Every workshop guitar repair/tinkerer owes you a debt of gratitude. One of the peskiest guitar problems solved simply and easily. Brilliant. Thanks!

Genius tip! The cool thing about this method is that it also shows the radius of each individual guitar. Thank you 😊

You make it look easy while other videos make it look pretty complicated. I'm going to try it and cross my fingers that I don't ruin a perfectly good bone nut. I bought a handmade neck that has a bone nut installed but rough cut and unslotted. Thanks for posting this. It's real helpful.

As soon as he talked about the guitar "not going sharp when you play the first couple frets" I knew I'd found the right video. I have a Jay Turser that's just cool, sounds great, but the nut is high, but it goes sharp playing near the nut. I've adjusted the bridge correctly, but that nut is a problem! I hope I can fix it.

I lost track of how many videos I've watched on nut slotting, and all the devices, kits, specialty tools etc. THIS 5 minute video was easily the best Ive seen, and got me back on track with my builds. Establishing a line on the nut at fret height - what a "duh" moment-genius! A million thanks Ken!

Your line could be a tiny bit more precise at 1:55 if you draw the line without rotating the pencil. You want to keep the pencil parallel to how the strings would lay to get the most accurate line of fret radius. It may not matter much I know since you'll be likely making iterative adjustments, but I'm compelled by OCD exactness lol

I've been doing this guitar repair stuff for a while now, and nut slotting has always flummoxed me. This is not just a brilliant solution, but even better, an elegant solution to this problem. Just did the best slotting job I've ever done following this procedure. I can't thank you enough for sharing this information! -Nate

I like the concept of making the nut slots align with the fret heights. Most guitars seem to arrive with the nut slots way too high, causing poor intonation.

Simple, direct, concise explanation thumbs up here.

Great idea with the pencil. I came up with an possible alternative: Take a pencil and rub the graphite onto the edge of a business card. Then use that card to mark the nut. Wala. ...well I let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the tips!

It worked for me. I finished fixing my guitar with that just one word of knowledge that you said in the beginning, as a consequence. That where I was it was giving me sharp notes,.. and I left my guitar for few days.. Now I played after a long time. Thanks Sir. I cut and made it from a wooden block. Because readymade didn't work. So I made one. Thanks for the video. You saved my guitar. !!! 🎸

I think if you make the pencil correctly , draw the line correctly, file just to the line carefully . It will work like a charm. someone mentioned placing a piece of paper on the frets when you make the line. That couldn't hurt, might give you a buffer zone.

This line is actually the fret height. The best way to determine nut height is with the strings on (known gauge) and slightly tuned to pitch. Look at the string relief momentarily in real time while cutting the slot.

Very educational!! Great video!!I’ve learned something new after playing guitar for 57 years.

Hot damn, that is one slick little trick with sanding the carpenter's pencil. I was already stoked by your method of setting the bridge in your last video. This just keeps getting better.

Solid down to earth.. .. the relationship between the height of the bottom of the string slot to the plane of the fret field is something I have always seen in my head, but I do not think I have ever been able to get someone to understand when I explained it. Yes, a lot of people would tell me understood, but I always felt they would tell me they understood because they didn't want to look stupid. .. The way you explained it and visually backed it up is.... well, perfect... I will use your video the next time I try to explain this. It's true that simple is the best. Just the needed info and nothing more. well done

Now I know why my guitar tune was suddenly changed when I placed a new nut.. wow thanks for those words of wisdom 👏👏 where you said in the begnning " so it will not sound sharp." Thank you!

I'm a carpenter and use those pencils everyday. I think I can spare one for this! Brilliant and simple, thanks! BTW, I just realized my '64 SG junior has a cracked original nylon nut so I ordered a new blank. I already have the files and now with this trick, the confidence!! 😎

I was about to start doing mine but thought I would watch a couple more videos. Great tip! Thanks

Krikeys! This is the video I've been looking for. Gone through a bunch of nuts while trying to learn. This seems simple enough. Thanks!

I love this, thank you so much for sharing. This is so stupid simple, and nothing brings quite the joy as something done stupid simple and well :)

This is a great idea. However, when marking the line, the pencil should be slid across the frets, remaining parallel with the neck. Pivoting the pencil won't give you the exact top of the frets.

Mr. Boudreau - great video, so simple but so effective and useful. Thank You!

That pencil trick is awesome! Thank you!

Thanks for that great trick with the pencil straight to the information and demo I was looking for .

