I absolutely love zero frets! They just make so much sense. My first was on my Steinberger in the 80s. But in the last number of years, I’ve (easily) retrofitted a Les Paul, a Yamaha and a Martin acoustic using the Zeroglide system with a stainless steel fret (have not had any noticeable divots or wear). Much better action and intonation, also a tonal improvement. I hope the big guys start making them standard.
Altho it's not my primary vocation, I have serviced hundreds of guitars over a 50 year span, half of that career in the US and half in EU.. German guitars regularly used zero-fret from the 50's through the 70's and it serves 2 purposes that you didn't really touch on; a.) ensuring a consistent apex across the neck easing intonation adjustment at the bridge (even an exceptional saddle-filer can't always line up a perfectly parallel fulcrum across slots - and as you did mention; this is also dependent on string gauge!), and b.) increasing resonance through the neck, as even soft nickel transduces vibrations better than bone (i.e. saddle, not to mention the more prevalent plastics) to the underlying wood. I'm a true believer in the zero fret for years now and always wondered why it wasn't more widely adopted. I can only imagine that it's because it isn't necessarily visually appealing - and because of the stigma associated with cheap guitars. At any rate; kudos to you Sir for highlighting such a relevant luthierial topic that doesn't get the attention it deserves!
I'm certainly no expert, but after having so much trouble keeping my Les Paul in tune, I've read that the angled headstock likely plays a large role in that, and that a benefit of a zero fret (the largest benefit for me, if it works (I haven't installed one yet)) is that the guitar will hold its tune much more reliably because the strings won't catch in the nut slots. Of course, if a nut is perfectly filed that will help a great deal, but it would be nice to just "set it and forget it" with a zero fret.
@@ClassicalPan Indeed Ted, I'll often use a smidgen of powdered graphite in the slots of a crappy nut (a pencil can help out there as well) to avoid any snagging sting effect.
@@jscan I've done that several times on my acoustic guitar, but I'm not sure it worked very well for me. I'll go at it with some fine grit sandpaper next time and see if I have better luck with that.
@@ClassicalPan I’ve got 3 Les Pauls. I’ve never had tuning stability issues. I have other guitars with Floyd Rose systems on them. And they never go out of tune. So if my Les Pauls were going to be finicky, I would have sold them. I use military gun grease on the posts of my Floyd Rose guitars. Where the knife edge of the bridge meets the post. I use it to minimize friction and the keep my knife edges from becoming deformed. So when I started getting hard tail guitars, specifically Gibson Les Pauls, I was already aware of people having tuning stability issues. So I used the military gun grease (Tw25b needle tip syringe) on the saddles and nut slots of my Les Pauls. I have minimal tuning issues as a result. Mostly during drastic humidity changes. But for the most part, they hold tune almost as well as my locked Floyd guitars. Especially my custom. That thing is rock solid. Tw25b. Stuff works better than any graphite, nut lube, etc.
Great video! I have a Veleno guitar. Aluminum/ magnesium neck/aluminum body. A Veleno guitar has a zero fret. On this guitar all I see are advantages. Body/ neck material aside, I notice increased sustain and resonance. I have not experienced any wear on the zero fret in all the years I have had the guitar. John Veleno built the first Veleno guitar in 1966.
I installed the Zero Glide Nut System on my Gretsch some months ago. What a nice thing to have. Sound is improved for open chords, tuning/intonation has improved. I am a fan of zero frets!
I have one instrument with a zero fret - a late 80s Washburn Status. I mean, I dont have any else to compare it to, but this bass (a headless) stays in tune incredibly well, and plays so smooth.
I just finished slotting a black tusq nut for a project guitar I use to teach myself this stuff. It didn't go too badly. I took my time, used this trick where laid a thin long thing of metal on the first few frets and scratched a radius into the nut face so I could see how deep to go. Having said that, the whole time I was constantly paranoid about going too deep or too shallow or not getting the radius right. My next project is replacing an entire fingerboard with a new one and I think I'm going to try this with a stainless steel fret of a matching size. I like the idea of having that zero fret there to ensure I get the right height and radius at that end of the neck. Thanks.
