Moulded plastic

Injection-moulded thermoplastic nuts, saddles and inlays, the cheapest and commonest fittings on factory instruments.

A moulded part is produced in quantity to a fixed shape, so a factory can fit a nut or saddle without cutting it from a blank, which is the whole reason moulded plastic dominates budget instruments. The thermoplastics used range from soft, waxy materials that creep under string tension to harder glass-filled nylon blends that last reasonably well. They are commonly described as sounding dull and soft compared with bone, with less definition on open strings and a tendency to muffle overtones. They also wear: strings saw grooves into a soft nut, which causes buzzing, tuner drift and eventually breakage at the slot.

Example: A soft plastic nut on a budget guitar is the first thing most players replace, because the strings cut into it and the open strings start to sound cloudy.

typical use: Nuts, saddles and inlays on inexpensive instruments.

Moulded plastic

See also