Several years ago, when I bought a medium priced Martin, I noticed that not only was it going sharp on some first position chords, especially fretted near the nut, but it was killing my fingers. I had it worked on by a technician at the store where I purchased it and the main thing he did was cut the nut slots much deeper. What I don’t understand is how a company like Martin could let such an elementary thing happen. That is an easily measured and adjusted thing. And NOBODY wants strings that high off the first fret.

Simple and yet brilliant, why didn't I think of that? Thank you very much!!!

We used to use a metal ruler as a height guide when cutting nut slots when I was a guitar tech for Cole Clark guitars. That's how they did it.

Building my first guitar. Excellent idea with the pencil. I’m going to do that. I got the neck flat. Frets flat and crowned. This is my neck step.

Excellent vid! Thank you! Great tip. I'm a novice so I'm gonna use this method on some beginner-type guitars that have needed new string nuts for a long time.

Your a very smart man. Thanks for the knowledge. I intend to use it!

That DID help me out. Thanks dude.

Actual useful knowledge gained. If only all guitar repair videos were so. Thanks. My first couple of frets are sharp on an Epiphone lp standard. Everything else is perfect and upgraded. Just need some nut files now. And maybe an extra bone nut in case I screw it up at first.

Actually just found this video & its helped me out alot Ken !! Thank you again bud !! Hope your well !! :)

Finally someone with a clear and easy answer! I don’t know why it was so hard to find this video. Should be a top hit. Thank you.

Thanks for that advice,great little tip.I will be using it.cheers

Very clever. Thank you 👍👍👍👍

Figured that out for the fist nut I made. No brainer. You can flatten a regilar pencil athough I purchased a carpenter pencil. String spacing for me is hard. If you have the old nut mark with it also.

I had a minor crisis. My nut cracked in half on Saturday. I had a big performance the next morning at church. Nobody had a guitar I could borrow. I bought a slotted nut. It was way to short. The first fret was jammed against all strings. I had to raise it 1/8". I was brain storming. I needed something that I could make small adjustments with and be very flexible. I was using a notebook to write the chords for a new song I learned. I thought "Paper". I tore a page from my notebook. Cut about 16 pieces the length and width of my new nut. The thick strings we're stronger than thin and it was lopsided and then I added four extra sheets to the thin side. Wedged the nut into the slot over the paper. It worked. Good for a short term fix. I will need a blank nut next time. Motto; don't choke when you are in a bind.

Brilliant! Just the advice😀 I was looking for

Brilliant, sweet and simple!

WOW!! absolutely next level thinking

Assuming the pencil line on the nut is the same height as the first fret, would filing to the the line be going too far? Wouldn't that put the string too close to the fret?

You're a genius. Also, do you ever use the graphite from those pencils to 'lube' the nut grooves?? I've seen some guys use it and I was wondering if it works??

This made changing the nut seem like a feasable thing for a newbie to do.

Reading through the comments and seeing all the people commenting on how if you do this, your strings will sit right on the first fret or buzz, is fascinating. So many people seem to have no understanding of how the nut actually works and what it (mechanically) represents on a guitar. To put it simply: it is essentially a "zero" fret. As such, the nut slots can and should be exactly the same height as the rest of the frets. Just not deeper than that - that's when you'd get buzz on the first fret, just like you'd get buzz on the next fret when a specific fret up the fretboard is lower than the rest. Some guitars even have an actual fret where the nut would be, and the piece of plastic that looks like a nut next to it is actually just to guide the strings, not to place them at specific height. So no, unless your guitar has some serious issue, cutting the nut slots to the exact height of the frets will not cause any issues. Just make extra sure to not go any deeper than that.

Brilliantly simple. Thanks.

Awesome videos. You should have way more likes and no thumbs down.

Genius! Thanks!

You bet that helped! I was just about to start filing my nut and I caught your video just in time. Thank you for the info, much appreciated!

I agree 100% with your method. I'm surprised there are so many people out there who disagree. Look at any factory or custom produced guitar's nut and you'll see a nut whose slots are not deep enough, giving unnecessarily high action that can't be fixed by other adjustments. If you ask most guitar repair technicians, they will shy away from slotting to the fret height, and say it will make the guitar buzz. But that's only true if there is a weakness elsewhere in the setup.

Put a 20 thou feeler gauge under your pencil THEN draw the line and file to it to avoid filing too low.

Excellent tip

Brilliantly simple your a gentleman

Great tips Ken.

