Having problems with my nut

[Rollin Hand]

Yes, it's true, and quite distressing. Heh-heh.

I replaced the nut on my Kramer Baretta Special with the agreed upon replacement Tusq XL. I got the nut to fit clean and square (no sanding on the bottom of the nut) and my B string (thank heavens it wasn't my G string) started buzzing. The buzzing went away when I played the first fret. I raised the action, to no avail.

So, I decided I had to shim the nut. I had a mashed up brass shim for a Floyd nut, so I cut a small piece from that, folded it over, flattened it out, and reattached the nut with the shim in place. The buzzing is now worse. Again, it goes away when I play at the first fret.

Anyone have any ideas how to deal with this issue? Given my outlay for the guitar was so low, I would hate to take it to a tech.

[mozz]

Need to see where its buzzing. Fret at the third and see how much clearance there is at 1st.

[Rollin Hand]

There is room. The string rings freely between the nut and the 3rd fret. The neck has a slight bit of relief.

Now the issue is lessened again, but still present. It gets worse if I bend the string behind the nut.

[toomanycats]

In Canada doesn't the government cover the cost of shimming your nuts if they start buzzing in your G string? Asking for a friend.


But seriously, try running a nut file through the slot of the B string to make a back angle running downwards from the fretboard side towards the headstock. Don't lower the entire slot, but just angle one side down. You basically want an edge for the string to rest on as it passes through the nut, not unlike the crown on a fret.

[Rollin Hand]

Sadly the government doesn't cover GUITAR nuts. Neither does my G string.

No nut files to my name, so filing is out.

Oddly enough, I had a similar issue on the high B string of my JS22-7. The shim solved it completely. Of course, it also has a straightish string pull.

[mozz]

You can try a wound string for a file. I don't like shims, I would try glueing it first with wood glue. Hiroshima files are one of my favorite purchases, though not cheap.

[Rollin Hand]

I am not fond of shims either, but did what I thought I had to. The shim and the nut are attached with wood glue.

I am sure that part of the problem is the hockey stick headstock shape. In my research, the KramerForumz folks warned a lot of people that the shape and angle of the headstock make it hard to keep the guitar in tune when using the bar, even with locking tuners and a Tusq XL nut. The answers are to live with it, or install a Floyd.

[Partscaster]

I bet its the nut slot. That headstock makes the B and E string move out the nut at a bigger angle than many headstocks. I wonder if the slot needs to be widened at the backside of the nut, or if the slot floor isnt angled down enough to the back, as TMC mentioned.

I picked up a cheap set of nut slot files years ago. Now, the only comparably cheap option I see are the abraded wire file sets I see on Amazon for less than 20$.

[artandsoul]

I agree with partscaster the nut is probably to tight on that string. As said in a previous post what I also did before having files was use and old larger string to widen it or maybe even a finger nail clipper file for width. You will get it figured out im sure sounds like nut is good on depth just not width or its to sharp angled for that funky angled headstock.