually made of a harder material than regular frets? Common sense says that they ought to be, as the strings bear on the Zero all the time. I realise that the majority of the vibration occurs between the "fretted" point and the bridge, but nonetheless... Also remember that (on a 34" scale) the Zero fret would be at the 34" mark, the nut's a bit further north still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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