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Old 04-12-2012, 03:22 PM
Wadcutter Wadcutter is offline
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Default GS Mini's "NuBone" Nut & Saddle

Anybody know just what the heck "NuBone" is?
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Old 04-12-2012, 04:58 PM
lmacmil lmacmil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wadcutter View Post
Anybody know just what the heck "NuBone" is?
According to Graphtech:

"NuBone is a tone-enhancing nut and saddle material backed by 20 years of research and development. Now there is no reason to accept a cheap plastic nut or saddle when you can use Nubone. Perfect for the repair shop!

Nubone is a derivative of Graph Tech's proprietary TUSQ material and offers very similar tonal characteristics to our highly esteemed TUSQ. Nubone doesn't damp string vibration like plastic; instead, it transfers the optimum frequencies to the guitar allowing for more volume, more tone, and more harmonics. Also, Nubone is beautiful to work with because it is consistent throughout, files and sands easily, and won't melt on a belt sander.

Nubone is an environmentally friendly, man made material that is made to close tolerances under high heat and pressure which contributes to its hardness, workability, exotic appearance, and most importantly, guitar performance. It is odorless when sanded and harder than plastic which means it lasts and performs longer. Get great tone at a great price. Listening to your guitar equipped with NuBone is like hearing your guitar again for the first time!"
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Old 04-12-2012, 05:24 PM
andyi5 andyi5 is offline
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It's a good question! It'd be much clearer if Graph Tech elaborated on the differences between Nubone and Tusq instead of just plastic. Apparently, Nubone - which appeared on the GSmini a couple of years back, is in 2012 replacing Tusq on all the Mexican produced Taylor models - Babys, GSm, 100's & 200's.

Given that the 300 series & upwards still use Tusq, does this mean Nubone is a cheaper alternative to Tusq? Or are there tonal differences that work better with the laminates?
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Old 04-12-2012, 05:31 PM
Kevin A Kevin A is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lmacmil View Post
According to Graphtech:
Now there is no reason to accept a cheap plastic nut or saddle when you can use Nubone.
...which, it seems, is 'more expensive' plastic.
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Old 04-12-2012, 07:19 PM
Wadcutter Wadcutter is offline
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So it's a "derivative" of Tusq.
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Old 04-12-2012, 09:25 PM
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Dogberry415 Dogberry415 is offline
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Ah, the wondrous language of marketing copywriters. Plastic by any other name smells just as sweet.
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Old 04-12-2012, 10:30 PM
TaylorTele TaylorTele is offline
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I've read somewhere here that its just tusq left over pieces melted back together by heat
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Old 04-13-2012, 01:43 AM
andyi5 andyi5 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TaylorTele View Post
I've read somewhere here that its just tusq left over pieces melted back together by heat
That's very funny! Certainly it's not quite the same material as Tusq, the density is different and it feels slightly more brittle. But I don't know if it was engineered specifically to optimise the tone on certain types of instruments or like you say, a bunch of melted down spare parts!!
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Old 04-13-2012, 03:02 AM
TaylorTele TaylorTele is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andyi5 View Post
That's very funny! Certainly it's not quite the same material as Tusq, the density is different and it feels slightly more brittle. But I don't know if it was engineered specifically to optimise the tone on certain types of instruments or like you say, a bunch of melted down spare parts!!
Thats what I read anyway
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Old 04-13-2012, 06:07 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wadcutter View Post
Anybody know just what the heck "NuBone" is?
Hi WC...

It may be 'new' but one thing for sure, it ain't bone

Simple question…

If molded-man-made-parts are that good, why does Taylor sell bone saddles in their own online store as an upgrade?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Taylor site
"Our Wave Compensated™ bone saddle is a Taylor exclusive item, typically reserved for our 900 and Presentation Series acoustic guitars. Bone is a traditional material, very hard and durable, often asked for, and considered an upgrade."

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Old 04-13-2012, 06:54 AM
Kevin A Kevin A is offline
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I gave my dog a 'nubone' and she was very pleased with it.
Her old one was a bit worn out...

Two thumbs up!!

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Old 04-13-2012, 07:36 AM
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Sounds like "newspeak" to me...!!

Seriously, for $20 and a bit of sanding (30 min max) you can have "real bone" from our buddy Colosi and I've had very good luck with tone improvements - especially on the laminates and small body Taylor (Alvarez all-mahogany Regent, two Baby T mahoganys, etc.).

I'd shed the new bone ... easiest upgrade around.

However - to be fair - some like Tusq, which is more like ivory - crystalline highs and upper end emphasis.

Cheers,

Phil
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Old 04-13-2012, 08:29 AM
Wadcutter Wadcutter is offline
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"It may be 'new' but one thing for sure, it ain't bone…"

And there you have it! And btw, since my "blues name" according to the "get your blues name" website, is "Old Bones Jones" I guess I'm going to have to swap out that NuBone saddle on my mini when I get it for genuine bone in order to be true to my blues name. I'll ask Bob Colosi for his very oldest bone saddle.
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Old 06-19-2012, 01:38 PM
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Although I am not a polymer material engineer, my business has to do with plastic industry.

As far as I can tell, NuBone is plastic, but then again so is Tusq. I think the manufactures are just very scared to call it that. Nothing wrong with plastic IMO, but I guess it has a very stigmata attached to it.

That said, I dont like these Nubone stuff on a new little guild hog concert, they seem overly-soft. They definitely don't look "organic". I guess plastics are organics, but you get the point. They dont look like they were once alive.
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Old 06-19-2012, 01:48 PM
Paikon Paikon is offline
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tusq ,plastic or no plastic improved the sound of my guitar
the downside was that the presure of the strings created gap on the saddle after two years
now i have to replace it with bone
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