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"If you really start to think about it, it's a totally logical way to do a string nut. If you want exactly the same tone on an open string and a fretted string there's nothing quite like putting a zero fret there. Wayne Rogers figured out how to take advantage of the zero fret concept and then make it easy to install on any fretted instrument."
Rick Turner, Celebrity Luthier and CEO of Rick Turner Guitar Company
rickturnerguitars.com
"I'm using a Zero Glide Fret that Wayne of Gold Tone is promoting. I tried it, and agreed it was an improvement on my banjo. I found it was a fuller sound. I'm a fan of that."
Béla Fleck, 16-Time Grammy Award Winning Banjoist
belafleck.com
May 25, 2021May 24, 2021April 26, 2017January 03, 2017This was my first attempt at installing a zero glide. It only took me about an hour to complete the install and I am very pleased with the tone of my open back banjo with the new zero glide nut!
December 17, 2016My third build and first time I used the zero fret, made filing the nut slots easier. The sound is markedly clearer than the other bone nuts I've used.
November 27, 2016Pretty easy to install - sand it down to fit - pick the fret that matches the rest of your fretboard - couldn't be easier!
November 16, 2016I've owned guitars with zero frets and always wondered why the idea never really caught on...For me,It improves the feel,tuning stability and playability..I was interested when I saw this device and wondered if it was something I would be capable of installing without risk to my acoustic... it turned out to be easier than I'd hoped..with just a small amount of sanding I had it installed in less than an hour...I'll be ordering at least one more to try out on one of my electrics..thanks Bob M.
November 09, 2016I installed this on a fender for my friend, he loves it.s like using a capo I recent bought a 12 string zero fret and installed it on my Kirk Sands classic nylon and It truly makes a difference in tuning. No slip and holds well. William clamp
November 07, 2016You'll have to file the nut down to fit your guitar and you'll wish you had a power tool to do that. Took me a couple of hours to file it down manually. Worth the effort, but I wouldn't want to do it again.
October 22, 2016Installed in a vintage Japanese Custom Shop Fender Tele. Great low action and better tuning stability. Easy install as well. Thanks for a great product.
October 15, 2016I bought the mandolin version and fitted it to my Gibson. There's a lot of extra material to remove, but the result was great. Easier tuning (the old nut had tight slots for the A strings), better intonation. Later I used one of the extra frets in the package to fix a tenor guitar. For that, I simply filed the necessary ledges in the existing nut and widened the string slots. It would be nice if Stew-Mac would also sell the offset tang frets separately, for retrofitting to an existing nut.
October 07, 2016I installed this on an old Alvarez acoustic that used to belong to my Dad. The strings had started to buzz badly and the bridge height was maxed out so I knew it must be the nut. Took about an hour to cut down the new nut and shape with the Drexel tool; sided/polished the frets and installed glide nut with the tallest feet wire. Worked like a charm and no more buzzing. Even lowed the bridge down to a reasonable height as well. Great product and easy to install.
October 07, 2016I've got a '67 Gretsch Country Gentleman that has what they called the zero fret. I had always wondered why didn't anybody else do this. I put this on my 2010 Gibson Lucille and it solved the nut drag problem. I'm also going to put it on my '76 Les Paul Deluxe. A great solution to an on going problem.
September 27, 2016Love the zero glide nut! It makes my open strings ring longer and clear like a fretted note making chords that incorporate both sound more even. It took almost no time to install on my stratocAster and I'm going to mod my Tele now too.
July 29, 2016Have you ever seen one of these? It's a ZeroFret nut. My new Strat was yummy, but had a buzzing G string when played open. I know G strings have caused problems the world over, but still? I took it back to ________, where the setup guy initially said he couldn't hear it, then asked 'what difference does it make'? He futzed with the neck relief and finally 'put some more material' (crazy glue?) in the G string nut groove, but it didn't resolve the problem, and the B string developed the same issue. So, I ordered a ZeroFret nut from Stewart MacDonald.These have a small shelf on the neck side of the nut, onto which you fit the appropriate sized fret wire. After some cutting, filing and sanding, the problem is solved, and the guitar has much purer tone and better sustain across all of the strings. I added some GraphTech saddles, locking tuners, and voila! My new favorite guitar.
July 08, 2016My old nut was too high. And I didn't want to buy 6 nut files. This Zero glide was much, MUCH cheaper, and it was an easy instal. I taped some 400 grit sandpaper to a plank I had laying around. Sand sand sand, check the fit, repeat. I tried each fret it came with and chose the jumbo. I consider this a major upgrade to my home built super strat.
