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  #1  
Old 06-18-2015, 12:50 PM
jpjr50 jpjr50 is offline
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Default Should I have the nut replaced (Corian vs. Bone)?

I asked this is the many section of the forums due to traffic and I got many replies.

I bought a Martin GPCPA5K in April and I recently paid a Luthier to shave the tusq saddle to lower the action and get rid of the Martin strings for Ernie Ball Acoustic 11's. The sound and play is so much better now.

However I recently found out the nut on my acoustic is Corian not the same tusq as the saddle. I've heard from the comments that Corian does not wear as fast as bone BUT the bone provides a better sound.

I went on YouTube and watched Corian vs. Bone on acoustic guitars. I could hear in my headphone how differently and crisp the bone sounded versus the Corian.

Should I have the nut replaced? What would you do? Keep in mind it's a new guitar, nothing is broken or anything.
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  #2  
Old 06-18-2015, 02:09 PM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Same answers you received from the main section. Yes, no, maybe, not unless it is broken. It'll last fine. It'll sound better, it might not sound better, you won't necessarily hear a difference if you change it. We're all going to heaven, we're all going the other way...

Just enjoy the guitar and stop obsessing about it.
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  #3  
Old 06-18-2015, 05:13 PM
Ned Milburn Ned Milburn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpjr50 View Post
I asked this is the many section of the forums due to traffic and I got many replies.

I bought a Martin GPCPA5K in April and I recently paid a Luthier to shave the tusq saddle to lower the action and get rid of the Martin strings for Ernie Ball Acoustic 11's. The sound and play is so much better now.

However I recently found out the nut on my acoustic is Corian not the same tusq as the saddle. I've heard from the comments that Corian does not wear as fast as bone BUT the bone provides a better sound.

I went on YouTube and watched Corian vs. Bone on acoustic guitars. I could hear in my headphone how differently and crisp the bone sounded versus the Corian.

Should I have the nut replaced? What would you do? Keep in mind it's a new guitar, nothing is broken or anything.
The difference in tone of nut materials is less significant than that of saddle materials. I would really be surprised if the difference in tone you hear passing through a mic, sound processing & recording, reproduction, and headphones or speakers would be due to the difference in nut material. You may wish to think about that.

I don't think you need to worry about wear for corian or bone. I do not use corian in guitars, but have corian countertops so am familiar with its properties (ie: hardness/resistance to scratching/cutting).

That said, I would always recommend bone. It is a known material, and it both sounds good and has long wear. So why fart around with other materials??

That said, if your guitar has a corian nut and is set up well (Ie: nut slots cut to proper depth, width, shape, and string spacing), then there is no particular good reason to change it.
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Old 06-18-2015, 05:52 PM
Gypsyblue Gypsyblue is offline
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I think it does make a difference. After all, the nut functions sort of like an anchor or sustain block or something.

But I'd wait until my guitar actually needed a new nut.

Then I'd switch to bone.
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  #5  
Old 06-18-2015, 05:55 PM
tysam tysam is offline
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I have to agree with Ned on this one....Corian saddle as opposed to bone I could see you maybe noticing a tonal difference but not in the nut. If you are happy with the setup and the saddle is already bone I would just let it go. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.
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Old 06-18-2015, 07:31 PM
Tom West Tom West is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ned Milburn View Post
The difference in tone of nut materials is less significant than that of saddle materials. I would really be surprised if the difference in tone you hear passing through a mic, sound processing & recording, reproduction, and headphones or speakers would be due to the difference in nut material.
I concur. If it was the saddle I would go for the bone.
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Last edited by Tom West; 06-19-2015 at 07:40 AM.
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  #7  
Old 06-19-2015, 05:51 AM
jpjr50 jpjr50 is offline
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Thanks for the replies. Of course I'm obsessing about it, I have OCD.

I think I'll wait on replacing it. It's set up perfectly right now and I don't want to mess this up. I use the guitar everyday so it'll be a good test for the Corian.

As far as the sound, the YouTube videos I found did have a noticeable tone after the nut change to bone. The new strings really made a difference over the stock Martin strings.

Same replies from the main section, change it, don't change it, haha.
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