Nice vid. I have inherited a Epiphone twelvee from my deceased brother in law which has a zero fret and a broken nut and this is the first time I have tried to replace a nut. Intuitively, I had guessed the purpose of the zero fret, but until watching this vid, I wasn't sure. Pretty reassuring because I have a pretty nasty buzz on some of the higher strings which I think just indicates I haven't cut the nut slots deep enough yet because the strings are buzzing on the zero fret. I take note of the slot angles and clearance towards the back of the nut. I think my brother in law would be happy that I have watched this and now will make a pretty decent job of bringing the twelvee back to it's former glory.
I build electric cigar box guitars. A few years back I started installing the zero frets on all my builds, with amazing results. Firstly, they're easy to install, and all my guitars have a fantastic tone and sustain. I'll never give up my zero frets!
@@moki2093 the reason would be that it makes whole instrument less hermonical because of the space between the bridges and each fret and there are other ways to increase the action and not compromise the sound. My opinion as a guitar player for many years. I've played both.
I like the idea of a zero fret because it helps to establish good action lower down the neck, instead of depending on the nut to be slotted low enough. I've actually only had a zero fret on a couple guitars, a Gretsch Country Gentleman and an EKO 12-string acoustic guitar, years ago.
I've got an old Kramer aluminum-neck bass, from maybe 1979 or so, and it's got a zero-fret. That instrument is 40 years old, and it's great. There are some slight divots in the fret, but it's nothing at all disastrous. (A regular bass nut would have been subjected to the same forces of wear and tear, and probably not have held up as well.) I needed a new nut on my Strat, and opted for the Zero-Glide kit. I love it. The fret guarantees consistent action across all the strings at the first fret, with the same tonality for open and fretted notes. (Because, of course, they are now ALL fretted notes!) It also seems to me like the whammy bar stays in tune better - a benefit that Brian May has also attributed to the zero-fret on his own guitars. I would say that if you've got a guitar with a nut that's performing just fine, then stick with it. It's not broken, so don't fix it. But if you need a replacement for some reason, then go for the Zero-Glide.
My favourite guitarist, Brian May, placed a zero fret on his homemade Red Special. I believe it was because his little first acoustic had one. I've always thought his full chords rang out so well, and would attribute some of that to his zero fret.
My question has finally been answered. I have a vintage 1970's Lyle Acoustic Dreadnaught that has a zero fret. I have been battling fret buzz and could never tell where it was coming from. I was convinced the zero fret was causing it. When this guitar came to me I had never heard of Lyle guitars and just assumed it was a secondary manufacturer. It was not until recently when I got it out from the back of the closet that I did some research. The story of the Lyle guitar is quite interesting in itself. At that time I learned my old Lyle is actually a well made instrument. I had never done a set up on it and it always played well and stayed in tune fine. The action was quite high and i wanted to play lighter strings. ( I actually prefer D'Addario 8's. Yes, the are electric guitar strings but I like feel and sound) The bridge is angled and can be raised and lowered. It was pretty high and the action past the 12th fret was finger numbing. The neck itself is still straight and no twist. After a back and forth of adjusting the truss rod and bridge height I have the buzz minimized and a decent action. it stays in tune fine but getting the intonation will test your patience as I can't move the bridge forward or back. Fine tuning the height of the bridge is the only way and raising the action was something I didn't want to do. I have it to the point where intonation is only slightly off on 2 strings. The noise I kept hearing was not buzz. The old style tuners are worn and rattle if I dont take the slop out of the screw. Thanks Highline Guitars. I had never heard of or seen a zero fret before I stumbled onto this post.
Interesting, I've played guitar for 23 years and never knew about it. Your basically using a fret for a nut. Might help you get more sustain I would guess, along with the more uniform action.