June 27, 2016One for Fender Telecaster, the other for Breedlove acoustic. Both of these guitars are top 10 instruments. The Zero Glide nut improvement came through as described on Youtube demos. So much better string action (lower with out any fret buzz) Clarity in open string tone chords and pulloff plucking, faster tuning to pitch, using electronic tuner, remaining in pitch once strings stretch has settled in. I took my time to install on both guitars about 2 hours for each instrument. Have new custom Guitar that I will 99% sure I will add this improvement to soon. I see this becoming a standard upgrade to many popular manufactures. Lastly the sustain in open chords on all strings cant be described.
June 17, 2016Resolves the nut-string height issue with a simple and easy installation. Worked perfect on my Heritage 16.
May 15, 2016An 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
April 30, 2016I bought two of these, one Gibson-style and one Fender-style for two of my favorite project guitars, an Epiphone LPX and my Jazz-O-Caster parts guitar. The Gibson was a near drop-in, needing only some trimming and shaping for a perfect fit. The Fender was slightly more challenging, as the neck on the Jazz-O-Caster never saw the inside of any Fender-approved factory! It required a 1/32" shim underneath for a proper fit, and some sanding to make room for the tang. There was a marked increase in the brightness of tone for both instruments, as well as improved intonation. This is MUCH easier than installing a traditional nut, and nearly foolproof IF you follow the instructions. Thanks, Stewart-Macdonald, for stocking such a well-engineered product.
April 18, 2016The bone nut was easy to install. I sanded the length and depth with a table sander. The instructions are complete and easy to follow. Four zero frets of different sizes are included in the banjo kit--you try the smallest and work your way up until you have no open string buzz. Use medium viscosity cyanoacrylate (available from Stewmac) so you have time to set the nut and fret properly. I'm pleased with the results, improved tone, and hammer-ons and pull-offs are more defined.
March 15, 2016I 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,
October 14, 2015Wow, what an innovation! This product eliminates the critical process of nut filing completely disappear to be replaced by a zero fret which enhances the sound of your guitar. It is not without some challenges in installation, but once completed your guitar just sounds and plays better.
September 09, 2015Great product, Makes a lot of difference in sound and play ability. To say nothing of staying in tune. I put one on a Ovation Legend made in 1972. The guitar always sounded good but was a little tough to play. This made a world of difference. It is now amazing. I have a friend who can't keep his hands off of it. He likes it better than his Rainsong.
July 06, 2015This is one of those things that you ask yourself why has no one thought of this before, but it likely would have been very difficult to produce on a volume scale without CNC machines.......I put the ZB4 on a Washburn parlor guitar and was amazed at the difference in tone clarity, sustain and definition as well as tuning stability and the lowest possible action.........What more could you ask for for one single mod??.....Zero Glide makes several different sizes etc to fit just about any guitar, so be sure you get the right model for your instrument. The unslotted ZB4 requires slotting, so it does require some skill and proper files. I would recommend letting a tech install if you have no experience or tools. I do predict that some of the major instrument makers will be using this in the near future. Why did'nt I think of this. JB/Texas
June 23, 2015The Zero Glide performs like the manufacturer claims it will. It took less than one hour to complete the installation and have the guitar playing. The nut I removed was cheap plastic and the thin wires had cut down into the nut to the point that there was severe fret buzz on the open strings. The Zero Glide cured that and has all of the strings at the same level. I used a disc sander to shape the nut to length and height in a few minutes. About five more minutes and the nut was polished. The installation looks good. I suggest a person view the manufacturer's installation video before doing the installation.
May 28, 2015Let me start by saying I love this thing and would have rated it as 5 stars but for the fact that installation was difficult. I installed on a Fender Strat. The main installation problem is that the combined thickness of the nut part and the fret part was much thicker than my existing nut. The secondary installation problem is that once you get the nut part sanded down correctly, you need to somehow "hammer" the fret part down into the crack you have between the nut part and the fret board. You need to force the fret part down without bending or mangling the fret part. Because the nut part is behind and above the fret part it is hard to force into the crack without mangling something.You have to be careful not to over sand the nut part - the final fit needs to be snug. So, lots of sanding and trying. BE PATIENT!
Once installed, it is PERFECT. When you play, the open strings are "fretted" the same as the fingered strings. Tuning is easier, in my opinion. It is a wonderful mod
February 18, 2015Installed the Zero Glide ZS-5 on a Yamaha FG730S. It wasn't difficult, just takes a little time to sand down the width, length and height to get it to the proper level of the fretboard. It makes a minor sound improvement now that the strings are riding over a fret instead of the nut. It made a bigger difference in playability, since the nut height is lower than the stock nut that came with the guitar. And, it's totally reversible. Just knock off the Zero Glide and reinstall the original nut. Overall, it is worth the $23 to try it out. It can make a slight improvement.
Update: March 22, 2015 After using the Zero Glide for about 2 months now, I can say that the sound improvement is more noticeable than I originally stated. open notes have a nice ring to them.
