ZS-1 Slotted Replacement Nut for Guitars (Common on Gibson)

Zero Glide Query

Jun 23, 2025

I have a BC-350 banjo with the zero glide nut. It has been problem-free but I'm curious how this is an improvement over the zero nut found on budget European guitars since practically the beginning of time. I repaired instruments for decades and always regarded the zero fret as a marker of an inferior mass-produced instrument. No criticism of the Gold Tone zero glide is in any way implied here but I am confused.

CHRIS Battis

The Offset Tang On The Fret Is The Key

Oct 15, 2016

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.

Ross from

Get Rid Of The Gibson *Tink*

Mar 15, 2016

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,

Marc Fletcher from

Wonderful addition to my old Yamaha FG-180 Red Label guitar

Nov 3, 2023

The installation was not difficult but it did require patience and good workmanship when shaping the Zero Glide. I bought the black version and really like it's understated appearance.

Jim Edgington