Leshreddur Mitchell I think the zero fret guitar still needs a bit though for string spacing. I don’t know if slotting the zero fret a bit would function as a nut or not
blah, I ever liked zero fret guitars...Gretsch guitars are..I think Mosrite are..and that is probably the only zero fret guitar I would love to have, it's just another fret that needs more attention because it supports the strings...the nut is far better, the surface is larger, the pressure is spread out over that larger surface supporting the string and therefore won't wear out as fast, but since the strings sole resting point is on a fret, it will wear out faster. The string is vibrating against that metal fret and it is always being tuned against that fret...it just not a good idea in my opinion...never liked em...though as I stated I would like to own a Mosrite...Univox made copies in the 70's of Mosrites and they all had zero frets...I remember playing some, a lot of lawsuit guitars back then.
Great vid. One comment. Roger Bucknall of Fylde Guitars (UK) has used zero frets on his custom acoustic guitars for at least 40 years, and has written in detail about their advantages. In particlar, he asserts that there is no need for the excessive wear at fret zero provided the nut is properly installed and cut between the zero fret and the tuners. So doing eliminates any sawing motion, and since the strings are in constant contact with the fret there is actually LESS wear than at the other frets. Equally, we don't get wear in the nut slots in a tradional nut. I have 4 guitars with zero frets, of which the oldest is 40 years old. Standard nickel wire and no zero fret wear and I've used everything from 10 gauge to bluegrass ropes on it over the years.
I use zero frets in most of the instruments I build. There’s another benefit to zero frets; they allow the guitar to play in tune better. It’s the same concept as compensated nuts and the Buzz Feiten System. The way all these systems work is that strings are stiffer near their anchor point. The makes them vibrate more like a metal rod, an the stiffer the string is, the more out of tune the harmonics are. So compensated nuts work by moving the nut slightly closer to the first fret. This makes the notes on the first few frets flatter. That compensates for the tendency of the notes to be sharp because of the string being stiffer near the nut. A zero fret solves the problem by moving the anchor point away from the zero fret. This allows it to be a bit more flexible, thus playing more in tune at the low frets. Luthier Rick Tuner has written about this. He also stopped using zero frets because he got tired of explaining the benefits to customers. Lol. Regarding wear. I see no more wear than the rest of the frets. If they need to be dressed then so does the zero fret. It’s important to not have nut slots so wide as to allow more side to side motion over the fret than normal. The zero fret should be dressed at the same height as the rest of the frets to maintain proper action over the first fret.
But really if your nut slots are deep enough that tension is lower and intonation on all my guitars in the first few frets is great. Thats why having the nut slots deepend to the right height is so important. I do see the zero fret as a benefit though when using hard metals since a nut replacement would be easy for the DIYer to make and more consistency of action each setup.
tecnolover2642 Zero frets do make the hight of the strings perfect, but as I said it also moves that anchor point away from the zero fret which improves the tuning of the first few frets. But if you use a standard nut it is very important to have the slots the right depth.
David Schwab - Appreciate your comment, just would you mind elaborating on what you mean by “zero fret moving the anchor point away from the zero fret”? I’m trying to understand but having a tough time visualizing this. Thanks! Cheers
Ty Comes - TVPC Production Ok, so your nut and bridge saddle are anchor points. The string breaks over them at an angle which establishes the scale length of the string. What’s behind the nut and saddle don’t matter (but do act as a “shock absorber” allowing the string to bend easier) Close to where the string is anchored it’s stiff. You can feel this if you compare bending at the first fret compared to the 12th. When a vibrating string is stiff it behaves like a metal rod. The harmonics tend to be sharp compared to the fundamental. This gives metal rods that metallic clang. On a piano the bass strings are very stiff. So to make the piano sound in tune with itself, the tuning is stretched; the high strings are tuned slightly sharp to match the harmonics from the low strings. On a guitar the first few frets sometimes sound a little out of tune. Especially on unwound G strings. Things like the Earvanna nut and Buzz Feiten system attempt to compensate by moving the nut slightly closer to the first fret. This is like sliding all the frets closer to the nut. That makes the notes slightly flat. This compensates for them sounding sharp on the first few frets. Then you adjust your bridge saddles so the intonation is in on the upper frets. A zero fret can over come this by moving the nut a bit behind the zero fret. This tends to allow the notes to sound better in tune. Other benefits are having perfect action at the “nut” and first fret, which prevents the notes sounding sharp. Remember; when you press a string down to the fret you are stretching it. Same as bending it sideways a small amount. That’s why we need to compensate at the bridge by moving the saddles back to flatten the notes.