Thank you for this! Definitely going to fix my guitar soon

I bought a axemasters brass nut for my bc rich kkv and it's to tall the slots and length are good I'm just sanding the bottom flat side down till I get the height that I want I'm hoping I'm doing it right 😮😮

Thanks, really nice method. Now I just need to work out what to use for a Black Tusq XL Nut :-/

I wish I would have seen this 5 nuts ago. Ive screwed up so many of em. Thanks maybe Ill get it right next time

Great tip .. but what kind of glue is using to instal the nut ?

I knew the trick, and that's a really good one. I personally use the IKEA pencils... free, and easy to sand dow (yeah, you could argue that it's a bit short to sat on many frets at a time, it only sits on 2... I may change my habits).

Great tip! Thank you very much! Would this work the same for a bass guitar? Or, an acoustic guitar, with heavier strings?

Very use full thanks for sharing sir.

this was awesome. Very helpful!

you are a star thank you this is tomorrows job

thanks

Great tip, thank you!

Thanks Mickey Rourke

Very helpful , thanks !

I'm going to use a feeler gauge, and a micrometer

I didn't have a nut file so I dug out a couple of holes with a scissor... had to saw with the sharp end but I might've gone too far or maybe my neck is bowed because the action is kind of high. It always was, ever since I got it from the shops. Not sure how to do a proper set up & I'm too embarrassed to have a luthier inspect my guitar. :(

Great tip...thanks for sharing this...

Wow, that's brilliant!

What a great Idea.

Thank you!!!

Thanks for your time and effort on this video. I have a Reville Tele style guitar with rosewood fretboard. I really love this guitar and prefer to play it instead of my MIM Strat. I decided to install a Graph Tech XL nut. It was a little wide so I sanded then fit and sanded, etc. During this the rosewood forward broke out in several small pieces and cannot be glued back to repair. I sanded it down even with the original slot and it doesn't look bad. Even though glued in place the nut will not sit properly. I then decided to install a Mighty Mite roller nut but I need 3/16" more space which means I would have to take some rosewood out toward the 1st fret. I will not do that for fear of ruining my guitar. Now I don't know what to do? Do you have any suggestions? I do have pictures but don't know how to load them here.

Good tip! Thank you!

ok and on my acoustic maton, the height at 12.fret is 1,6 and 1,2 mm and I can hear buzzing on the B string at first 3 frets once its hit harder... what to do ? shim the nut or polish the frets ?

Thx for the video. I’m new at this so here’s the newbie question. The nut I have is slanted on top with the slots cut for the strings. Which way should the slant face? Should the slope be going up from the neck or.. should I say should the higher part of the slant face the neck or head. Hope I’m making sense

Hello, should you check to see if your neck is straight? that there is no neck relief before you mark the nut? Or it really does not matter.......thanks

Wow. Brilliant 🙏🙏🎶

I've seen your builds on MLP forum. They're nice!

I think this method would make the strings buzz😂if you like ( an almost) flat neck..

Nice idea, thanks!

Question. You mentioned slotting at a backwards angle. 1) Does this mean going back towards the headstock? 2) Since the slot will be at an angle, which side of the nut should have the string at that marked line: towards the neck or towards the headstock? Or is it the center? Thanks

Neither my Jackson or Gibson have slots that low but my two Takamine's do.. It seems like it would be too low

Good Video Bud!

Brilliant! Is it safe to assume that you reset the neck relief to zero, perfectly straight neck, before you did the marking? Or is that unnecessary?

Thanks! I needed that

Brilliant thanks 😊👍

Fail. When drawing the line, you need to keep the pencil parallel to the centreline of the neck. The line you drew is too high on the bass side because you didnt keep parallel

What an absolutely excellent tip! What about bass nuts? Those strings tend to vibrate a bit wider..?

Wouldn't doing it like that put the strings RIGHT on the fret? I kinda want my E string at around .030 "factory specs" above the 1st fret.

Great Tip

Cool idea/tip!

Thanks for the tip!

Cool idea. But bringing the bottom of the slots down to the line would cause the strings to sit on the first fret, wouldn’t it?Or am I missing something here?Seems like cutting down to .020 above the line would net the desired height, if .020 is your goal. But I’m not a luthier, just someone applying logic. Thx!

Fuck I gone too deep lol Gotta start again tomorrow using this tip Thanks

BRILLIANT!

I need to clean my slot where it go’s because I just put it on like that gbe strings are lower then the ead