bobmartin Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I've recently bought a Ibanez SRH 500F which looks like it has a graphite nut. There's a tone difference between the open string sound and the same notes played on the fingerboard, which I'd like to reduce a little. The f/b is made from Panga Panga, would a nut made from a similar hardwood do the trick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Isn't there always a difference in the tone of a fretted note over an open note? I even had a bass with an ebony nut and a purple-heart fingerboard (fretless), the 2 were different on that too. I don't think I've ever had a bass which didn't have a difference. (Over 50 basses). One thing you'll never replicate with the 2 is a fretted note has a squidgy thing on the string, that will soften the ringing of the note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmartin Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 1 hour ago, Grangur said: I don't think I've ever had a bass which didn't have a difference. (Over 50 basses). One thing you'll never replicate with the 2 is a fretted note has a squidgy thing on the string, that will soften the ringing of the note. I used to play the D/Bass and the difference between the an open note and a f/b note was less. it's nothing to do with vibrato or string effects, it's the brilliance of the open string that stands out. The string is going to go duller in time I guess.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 (edited) The string will go more dull over time. I guess, there's nothing to be lost in getting a wood nut made if you have access to a guy who can make one. I did have some ebony laying around. If I can find it I'll drop you a line. After all, you can always change it back, it's not life changing like a body rout would be. Something I have found is a lot of the fretless sound is down to technique; more so than a fretted bass. The more you play it, the more you will settle down in "your sound". This may well be the same for DB, but I'm not a DB player. Edited June 28, 2018 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmartin Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 21 minutes ago, Grangur said: The more you play it, the more you will settle down in "your sound". This may well be the same for DB, but I'm not a DB player. I've played 2 jazz gigs on it now, with people that I played with when I was a D/B player, and they accepted the new sound positively. Thanks for the kind (ebony) offer, I'll give it a little time to see how the strings settle in, they are Chromes 40-100 by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmartin Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 I found a simple solution, which is inserting s piece of fine string under the strings and pushing it up to the nut. Works a treat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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