A question about tone...

[dingobass]

Thanx Stan, those two Basses are my best builds to date.
I have never been able to part with the Violin Bass... she is perfect for playing the Blues

With the origional question, yes, IMHO, different nut materials will make the tone change.

But it may be one of those great unanswered questions... get ten Guitarists to play the same instrument with different nut combos and half of them will pick the difference between a bone and brass nut, the other five wont.

It is all about how we hear tone and also the individual tonal preference comes into play.

We could go on forever, but maybe the answer you seek will come with experimentation.
Grab yourself a brass nut, try it out then swap it for a bone then synthetic one.
Who knows? you may be surprized as to what you hear, and with each Guitar the results will be different as there are so many different factors that come into play..
Timber, string through body or bridge, headstock size and shape, the list goes on...

But, at the end of the day, I will always maintain that a natural material such as bone will always improve the tone, regardless of what bridge.
It seems to my ear that a bone nut balances out the metallic tone of the bridge and gives the Guitar a more balanced and warmer tone.

[Brendan]

DB where have those been hiding - never seen any of them - not wanting to blow smoke up your ...., but both deserve to be in the Beautiful Guitar thread... In fact...

[dingobass]

Hahaha, Thanx Bman

Next time you come over I will drag the Violin Bass out for you to have a play...

The other one, known as "Mr Tims Bass of Extreme Sexiness" belongs to none other than our very own Mr Tim... builder of the YB 4 Midnight Bass..
This was Mr Tims design, Ash body with a Spalted Black Sassafrass top, a single EMG HZ pup hidden under the top with bone floating bridge and string through.

He very nearly wasnt allowed to take it home

[Gavin1393]

This is the debate that has been known to polarise many a forum. It makes sense to many that when you fret a note the only material involved is the bridge and the particular fret being pressed. However, this isn't entirely true and fretting a note isn't always the entire movement on the fretboard. So whether you believe that the nut is eliminated by fretting a note or not, it is important to accept that a guitar is an instrument of precision...it should be if it is crafted correctly. A nut is no less important in the whole sum of the sound in terms of pitch and tuning. Yes, you may be fretting notes higher up that the nut has no direct effect on tone other than harmonics but think how fast your fingers are fretting and pulling off leaving notes to ring open which you would have to agree the nut does effect? Hence, it possibly more down to playing style to determine the inherent tonal value of replacing the nut material to derive tonal enhancements. Now lets talk about whether or not the fretboard material makes a difference to your tone!

[stan]

great conversation guys, and nice that it stays friendly. I have no agenda, just some musings.

To me it sounds a bit like a question of perception. And if you perceive, then it is...

Also a bone nut would have other differences and advantages that enhance the playability, and from that aspect alone would be worth it.

As for fretboard material, I'm willing to say yes to that one - at all stages of playing it comes into play. Also tone and sound are a vibration and quality of vibration/resonance that can be heard. If the fretboard vibrates slightly differently depending on material, then the transmitted sounds will sure have some of those qualities...

[Gavin1393]

The tone of a guitar is produced by the strings of a guitar. How these strings vibrate will affect tone. What influences the vibration of the strings will therefore ultimately affect tone.
This is where it gets interesting with guitars and the discussion around tone, because if you think about it, the fretboard is never 'in play' in that the strings are resting on three points with a fretted note, namely the bridge, the fret and the nut. But since the fret is wedged into the soundboard it makes sense that the energy or vibration will be affected by the hardness or otherwise of the fretboard. And this is true because as many will attest that the tonal quality of an ebony fretboard versus maple or rosewood is superior. Again there is a debate because people like different tonal qualities along the spectrum of bright to warm.
The question that now arises, is does the fretboard vibrate because of the action of pressing down onto a fret or will it vibrate regardless. Easy answer, it will vibrate regardless, as in the open position, the strings are making contact with the bridge and the nut, in the fretted position its all three points that vibrate. This vibration is energy. The strings are vibrating, the fretboard, neck and body vibrate, so too is the nut and the saddles/bridge.all of these therefore HAVE to have an effect on what is being produced above the pickup both before, during and after any note is fretted. Consider if you will for a moment what would happen if the nut was made of rubber. The tonal quality would be much 'duller'.
So every component of the guitar involved with the strings is going to affect the tone of the guitar in some way. However, it should also be clear that tone is sometime simply down to personal preference and that too much tone enhancement towards warmth or brightness could lead to an unintended result where the tone is too shrill/bright or too warm/thud!

[dingobass]

I concurr with the Gavmeister on fretboard material changing tone.

Take a classic Tele with a Rock Maple fretboard. These seem to have more of a bell like chime to the tone whereas a Rosewood fretboard has a slightly warmer sound.

Then there is Ebony and a whole plethora of hard woods, these all have their own tonal qualities.

We can start on the subject of Amplifiers...... Valve or PCB...... And how these affect the tone as well.... Or are we now delving into semantics?

[stan]

easy really - everything in some way affects tone, guitars, amps , humidity, size and shape of venue, Saturn...