Took a very cheap strat copy and got rid of any intonation issues (w/o gaining years of luthier experience) by installing a zero thread. The fact that physics PhD Brain May also uses it, gave me some confidence upfront. And for wear: stainless steel! Take a thread, remove the twang, use a flexible (Japanese) saw and cut a slot in the nut in the radius of the threadboard to move the (flat) thread into the „zero“position. You only mess up the nut, which could be a real cheap one.
Another good video. I had a 1966 Yamaha SG3 with a zero fret. It had a chrome nut which were just essentially slots for guiding the strings. I loved that guitar and never should have gotten rid of it. It played incredible.
Brian May's Red Special have zero fret, which was replaced for the first time in 2005, about 42 years after the guitar was built! And of course this guitar was and still is played very very much.
@@davidmckean955 No it bloody hell hasn't. It was made in 1966 (or finished) while the rest of the frets had been filed down, recrowned or adjusted, the zero fret was changed only once in 2005 or something. What mitigates the wear s 3 things that works in conjuction. The scale of the Red Special is shorter than both regular strat or Les Paul. It is 24" scale, and he used/used 008 gauge strings, and of Optima brand, which are gold coated. Which means the friction and wear is even less. However, what people don't bring up that the zero fret had to be replaced again in 2016, which means that the original 1966 one was made of different, harder, material.
@@davidmckean955 No it bloody hell hadn't. The Red Special had ordinary frets. But it was in the 60s, stainless steel frets was barely invented, I do no think even Stainless Steel strings was invented. Hower, the new ones, made "by" him or with his blessing may very well have.
I had a zero fret and a bar in the head stock east of the first tuner that held all the strings down. Clever design. We’re talking late 60’s “cheap” Japanese guitar. Loved it.
Coincidentally, I was just discussing this earlier today. I have a 70s' Audition budget electric, sold here in the UK by Woolworths, that has a zero fret. It has a fairly decent neck, and once set up, is actually fun to play. Thanks for answering pretty much every question I had on this.
Fantastic video - I just discovered zero frets after seeing vids of headless guitars - was asking many questions as to why they were not more common and what was the benefit. Your video answered many of those questions. Many thanks.
I have one of the hated 2015 Les Pauls. I love the zero fret on that guitar. It has a zingy sound with open chords and is adjustable in small increments for setups. The robot tuners for replaced by Grovers right away, of course.
I have a 2015 Gibson double cut with the zero fret nut (and Grover tuners). What's not to love about adjustable string height and the ability to use up to 13 gauge strings without any slot filing? Open strings and chords sound awesome as well. Hallmark guitars all have a zero fret as well, though non adjustable.
Thanks for the zero fret video ! My point of view, If the sound of a guitar with 22 frets of metal is determined by metal frets then the question is why the nut so the zero fret on most guitars is made of plastic or other materials and only rarely of metal. In other words, the zero fret on most guitars is not metal like the frets. Why this obvious sound difference? Metal nut sounds harmonious with the Metal Frets. Sound determined by metal. The zero fret an improvement of the intonation and playability. The zero fret is a hight precision guitar thing. I use a modern zero fret LP ! Sounds fantastic !
Thanks for the explanation. The new Ibanez BTB bass has a zero fret and that’s the first I’ve ever heard of this. I couldn’t find any information about it either explaining what it’s actual purpose was.
I've been a bass guitarist going on 30 years and until this video I'd never heard of the zero fret. Seems like it would be a good thing to add if using stainless steel.
Great video, some points I hadn't considered, although as a player I feel you missed the main advantage for zero fret, at least the reason I have zero fret. And that is the consistency in sound between fretted and open strings. This is especially true in a bass guitar where the sound of string held in the groove of a nut can be quite different to the sound of a string held against a metal fret. (Probably exaggerated due to the larger gauge of bass strings?)
Another advantage of zero fret is that it gives lower action at the first fret making it much easier to get the string down. Since many chords have notes on the first fret this makes playing much easier, especially for beginners and casual strummers who use those chords a lot.
