Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on May 9, 2011 at 3:58am

Soulcatcher,

 

Go into any guitar store and get a "nut extender".  It's a metal piece, grooved for 6 strings and sits over the top of the existing nut.  It raises the strings enough for slide play.... if you have adjustable bridge, then just raise that and your are off and running....  Here in the states its a $ 3-5 instant cure.

 

the best,

 

Wichita Sam

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on May 9, 2011 at 6:48am

If you want to play slide, regular bottleneck style, you don't need to raise the nut unless it is super super low action, just put some heavy strings on it and raise the action at the bridge. A nut raiser or extender is only good for lap-style playing, it will put the action WAY too high for proper bottleneck playing.

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Permalink Reply by Little Soul Eric on May 9, 2011 at 7:24am

Thanks for that Guys,

CBJ i must admit the nuts on both guitars are really low ,but i will try them out like you said 1st

cheers

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Permalink Reply by Crow on May 9, 2011 at 8:58am

i find that for true slide playing, the action needs to be high enough to get a clean slide sound without touching the frets below, the "nut extender" is a simple way, though i've never tried it.

i HAVE, however, converted many acoustic guitars to slide-only by putting a machine screw right in front of the nut. i'll place a picture later. the new nut will rest slightly forward of the original, but the added pressure of slide playing would require a nut placement adjust anyhow. so.. it actually evens itself out nicely. quick and easy. remind me this evening, i'll post a picture of mine. have fun!

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on May 9, 2011 at 8:15pm

Using a nut raiser is fine for slide only and lap style. To do trad bottleneck style playing, if you study a lot of the old time players, you'll observe that the slide is perhaps only 10-20% of the sound you're hearing, the rest is fretted notes, barre chords and partial chords..it's much more subtle than just using the slide all the time. If your action is too high, particularly near the nut, you wont be able to fret these passages. The better you get at playing slide, and the more sensitive you get with your touch, the lower the action you'll be able to cope with.

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Permalink Reply by Little Soul Eric on May 9, 2011 at 11:37pm

Thanks again guys

well ive got 2 to play with so i may keep one standard and one with a slight increase nut

 

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Permalink Reply by Little Soul Eric on May 10, 2011 at 12:10am

CBJ what is the height of your strings from nut to bridge in relation  to the fretboard?

cheers Soul

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