Gibson horrible nuts???

[The Kid!]

I played a 2019 Hummingbird, a 2019 J-45 Studio, and a J-15 Limited yesterday at Guitar Center. None were in tune when I picked them up, but they all held their tune once tuned. The nuts on all three were fine.

The Bird sounded great, but at almost $4K, I'd go looking for a vintage example. The J-45 Studio wasn't anything spectacular, but it was decent, and the J-15 sounded had a great tone and punch to it.

I feel like Gibson QC is pretty good, and I haven't seen any with even bad, let alone horrible, nut work. Some guitars stay on walls for a long time and suffer from a really bad set of strings.

[Golffishny]

I've seen nut issues on at least one of each brand I've tried, even a Taylor once. I do find that trying them at different stores can make a difference. Guitar Center seems to give them the least attention. Your sample is a small part of what's out there. Keep looking and get a real setup after you buy. Good luck.

[rwmct]

I have read a lot of posts on various forums about issues with Gibson nuts on both acoustic and electric guitars. Maybe I am credulous, but it seems like a lot of smoke for there to be no fire. Especially when many of these posts are from people who love Gibsons.

[51 Relic]

Originally Posted by catfish

There was nothing wrong with the nuts in all acoustic Gibsons I played in the shops, I also own Gibson J-45 Standard with black nut, no problem at all. I also have one Seagull and one Martin, to compare.



Try to move to another shop and play their Gibsons!

Same for me I check mine before playing , hardly ever moves out of tune

Originally Posted by rwmct

I have read a lot of posts on various forums about issues with Gibson nuts on both acoustic and electric guitars.

And yet, here's a recent thread about how great Gibsons are at staying in tune.

I guess I don't understand how many issues there can even be with a nut. Either the slots are cut correctly or they're not, but most of the time that's addressed with a standard set up.

IMO, Gibsons are no more prone to nut problems than any other brand; they're just more prone to criticism.

[endpin]

If you have a Gibson with a 17 degree headstock angle, the compound break angle at the nut on the G & D strings is severe and most "pinging" on those strings can be attributed to that no matter how well the nut is made.

[jrb715]

I guess I'm fortunate to have a local mom and pop shop that cares enough to set up all of their Gibsons properly. (Grayson's TuneTown in Montrose, California). They set them up with relatively low action, with strings that make them come to life, and with an attention that makes them sound their best.

I've run into the dead Gibson syndrome at a local Guitar Center and was shocked when I first played a Gibson at Grayson's--stiff competition for the many Martins that Grayson sells. I have no idea whether or not Gibson ships their guitars with so little attention that they feed the general sense that you have to be lucky to find a good one, but all of the Gibsons I've played at Graysons, and at Martin Music in Memphis were good ones.

[Russ C]

Can't single out Gibson's final stage anymore than the others but I totally agree that the nut end of things should be better from the factories.

While I've only done a few factory tours, as a tech I am totally unimpressed with most factory setups. We readily excuse them by acknowledging that people like different things .. but a nut is part of the fretboard and as such we could have an assumption of accuracy - it is a "zero fret" after all, but the only "fret" that doesn't cause buzzing somewhere if it's too high. But, again, a too high nut wrecks intonation (unless it's a well compensated nut which they don't fit) and the only payoff is being able to hammer one's open strings with less buzz .. a pretty wierd justification for bad intonation and sore fingers.

A nut is not hard to get right - you just gotta take your time and know what right looks like.
But hey, sloppy work keeps me employed so what am I whining about?

Seriously if anyone has a nut issue, any tech worth their salt can make it right - expect it and don't get too upset.