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Permalink Reply by David L. on June 22, 2014 at 5:21am

Hi, from here http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Nuts_and_Saddles/Usi...
for a dD on a 12 string guitar 7/64" is suggested (2.8mm) as the gap between the two strings.

Distance between a 3 stringer's strings is down to what you like but 1/2" between strings is a reasonable starting point (so outer strings 1" apart and the dD double course in the middle with a 7/64" space between dD).

Regards,
David L

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Permalink Reply by Bufo Bill on June 22, 2014 at 10:54am

Hi I'm pretty green at instrument building, but my suggestion is to make an easily changeable nut so that you can experiment. My CBG banjo has a removable bone nut that I made from a blank bone slab from my local luthier here in the UK. I simply filed a 2.5mm groove into the neck with a square section needle file, cut the bone to roughly the correct size and filed the string slots in. One bone blank gave me enough for four nuts, and the pressure of the strings in the slots holds the nut perfectly. Tuning is also an experiment, but dulcimers have paired strings perhaps an online search for tunings for these instruments might help. You can work out how to make pleasant harmonious tunings using musical theory, or so musicians who are fluent in theory tell me, it goes way over my head unfortunately. Perhaps that's more of a topic for the playing and performing page though.
All the best from Bill. :D

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on June 22, 2014 at 12:38pm

If your using a 1x2 for a neck, I`d go with 1/8" string spacing between your single string sets, and a 1/4" between the doubles so it would work out as from the end of the nut..1/8" to the first string, 1/8" to the next, then `1/4", 1/8", 1/8", 1/4", 1/8", 1/8 end of nut. I`ve built quite a few 6 string 3 pair set ups. But as for string gauges I like using sets from a 12 string guitar for my paired set ups.

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