Per customer request, we are now proud to offer stainless steel Zero Glide frets! These frets basically do not wear out. This means they require no maintenance and never need to be replaced. Not only that, the stainless frets improve performance for tuning and bends. These frets are specially designed with an offset tang for our Zero Glide nut system. Comes in a pack of 3.
Available in Medium (.038"), Jumbo (.051"), and Super Jumbo (.058"), or an assorted pack of each size.
One 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.
I'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.
I 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.
I 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.
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