Collings nut
 

Recently acquired an OM2H with the vintage now neck. The string cuts on the nut seem very shallow, with the string almost riding on top of the nut. This leaves a larger gap between the string and the fretboard, especially in the first few frets, making it more difficult to play notes and chords cleanly and retain accurate intonation. The action was high overall and I lowered the saddle a couple of times. The action could still come down more but I think cutting deeper grooves in the nut would be next before taking the saddle down more. The neck is straight. I bought it from the original owner who played it very little and made no modifications to it.

Does anyone know the Collings specs so I can compare them to mine? Is there a difference between the Collings standard neck specs and the vintage now neck?

I really, really like this guitar and it is by no means unplayable, but I think it could be better. I don’t like a really low action as I dig in pretty good sometimes so I’m careful not to go too low.


Thanks

It doesn't matter what the Collings specs are. Get the guitar setup for the way you want it to play.

If the action at the nut is set correctly, then forget about the depth of the string slots - they're irrelevant unless the string bounces out. Collings and others believe the appearance of shallow slots is more attractive than deep ones.

It's easy to check nut action, and in my opinion there's only one valid way to do it, and it works on any instrument with healthy frets:

CHECKING NUT ACTION

As another poster stated, Colling's "specs" don't matter a fig. If the nut slots aren't cut down properly, hire someone to do it right. I don't mind teaching my guitar clients to adjust their truss and adjust their saddle action (from below), but nut slotting is something that takes skill and experience to get it well done, and Collings guitars are worth getting it done right. If it was a beater, DIY is fine...

There is no need for the strings to be notched deeper than half their diameter to stay put at the nut.

I like the action just a little low at the nut on my guitars, and I would be more inclined to take a little off the bottom than mess with the nice job the they usually do with the string break and radius.

However, the good thing is, that should you somehow mess up the nut, they will carve you a very nice replacement at a very reasonable price. You just need the guitar's serial number when when you call.

They replaced a couple bridge saddles for my guitars at about $20 each, and they were beautifully executed with perfect action and intonation. Quite remarkable really. Quailty company!

Forgive me, Frank, but, IMHO, there is at least one other equally valid way to do it ...

Removing material from the bottom of a well finished nut is rarely a good way to do the procedure.

If nut slots are desired deeper, they should be cut deeper by someone who does a fine job of it with the nut installed in the guitar.