Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Whitney on September 26, 2017 at 7:47am

P.S. Also, can the zero fret wire be the same as the other frets, or does it have to be a thicker / larger gauge?

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Permalink Reply by Br Harold F Stubbs III on September 26, 2017 at 8:13am

The 'nut mark' on the fretboard blank should be the start of the scale and thus the 0 fret. Without a zero fret, the edge of the nut closest to the fretboard would be the start of the scale...

It could be the same as the others for lowest action, or it could be a little thicker/larger - this would approach the more typical action when using a normal nut only. It shouldn't be taller than the string break over the normal nut would be though, or the instrument won't fret in tune using the rest of the frets ( the action would just be too high )

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Permalink Reply by Mike Whitney on September 26, 2017 at 9:01am

Perfect, Harold. Thank you.

In short, the zero fret just replaces the the typical nut location.

I'm guessing the distance between the zero-fret and the nut is irrelevant, then? Obviously, the closer the better... I'm guessing 1/8" or so...

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Permalink Reply by Br Harold F Stubbs III on September 26, 2017 at 9:50am

I've seen zero-fret designs where the nut and the fret touched. The basic idea here is making sure the string is following the physics and math involved - the distance from the "nut" to "fret zero" doesn't matter as long as the string break angle is correct and fret zero is "properly fretted" - ie, when you fret the guitar, your fingertip is changing the string path so the vibrating part stops at the fretwire. The idea with fret zero is to not have a different action for the open string when played - it is like every note is fretted, just fret zero is done for you.

In the end, it all goes back to getting a string the correct length, gauge, and tension so it will sound the correct frequency. Its easy to overthink things, so when in doubt I just go back to the fundamentals of how a vibrating string makes a sound at all.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Whitney on September 26, 2017 at 10:22am

Makes sense, Harold - cheers.

On my first build, I laboured over the nut and getting the action just right so that the note was the same when played open, on the 12th fret and the harmonic. I also made sure that the first 4 frets read properly as being true #s etc... it's really close (as close, if not better than the two store-bought guitars I have).

With the zero fret starting my scale length, it should just be a matter of setting intonation / action... looking forward to giving this a go; it seems like it would remove some variables, i.e. the nut 'notching' headaches / going too deep.

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Permalink Reply by JL on September 26, 2017 at 11:26pm

the closer the "nut-like-string-guide" is to the zero fret, the better it keeps the strings from sliding sideways across the zero fret. 

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on September 27, 2017 at 12:41am

Yup JL, plus, I once made an instrument with the string guide about 1/2" away from the zero fret and people kept putting their finger in that space thinking that the zero was fret #1. I try for as close as possible now!

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on September 27, 2017 at 11:59am

The zero fret is a concept that I just love. But, I've taken a slightly different approach. Instead of a normal fret in the zero position, I use round "music wire". The advantage here is that I can quickly change the action height simply by changing the size of music wire that I use.

I use a traditional nut as a string guide and file a little slot for the music wire to sit on. I find that I play slide for a while and want more action height. Then, I decide I want to finger notes and want lower action. Making the needed change is a five minute operation, and I don't need the stress of hand filing nuts to change the action.

Zero frets are really a solid idea regardless of how you implement it.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on September 30, 2017 at 4:02am

That is an awesome idea!!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Whitney on September 30, 2017 at 5:37am

Very nice setup! What do you use for the music wire (or is it, in fact, technically 'music wire' ;) ) ? I've never heard of it.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on September 30, 2017 at 8:21am

Music wire is the common name for tempered spring steel wire used in hobby craft like RC plane landing gear. You can find in in many different diameters a hobby shops that tend to promote RC stuff. You can also find it on eBay, Amazon and online hobby stores. I have a ton of it left over from my RC days and it works great for zero frets. I switch diameters a lot when setting up a new guitars, but it is a lot less stressful than having to hand file the nut depth without screwing it up.

I now use this setup on every new guitar build.

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