ZB-4 Unslotted Replacement Nut for Guitars

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.

Pretty easy to install - sand it down to fit - pick the fret that matches the rest of your fretboard - couldn't be easier!

I purchased a '97 Squier Vista MusicMaster Bass locally. The stock plastic nut needed replacing or filing. I had already pulled the nut off of the MusicMaster and had all measurements noted before replacing the stock nut temporarily. The Zero Glide ZS-17F Precision Bass Precision Bass model specs matched up with the MusicMaster specs. Cool. After my Zero Glide arrived I pulled the stock nut and lightly sanded the nut slot on the fretboard with fine sandpaper to remove any debris or adhesive residue used on the stock nut. Next I slid the Zero Glide nut onto the fretboard. Nice snug fit. The width of the Zero Glide was perfect. My next step was to make sure that the top / flat surface of the nut was flush with the fretboard. This is crucial to allowing the fret to seat correctly on both the fretboard and the zero fret nut. On my MusicMaster this required a very thin shim under the Zero Glide nut. Once the nut was seated properly it was just a matter of selecting which of the fret sizes provided is required for the instrument. In my case this was the longest installation step time-wise. Once you have selected the proper fret, mark the fret and cut with the proper tool. Examine the cut end of the and correct any imperfections due to cutting on the tang of the fret by filing. A small bench top vise with padded jaws and high quality file makes this step a snap. Installation time in my case : - shimming me the nut, less than 10 minutes - selecting the correct fret size, 45 minutes - all filing on the fret ends and top corners of the nut, less than 15 minutes I'm very pleased with the results. The open string notes sound like fretted notes of course, and I was able to achieve noticeably lower action without fret buzz after a setup. I'm especially pleased with the improved note definition of the open E and A strings. I did not check the intonation with the stock nut on the 1st five or so frets before I installed the Zero Glide, but the intonation is fine on the lower frets. My order was processed and shipped promptly and Gold Tone customer service is excellent. Thanks for a great product !

I m impressed with this. Easy to install. I m not a luthiar but I have refretted a few guitars and made some nuts and saddles. This is a pretty incredible system. I was going to cut a new nut for an acoustic guitar I just bought. I tested it and it was not sliding perfectly through the nut even though there was no ping while tuning. The way I test a nut is to strike a note then smack the string between the nut and the machine heads. behind the nut I put a tuner on the head stock so I can watch the note go up and come back. It simulates a good bend and you can watch the quality of the nut you have on the guitar. Most guitars will stick at about 6 to 10 cents above the tuned note unless you have a really well cut nut. At least the wound strings will....steel strings will usually drop back to the tuned note if the nut is decent . The nut I had on this guitar was pretty good....no pings while tuning yet it would still catch occasionally which effected tuning.