Stingray nut help please

[mmplayer89]

Well I just registered for these forums and sorry if Im doing this wrong. I just need help because i have a stingray 4 and i was playing and cracked the nut in half under the E string. I couldnt find any precut nuts anywhere so i asked musicman repairs and they sent me a free one uncut. I almost finished carving it and slipped with the knife and cracked that one in half haha. Sooo i ordered 2 uncut water buffalo ivory nuts (the second in case i mess up again) but i was wondering if any of you knew where to find stingray 4 string nuts.

 

[skabassist13]

MusicMan customer service would probably sell you a pre cut nut. I don't see why they wouldnt.

 

[Mobay45]

Well I just registered for these forums and sorry if Im doing this wrong. I just need help because i have a stingray 4 and i was playing and cracked the nut in half under the E string. I couldnt find any precut nuts anywhere so i asked musicman repairs and they sent me a free one uncut. I almost finished carving it and slipped with the knife and cracked that one in half haha. Sooo i ordered 2 uncut water buffalo ivory nuts (the second in case i mess up again) but i was wondering if any of you knew where to find stingray 4 string nuts.

If those were from the same water buffalo, you got all he had.

 

[mmplayer89]

thanks alot for the help. Ill keep that in mind if i mess both of these ones up and mobay lets just hope i left that buffalo with something.

 

[jongitarz]

MusicMan customer service would probably sell you a pre cut nut. I don't see why they wouldnt.

The nuts are cut and shaped on the neck. We do not have pre cut nuts, unless it is the compensated nut.

 

[skabassist13]

Well, luckily Im still young(realativly) so Im allowed to sound like an idiot.

 

[Randracula]

The nuts are cut and shaped on the neck. We do not have pre cut nuts, unless it is the compensated nut.

Do you have a pre-cut compensated nut for a Sterling that I can buy through Customer Service?

 

[Randracula]

Anyone?

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

The Sterlings now have the compensated nut...if that's what you mean??

 

[Randracula]

Thanks Rod.I was trying to ask Jon if I could buy a pre cut compensated nut for my Sterling.I'll make a call to Customer Service today.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Maybe I should get a couple of spares for a rainy day

 

[strummer]

Well I just registered for these forums and sorry if Im doing this wrong. I just need help because i have a stingray 4 and i was playing and cracked the nut in half under the E string. I couldnt find any precut nuts anywhere so i asked musicman repairs and they sent me a free one uncut. I almost finished carving it and slipped with the knife and cracked that one in half haha. Sooo i ordered 2 uncut water buffalo ivory nuts (the second in case i mess up again) but i was wondering if any of you knew where to find stingray 4 string nuts.

Hi
Maybe I state the obvious, but you should start by gluing the uncut nut into the slot. Then tape off the fretboard and head stock, and cut the slots with appropriate files.

 

[strummer]

Maybe I should get a couple of spares for a rainy day

hehe, I actually have a Bongo 5 nut, just in case...

 

[mmplayer89]

Hey strummer thanks for the advice....I dont have the files but it would probably be very helpfull to glue the nut in first. Maybe ill give that a shot. Thanks

 

[strummer]

Hey strummer thanks for the advice....I dont have the files but it would probably be very helpfull to glue the nut in first. Maybe ill give that a shot. Thanks

1 Roughly shape the nut (height and width) to fit your bass.
2 Glue it onto the neck.
3 tape off fret board and headstock with masking tape (2-3 layers if oyu're scared)
4 carefully draw lines where the center of the strings will go. Remember the strings are different thickness. EBMM cut the nuts with equal distances between the string centers.
5 make a guide cut with a saw or something.
6 start filing. Have your hand over the fret board and aim towards the base of the corresponding tuning peg. Careful not to rock the file.
7 When you aresome way down you need to take it slow. String the bass and measure often. When the string is pressed down between frets 2 and 3, there should be a little space between fret 1 and the string. The business card feeler is a good starting point imho.

 

[Golem]

I don't think you want to put a Sterling nut on a Ray - different neck widths. I just made a new bone nut yesterday for my Ray 4.

I'm not surprised you broke yours, using a knife. I was surprised how very thin [vertically] a Ray nut is, not much material under each slot. I cut my slots with a small rat-tail file after using a dremel tool to rough shape the nut. I think I dremeled away 3/4 of the material on that generic blank. As mentioned, the end result is thin and therefore fragile, so carving with a knife is prolly too much pressure.

It's a good idea to make sure you've got the bottom radius right before doing any other work. If the radius is wrong, all your other work will be lost when the thing breaks again due to a mismatched radius. Filing the notches in-place on the neck is a little nerve wracking. A small padded vice is an alternative, but you *will* have to do the final strokes with the nut installed. No way around that. It's basic set up.

Matching the radius is no fun. If you use too tight a curve, it won't rock, so it feels OK on test fitting, but it will have a hollow under the middle [prolly break with strings tightened]. I would use a piece of plastic [thin, from retail packaging scrap, etc] to make a template for the radius. I did mine by cut-and-try and it was way tedius and risky. Next time, a template.

Because it's so thin and a bit fragile, I did not glue it in place, in case I need to remove it again. However if you feel you must glue it [cuz you put on new stings twice a month or whatever] then I'd suggest that you glue under only the most outer ends, maybe 1.5mm, so that if you ever have to pry it out, you won't be prying the ends against a glued-in middle [bound to break it doing that].