Using a wider Nut in a 12 string for fingerpicking?

[kmckenna45]

I just bought a used Yamaha FG820-12 12 String Acoustic. An amazing value for a 12 string that sounds great for the money. The action is very low and it plays very easily.

The one issue I have with it is the string spacing. The nut is 1 13/16", which gives the guitar an almost electric-guitar feel on the neck for strumming. However for finger picking, the strings are a little too close for me and my fat fingers.

Have you ever used a wider nut in a guitar - and then sanded down the ends of the nut so it would fit in the same nut slot?

I was thinking about getting a 1 7/8" nut and sanding it down a bit on either end so it would fit in the nut slot - but give me a tiny bit more room for fingerpicking between the string pairs. -its only 1/16" wider - so taking off 1/32" from either end should be no problem. And I don't think it will mess up the string angle to the pegs.

Thoughts? Will it really achieve anything? Have you ever tried this? Pluses & minuses?

Thanks

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by kmckenna45

I just bought a used Yamaha FG820-12 12 String Acoustic. An amazing value for a 12 string that sounds great for the money. The action is very low and it plays very easily.

The one issue I have with it is the string spacing. The nut is 1 13/16", which gives the guitar an almost electric-guitar feel on the neck for strumming. However for finger picking, the strings are a little too close for me and my fat fingers.

Have you ever used a wider nut in a guitar - and then sanded down the ends of the nut so it would fit in the same nut slot?

I was thinking about getting a 1 7/8" nut and sanding it down a bit on either end so it would fit in the nut slot - but give me a tiny bit more room for fingerpicking between the string pairs. -its only 1/16" wider - so taking off 1/32" from either end should be no problem. And I don't think it will mess up the string angle to the pegs.

Thoughts? Will it really achieve anything? Have you ever tried this? Pluses & minuses?

Thanks

Hi kmc-etc

Widening the nut with an existing fingerboard is only as successful as it can be properly done without dragging one (or both) outside strings off the neck when fingering chords or runs.

Widening the nut may give you more space in the first few frets, but by the time it reaches the other end it's back to 'original'

A technique which will give you some extra space is to capo. The fingerboard widens as one moves toward the bridge. Even 3-4 frets will give you more space than the ⅟₁₆" wider nut your are proposing. And it's free (well for the price of a good capo).

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by kmckenna45

I just bought a used Yamaha FG820-12 12 String Acoustic. An amazing value for a 12 string that sounds great for the money. The action is very low and it plays very easily.

The one issue I have with it is the string spacing. The nut is 1 13/16", which gives the guitar an almost electric-guitar feel on the neck for strumming. However for finger picking, the strings are a little too close for me and my fat fingers.

Have you ever used a wider nut in a guitar - and then sanded down the ends of the nut so it would fit in the same nut slot?

I was thinking about getting a 1 7/8" nut and sanding it down a bit on either end so it would fit in the nut slot - but give me a tiny bit more room for fingerpicking between the string pairs. -its only 1/16" wider - so taking off 1/32" from either end should be no problem. And I don't think it will mess up the string angle to the pegs.

Thoughts? Will it really achieve anything? Have you ever tried this? Pluses & minuses?

Thanks

You'll be better off with a different brand. I am possibly moving back to a Yamaha for the smaller nut width. I do finger pick, but I have medium/small hands. Taylor and Guild make a great neck with that nut width you're looking for.

[redi]

Originally Posted by kmckenna45

I just bought a used Yamaha FG820-12 12 String Acoustic. An amazing value for a 12 string that sounds great for the money. The action is very low and it plays very easily.

The one issue I have with it is the string spacing. The nut is 1 13/16", which gives the guitar an almost electric-guitar feel on the neck for strumming. However for finger picking, the strings are a little too close for me and my fat fingers.

Have you ever used a wider nut in a guitar - and then sanded down the ends of the nut so it would fit in the same nut slot?

I was thinking about getting a 1 7/8" nut and sanding it down a bit on either end so it would fit in the nut slot - but give me a tiny bit more room for fingerpicking between the string pairs. -its only 1/16" wider - so taking off 1/32" from either end should be no problem. And I don't think it will mess up the string angle to the pegs.

Thoughts? Will it really achieve anything? Have you ever tried this? Pluses & minuses?

Thanks

I did something similar on one of my kids FG820-12 (yes, amazing value they are) over the weekend. Hopefully this isn't blasphemy among other 12 players, but anyone having difficulty playing a 12 might consider a new nut, same width exactly but reducing the pair spacing (which increases the between pair spacing) as outlined by GuitarMD in the video. I found the idea of this intriguing. And if you DIY it is cheap and easily reversible. If you hire a tech to do it, it still might be relatively cheap and easily reversible.

https://youtu.be/ZjuC2NpXB9U?si=fzKTmDbnc8O906tn

My fingers are big-ish and a too-narrow 12-string neck with Yamaha default (or any builder's standard) string spacing does not leave much space and can cause me to mute some fingerings.

I fabricated a bone nut by hand using the .028 inter-pair spacing from the video and it worked out great - cost pennies and some time as most of the fabricating work was done with simple hand tools the old fashioned way so it took me a while. The string height is about .020 over the first fret on all right now. The video says he gets no buzz against other strings using this spacing and I don't either even though using light gauge strings and tuned down to D.

It indeed makes a 12-string much easier to play cleanly. If you had a wider neck to begin you might experiment with incrementally larger spacing but .028 would seem to be the logical minimum. The spacing is quite intricate nut work and the nib between strings is very small. On the Yamaha 12 with a 1 13/16 neck .028 worked out great. You should certainly use best-practice to remove material from the top of the nut so most of the string sits proud of the top surface of the nut to minimize the inter-string nib height.

Although the bridge end has the same spacing, I also relieved the 'forward' row of bridge pins on their left side so the octave string could sit closer the other string. This was easy using the larger size nut file and invisible otherwise.

YMMV but it worked for me. Very inexpensive and reversible. I like it and will certainly do it to my LL16-12, which has the same nut width as the FG820-12. Spacing is now perfect on my Yamaha. Anyone thinking about a wider nut, try this route first and you might find you have a lot of space on your 12 even with a thinner neck.