I had a Zero Glide Zero Fret Nut installed on my 68 Epiphone SG Clone by the luthier who does ALL of my guitar work Scott Thompson at String Craft - here in Memphis . 1st off I have to say that this guitar is one of my go-to guitars the others being my 1964 handmade Mosrite Celebrity Prototype and an early 80 s Mexican Telecaster. Upon getting my guitar back with the new Zero Glide installed I plugged it into my 65 Blackface Deluxe Reverb with a JBL D120f and I was IMMEDIATELY blow away by the improvement in the TONE of this guitar... It was pretty good before BUT now it is piano like ... The tone blew me away not to mention the improvement in ACTION... You see I am a BIG proponent of Zero Frets due to my Mosrite which is the standard by which I judge all others but I was not ready for the massive improvement that was realized by the installation of the Zero Glide Zero Fret Nut on this guitar. I have used this guitar now on a couple of gigs and am STILL blown away. OH tun
I just installed a Zero Glide Nut on my '14 Les Paul Studio. I was having trouble with the traditional *tink* and tuning issues often associated with Gibsons. Initially, I was going to try the new titanium nut made by Gibson but was told that it would not fit my '14 Les Paul. Keep in mind, I have never installed a nut before on a guitar where I needed to remove the old one. I had only fixed broken nuts in the past. I say this because I had a little anxiety when I decided to install the nut myself. The first thing I noticed was how much extra material must be sanded to get a perfect fit. For my application, I had to sand the bottom of the nut as well to get the fret to seat properly against the fret board. This may sound bad, but it is a good thing! It means that the folks at Stew-Mac realize (as I hope you do) that although these are precision instruments, there are many parts that are finished out by hand. The extra material allows for those minor variations and with a little work,
I bought a Gold Tone OB 150 Masterclone banjo that is equipped with a Zero Glide nut. This nut is amazing. YES it will help with tone. No more string binding with Zero Glide. Ever notice on a new instrument how when you are tuning up and on occasion you hear a sound like a string is catching in the slot You will not have that issue with Zero Glide. Once you actually play an instrument with a Zero Glide nut you will notice some differences. You may want to outfit all of your stringed instruments to Zero Glide. No need for slot files to set the action at the nut side of the neck. No more smoothing out string slots with high dollar files that snap really easy. No more using graphite or grease on the nut. Zero Glide takes care of that. Might be the first healthy choice for a nut for your instrument. Get one and install it. You will love it.
An inexperienced guitar tech worked on the nut of my Guild M75 Aristocrat electric and I ended up with a "sitar" sound on my high E string and a dead G string and bad intonation. A friend recommended Zero Glide and that company recommended this particular nut.
Installation was not particularly difficult for a handy guy, but took two hours and involved sanding nearly 1/8 inch off the bottom of the new nut and 1/16th plus off each side while being careful to keep it even. The video on the company website helps. Once fitted correctly you decide how big of a 'zero fret' you want. There are four of different sizes in the package. I tried them all and found that the smaller ones provide very low action at the nut (which is nice), but require a higher action up the neck to clear the first fret where the strings can rattle. I ended up using the largest fret provided as it allowed me low action where I need it. Once you have it figured out you trim the zero fret to length and glue it
$39.99
ZS-14 Slotted Replacement Nut for Guitars
Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 3018 [model] => ZS-14 [quickbooks_model] => Zero Glide:Slotted:ZS14 Bone [preferred_vendor] => Dalian Mantech Guitar Co.,Ltd (Samsung) [preferred_vendor_list_id] => 80001B3F-1324671482 [base_model] => [labels] => Bone,Black Delrin +$10;Right-Handed,Left-Handed [var_matrix] => 0,0 [visible] => 1 [is_zeroglide] => 1 [is_slotted] => 1 [brand] => zeroglide [type] => products [category] => guitar [sub_category] => universal [instrument] => guitar-slide [product_url] => zs-14 [old_url] => http://www.zeroglide.com/product/zs-14-guitar-slotted/ [product_name] => ZS-14 Slotted for Guitars [product_title] => ZS-14 Slotted Replacement Nut for Guitars [net] => 18 [retail] => 0 [mapp] => 39.99 [cost] => 4.25 [sellable] => 1 [left_hand] => 0 [stock] => 110 [reorder_point] => 0 [qty_on_hand] => 117 [qty_on_so] => 7 [effective_qty_on_so] => 7 [qty_on_po] => 0 [qty_sold_1_months] => 1 [qty_sold_3_months] => 2 [qty_sold_6_months] => 7 [qty_sold_7_months] => 115 [qty_sold_8_months] => 116 [qty_sold_9_months] => 128 [qty_sold_10_months] => 132 [qty_sold_11_months] => 154 [qty_sold_12_months] => 82 [addons] => 3083,3084,3085,3086 [weight] => 0.10 [length] => 5 [width] => 4 [height] => 1 [product_description] =>The Zero Glide Replacement Nut System borrows the "zero fret" concept to reduce string contact in the nut by up to 93%, increasing tuning stability, playability, and open string tone. It only takes a few minutes to install with absolutely no permanent alteration to your instrument. For Guitar.
Also available in Black Delrin.
[product_length] => 46.5mm (1-53/64") [radius] => 16" [production_height] => 9.5mm (3/8") [height_end] => 8.8mm (11/32") [fingerboard] => 7.3mm (9/32") [thickness] => 5.9mm (15/64") [fret_size] => L, M, H, J (.035", .039", .043", .051") [string_spacing] => 37.5mm (1-15/32") [string_gauges] => .056", .046", .036", .026", .018", .014" [special_notes] => [product_option_labels] => Material;Hand [product_option_0] => Bone [product_option_1] => Right [product_option_2] => [is_on_forecasting_report] => 1 [img_urls] => 1-front.jpg,2-back.jpg,3-diagram.jpg [alt_info] => [alt_product_id] => 0 [upc] => 875116002985 [reverb_category_uuid] => 1f99c852-9d20-4fd3-a903-91da9c805a5e [sync_with_reverb] => 1 [always_in_stock] => 1 ) )