ZS-26F Slotted for Basses (Common on Fender Jazz Bass)

Excellent product // outstanding company // amazing customer service

Jul 20, 2021

I just purchased my 3rd zero glide nut. I have one on my acoustic guitar and this is my second on my 5 string banjo. I've had a couple of custom necks built by different luthiers and in each case I went with the zero glide nut in place of a traditional bone nut. I am a believer in all the technical advantages that the zero glide has to offer. On top of being a great product the family and staff at Gold Tone Banjos are simply amazing folks. I've experienced genuine and personal assistance from everyone that I've been in contact with in the company. This goes all the way from the owner and his wife to their children and techs in the shop. After placing my 3rd order online last night I received a call first thing this morning from Justin wanting to make sure that I understood exactly how the nut slots were cut at the factory on the ZS 8 pre-slotted nuts. Justin made sure that I was 100 satisfied. The new nut was finished this morning and shipped same day. If I could give this review a 10-star review I would. Point being is that this is a top-notch company with great personal and corporate values. I give them and their products the highest review and praise possible. Most definitely recommended.

Steve Dyrda - Acworth GA

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

Zero Glide ZS-17F

Jul 7, 2017

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 !

Charlie

Unslotted 12 string ZerO Glide

Oct 28, 2017

I recently custom installed a ZerO Glide on my 40 year old 12 string guitar and it really has done the business. There has been a marked improvement in volume and sustain tuning is much smoother and the intonation is spot on.

John Gray