Nut

The slotted piece at the top of the neck that sets the string spacing, their height above the first frets, and the angle at which they leave towards the tuners.

It is a small part with a large influence: cut too high it makes every chord at that end hard work, and cut too low it buzzes on open strings; slotted carelessly it sends the strings off-centre down the neck. Materials range from bone and ivory substitutes to plastic and graphite, with harder materials generally transmitting better and lubricating composites helping tuning stability on tremolo guitars. On an acoustic it is also the anchor point that carries one end of the string's tension.

Example: a bone nut with properly cut slots can transform the playability of a guitar that has always felt stiff near the headstock.

Nut

See also