The Zero Glide Replacement Nut System borrows the "zero fret" concept to reduce string contact in the nut by up to 93%, increasing tuning stability, playability, and open string tone. It only takes a few minutes to install with absolutely no permanent alteration to your instrument. For Fender Style Guitar.
*The ZS-7F is designed to fit either a flat or radiused nut shelf. Leave the middle nub for flat, or sand it down for a radius.
Also available in Black Delrin.
Note: May not fit specific models. Check the sizing guide to be sure.
I bought this for a Washburn Oscar Schmidt OE-40B archtop guitar, on which the nut had broken when putting on new strings. I always wanted to try a zero-fret nut and was pleasantly surprised at how well it works. Perfect string height and tone.
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.
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.
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.