Question Axis Sport Replacement Nut Questions

[nervous]

Hi, a few months ago I ordered a replacement nut for my 1999 Axis Sport and because the body was out for refinishing I just set the parts aside until that came back. Well, almost a year later it's finished and OTW so tonight I was starting my refretting job and after removing the original nut I discovered that the intended replacement compensated nut is significantly wider. I am checking with CS to see if they have the older version available If not I can reshape this one or make a new one from some other material. Just easier to start with a proper fitting original if available.

That said I have a question if anyone can help. Is the front edge of the Axis Sport nut in the same places as the Axis Super Sport? I assume so to maintain the correct scale length. Or, is the ASS slightly more forward to compensate for the compensations? If the former I can maintain the ASS nut front surface and reshape from the back. If the latter then I will flatten the front of the ASS nut and remove the compensations then reshape the remainder to fit.

Plenty of material to work with. The original nut is .135 wide and the new version is .186 wide.

Or, I could just start from scratch with a Tusq blank.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I would definitely contact customer service, as I don't think many people here would know the right answer to this question.

 

[DrKev]

The compensated nut didn't appear until 2005/2006, so any instruments made before that use a standard nut. The compensated nut is designed to be thicker (to accommodate the compensation) and slot in the neck for it is wider and the front edge is a little closer to 1st fret than standard nuts. If you try to put it in a standadrd position slot the compensation will make some open strings too far back. So, for best intonation use a standard nut in pre-2005 instruments.

Start from scratch with a TUSQ blank if that's fun for you.

 

[nervous]

The compensated nut didn't appear until 2005/2006, so any instruments made before that use a standard nut. The compensated nut is designed to be thicker (to accommodate the compensation) and slot in the neck for it is wider and the front edge is a little closer to 1st fret than standard nuts. If you try to put it in a standadrd position slot the compensation will make some open strings too far back. So, for best intonation use a standard nut in pre-2005 instruments.

Start from scratch with a TUSQ blank if that's fun for you.

As I feared. and thank you.

That's fine. I should be able to rework this one as well though if I simply flatten the face to the point where the compensated sections are removed and it becomes a standard nut. And I'll see what other options are available. A silly oversight on my part.

 

[nervous]

Follow up. The Luke 3 that I own has the same 25.5 scale as my Axis Sport and I assume the same fret spacing (for frets 1-22, ignoring the known nut to 1st fret difference for the standard vs. compensated nut as previously discussed. I will measure and and confirm this weekend but does that sound correct?

 

[Steve Nukather]

The Luke and Axis Sport both have 25.5" scale. Don't use the compensated nut on your 1999 Axis Sport. The bottom of the slot on your guitar is curved, whereas the compensated nut is flat.

On your 1999 Axis Sport, the distance from the leading edge of the nut to the 1st fret is greater in comparison to post-2005 compensated instruments. If you install a compensated nut in the existing slot, the takeoff points will be too far back. Even when positioned correctly, there is no advantage to using a compensated nut. I prefer the traditional uncompensated design.

 

[nervous]

The Luke and Axis Sport both have 25.5" scale. Don't use the compensated nut on your 1999 Axis Sport. The bottom of the slot on your guitar is curved, whereas the compensated nut is flat.

On your 1999 Axis Sport, the distance from the leading edge of the nut to the 1st fret is greater in comparison to post-2005 compensated instruments. If you install a compensated nut in the existing slot, the takeoff points will be too far back. Even when positioned correctly, there is no advantage to using a compensated nut. I prefer the traditional uncompensated design.

Yes, over the last couple days of discussions here, additional research, hands on evaluation and comparative measurements I am aware of all the vital points you make.

As of last night, because there was no OEM nut blank available and I will be making a new nut from scratch anyway I flattened the bottom of that nut slot so it's no longer radiused. That will simplify whatever I decide to do.

Once I became aware of nut slot to first fret distance differences, that allowed me to weigh those options and potential courses of action. Having access to both old and new styles helps tremendously in that evaluation. The other guitarist in our group has a Super Sport so I will also take the same detailed measurements from that as well. And because I already own a new comped nut it's easy to play with.

I did make one small potential error when I was cleaning up the nut slot. The flattening went well and while scraping the front and rear vertical surfaces to make them nice and perpendicular I opened that slot around .006-.008, but equal on both sides, so effectively moving the front edge of any replacement nut forward about a net of .003-.004 which may be inconsequential but something I need to be careful to not unintentionally move any further forward. There are some pretty easy ways to address that if need be but it doesn't concern me at this point.

But, back to the compensated nut, simply because I like a challenge. I think there might be a way to utilize it without opening that slot much more if at all. and I will tale a variety of additional individual string slot setbacks on the compensated nut, adding those to the nut face face to 1st fret measurements and seeing if, from my current slot, simply removing material from the face of the compensated nut to the shallowest compensated depth, puts that in the right place over all, if I am clear in what I mean.

I have another blank incoming anyway so as long as I do nothing more to the current slot size I won't do any harm in experimenting with what I have. Like I say, it's a fun process to follow through on.

 

[Iperfungus]

This is going to be a very interesting thread!
Got my pop-corn yet!

 

[nervous]

Well, after a weekend of guitar work that ran the gamut from semi-cerebral to neanderthal my initial idea of altering an OEM new generation compensated nut into the current early generation nut slot position is not possible. The shortest compensated section is simply not deep enough to place that strings break point far enough forward to function properly. I didn't pursue a shelved nut version as it just wasn't that important. And I have no desire to widen the nut slot. So it stays as a standard nut as original.

On the positive side I was able to shape that compensated nut into a perfectly fitting replacement nut and that the final nut slot placement/nut face, after I futzed with it, ended up being the perfect distance (in the 1.431 range) to the first fret crown so no harm was done and I have my new nut ready for final fitting and shaping after I get the new frets in, leveled and crowned. Happy with that.