Build#1 RCA-4

[BJMtz]

Doesn't it seem weird that there's a veneer on the back only? I don't think I have ever seen that and I don't recall any other RCA-4 build diaries that had veneered backs.

[wazkelly]

I'm hoping the veneer has not been used to cover up other faults....

Probably has been otherwise why bother? Suspect poor grain or a bit too much filler used in various places.

In relation to scale length, 34" = 863.6mm from inner side of nut on treble side to mid point of treble side bridge saddle on the G string, therefore nut to crown of 12th fret should = 431.8mm

Cheers, Waz

[Trebbble]

Weekend is here so thought I'd take a look at the bass again.
The nut looked cheap and nasty and it was...

It's plastic and hollow designed to sap any tone to death..
I removed it and will make a bone nut to replace it.
The height of the original nut would also have caused some fret buzz if left on. The E string slot was not even the same height as the first fret.

[Trebbble]

Here is the nut.
Plastic and hollow.

[Trebbble]

I got creative this morning and made my own version of stewmac's safe slot nut guard.
does the job ok. Not as pretty as the original but just as functional.
Using this tool, feeler gauges and following the how to videos on the stewmac site I was able to determine the accurate height of the first fret as 1.13mm. (0.044") which is OK.

[Trebbble]

I had some bone nut blanks left over from a rebuild on my old 1970's cimar jazz bass.
Unfortunately Murphy's law waon out and they are the exact same size as the plastic nut in height which means they are about a 1mm too small to make the needed adjustment to raise the nut string slot height above the fret height.
The below diagram is adapted from a still shot on a how-to video on another site.
The top of the nut needs to be height of first fret + height of string clearance + half diameter of string.

l Like a string clearance of approx 0.55 - 0.6mm at first fret.
So using those figures the nut slot depth above fret board for E string should be 1.13mm(fret height) + 0.55mm (string clearance hight) so 1.68mm. The top of the nut should be that figure plus half of string diameter (I'm fitting 45-105 which is 2.667mm E string) so another 1.33mm. This means my over all height of nut at E string is 3.01mm above fret board.

[Trebbble]

I'm going to have to get some more bone nut blanks.
The recess for the nut is a lot deeper on this neck than any of my other basses or guitars.



This will mean I need a nut blank that is almost 11mm high.
Not a common size...

[Andyxlh]

Could you perhaps use a brass shim under the nut you have?

[Trebbble]

Good idea Andyxlh, I've never done that before and a bone blank is only a couple of dollars so I just ordered another 3 blanks.
I will read up and see if anyone has put a shim under their nut.

[Andyxlh]

Good idea Andyxlh, I've never done that before and a bone blank is only a couple of dollars so I just ordered another 3 blanks.
I will read up and see if anyone has put a shim under their nut.

You would have to think having the deeper bone nut would be better than a shim. I have used brass shims on my SV1 floyd nut and also on the TLA kit nut, there I used a sliver of a plastic guitar pick.