Need a new nut for my Jackson JS1

[Guitaristz]

Yeah so I'm not exactly loaded with cash right now but, I have an old Jackson JS1 that I really like the neck on, but the nut is broken. I would like to buy a replacement nut that won't require any/minor slot cutting. So I guess a precut nut is what I am looking for. Which nut on this page is the right nut for my guitar?

http://www.guitarpartscanada.com/index.php?cPath=27_60

The current specs for the Jackson JS1 are on this page:

http://jacksonguitars.com/products/view_specs.php?full_partno=2900010&name=JS1+Dinky%26trade%3B

and it says that the nut width is 1-11/16”.
so is it a fender nut or a gibson nut and which one?!!
Thanks in advance for your much appreciated help!

btw, seems like a great forum. I would love to pick up a higher quality jackson someday, but I just wish I had more money.

[DonP]

welcome.

A Gibson nut is what you want.

A Fender nut is thin to fit in the neck slot, which you don't have. You have a nut shelf, like a Gibson. Go look at some Fender necks to see how that nut differs from your nut if you are curious.

You still might need to do some fine tuning of the nut if it is too high or too low.

How is the current nut broken?

[KMud]

Put any thought into nut material? I haven't, but it's always interesting to experiment (I'm currently enamoured with the idea of a brass nut for no discernable reason :ROTF.

[Ace]

Any sort of nut you install is going to need to be shaped at least slightly. After all the work I go through cleaning up, reshaping and slotting those little plastic "pre-cut" nuts, I may as well have made a bone nut from a blank.

The easiest way to shape a plastic nut would be to buy the Gibson replacement, clean it up with a very small file until it sits snugly where the old nut went. MAKE SURE that the face of the nut is square against the end of the fretboard!!! If it is tilted even slightly forward or backwards your intonation will be off. Once you get it in place remove material from the bottom of the nut until your strings are the right distance from the first fret. You can tell this by the way the guitar feels when your push down the string at the first fret. It should be a low action, yet with no buzzing. You should use another guitar for reference if it's available.

Replacing a nut is a pretty difficult job to do right, and normally I wouldn't advise doing it without at least someone who has done it before with you. However replacement nuts are cheap, so if you screw up, 90% of the time you can just start over with no damage to the guitar.

[Ace]

And I like brass nuts. They would require shaping with a file too though.

[Guitaristz]

Well..the reason the nut is broken is...I tried to save some money and make the nut higher as it was buzzing. but it didnt work out very well.

Anyway, thanks for the information guys. I will buy one and follow your advice. Thanks again. This has to be the most helpful forum I have ever been to.

[Guitaristz]

Once you get it in place remove material from the bottom of the nut until your strings are the right distance from the first fret. You can tell this by the way the guitar feels when your push down the string at the first fret. It should be a low action, yet with no buzzing. You should use another guitar for reference if it's available.

I have a stratocaster, and the nut is absolute perfect height for me. Can I go by that height for the jackson? I mean, like I could measure the height of the bottom of the nut slot to the top of the first fret on the strat, and then sort of translate that onto the gibson nut so that it would be the same distance?

Tip of the week: Do not try to cut the nut on your guitar with a utility knife. It will break the nut. Use files lol.

[Guitaristz]

yea? nah? waaaah!

[Guitaristz]

i GUESS that means...yes? no?

[DonP]

If you are going to be doing your own setups, get a copy of Dan Erlewine's book "How to make your guitar play great". There might be techniques in that book that could have helped you raise the string height without cutting out you nut (which led to a broken nut and $$$). It might not seem like a good idea of spending money on a book, but it could save you money in the long run.

And yes, if you like the height of the strings over the first fret, it will work on the Jackson as well. Dan's book tells you how to measure - I think you use a capo at the third fret and measure the gap at the first fret.

[Guitaristz]

Ok then, thank you very much sir.

I will see about that book. Looks interesting to say the least.