Nut width

The measurement across the neck at the nut, which sets the spacing between the strings at the top of the fretboard.

Nut width is one of the first things a player notices, because it decides how much room the fretting hand has for chords and fingerstyle work. Classical and steel-string instruments commonly run between forty-three and forty-eight millimetres, while many electrics are narrower, and wider necks suit fingerpicking and complex chords while narrower ones favour thumb-over chord grips and fast single-note work. It is often quoted alongside scale length and radius as the classic description of a neck.

Example: A guitar described as having a wide nut feels roomier for fingerpicked arpeggios than one with a narrow nut.

Nut width

See also