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Topic: nut extenders |
mickd
From:
london,england
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Posted 23 Jan 2000 3:27 pm |
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does anyone have views on the use of nut extenders to turn a normal-action guitar
into a lap/dobro type guitar ?
A guitar maker I know isn't keen on these
things as he says they cause the instrument
to lose a lot of sustain (as opposed to just
having a proper built in high nut).
I've never tried one so I'd be interested
to hear from anyone who has.
Mick
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mikey
From:
New Jersey
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Posted 23 Jan 2000 6:51 pm
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Aloha Mick,
A nut extender will work fine, but using it, and changing back and forth will kill your strings quickly, but to check out how you like lap playing it is fine, Brother Oswald used one on his dobro for decades, but if you find yourself enjoying lap guitar, it would be a better choice, and I'm sure you will want a lap dedicated guitar, High nut, square neck etc. because not only is the high nut preferable, but you will find HEAVY strings will give a better tone, and a roundneck wouldn't hold up...
Good luck,
Mike |
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mickd
From:
london,england
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Posted 26 Jan 2000 5:31 am
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Mikey
thanks for the reply.
Its reassuring to hear that Brother Oswald
used one - sustain must have been ok.
I've already got a EH100 lap steel but
I've also got a round neck Dobro copy (Johnson) which I had setup with heavy
gauge strings and a relatively high action.
The neck seems to be holding up so far !
But I do get some low fret string buzz and
the lap steel high action is so much easier
that I am tempted to adapt the Johnson with
a nut extender.
I agree that a square neck is the ideal
solution, but the sound from the one I've
got is so good I don't want to get rid
of it !
Mickd |
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Ian McLatchie
From:
Sechelt, British Columbia
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Posted 26 Jan 2000 2:34 pm
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| Mick: I've never found loss of sustain to be a major problem with nut extenders. A bigger problem is tone. Some types will produce a rich tone comparable to a fixed nut, but others, especially the old AP&M extenders, produce a very brassy sound. Experiment with several different extenders if you have the chance (it's amazing how many of these things you'll find buried away in music stores if you just bother to ask). |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 28 Jan 2000 8:46 am
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Related question:
Are there nut extenders made for electrics?
The acoustic nut extender has a string spacing that is too wide, and it doesn't really fit the headstock. |
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