I always thought it was a sign of a well made guitar to have a zero fret. My old Hagstrom Super Swede has one. I love the guitar and feel that it has excellent quality. I don't play it that often, so it was interesting to hear the main issue with zero frets are wear. Thanks for the great video
The wear from the metal of the strings down to any bone, plastic nut is actually worse. I have replaced way more nuts in my days due to DOWNWEAR - same gauge strings throughout the decades - and have not replaced or needed to replace any of the zero frets that came with all headless guitars. They were quite a fad during the 80s. All had to have zero frets.
Thanks for all your great instructional videos....been inspired by them over a year now. I have installed a zero fret on an inexpensive acoustic and noted increased sustain and improved playability. Found the process easy to retrofit because the kit did come with various size fret wire to match the existing guitar frets. The nut included in the kit did need some gentle sanding, but patience with this process paid off. I definitely will try one on an electric guitar soon.
I think the zero fret is the very best idea of a nut and have found that using an A string cut to match the length of the nut and using a file or blade to notch the nut to fit the A string into it , to match the correct distance works amazing as you can use brass or steel A strings and the wound A string has groves already that really work well for containing strings in place, very simple job, very short time to do and really for the player not the uptight I own a 3,000$ guitar person ;)
I have a Supro Violin bass (apparently that's the model name) from about 1965 which has a zero fret on it. It has picked up a bit of fret buzz and it's at that zero fret so I'm thinking I'll just replace it now. I'm sure when I take the strings off, it will be worn as I've owned this bass since I was 11 (1983) and never did anything to the frets. Thank you for the video. This is some very helpful information.
I had a Japanese Epiphone 12 string I bought in 1972 and the zero fret was great. Yes some wear did occur but it was a Gibson /Epiphone guitar. All solid woods BTW. I had it and played it live for nearly 20 years. I notice Gretsch has had zero frets on many models and Chet was no fool.
What pushed me to finally go zero fret was a Jeff Beck interview. I did a rewind on my PVR to take a closer look at the nut on his Strat - it was a zero fret.
Regarding the ping or kink that is heard when bending strings on zero fret. On electric guitars it isn't picked up by the pickup at all. It's behind the "witness point". You may definitely feel or hear it acoustically. But I eroded my zero fret dent off, on my headless Klein, by actually bending quite a few times, so the edges of the dent became blunt (both ways). Took a couple of days.Then the former groove that may have looked like a V shape turned into a shallower "pit" instead with a mild slope instead. Ping and kink gone. And mind you it stayed for that forever, and still are. One - sort of - file the sides more blunt with the bending and let the strings be the file grinder. One thing people forgets is that the actual string does get deformed precisely too, at that area. On old strings all strings will have dent that will deform so much that you have been eroding off half of the gauge. One can even have it on several spots along the strings length. Dents are made both on the frets and strings, eventually. So then the distance above the first fret is jeopardized. But it is a very easy soluton to this: Change strings. And here comes the caveat: On bone and plastic nut, the strings "point" doesn't become deformed. So the gauge stays. But since the strings are made of steel and nut is of bone/plastic it will slowly grind and erode its way down, eventually being too low above the first fret anyway. But it takes longer time. Just because of this, all luthiers seems to have a dilemma, of whether keeping the zero fret at the same level as the rest of the frets, or that it should be kept - a hair - higher/taller than the rest. If you do that you're back to the same dilemma as with the nut, that you deliberately cuts it too high, in order to avoid buzz, but having first fretted notes turning too sharp. If you make it line up after first fret intonation, you may end up eventually getting a lot of fret buzz on open strings. Every string and setup will do that eventually. You can even get rid of string buzz with brand new set of string on, that hasn't deformed at the zero fret point. All of a sudden it has naturally raised itself to a perfect distance above the first fret. But it seems that whatever you try to buck and mitigate, you'll end up having "too low" eventually. There's no perfect set up for both nuts or zero fret that will last. If you have a zero fret of stainless steel and uses stainless steel strings, the friction and slow erosion will be the same on both strings and frets. If you use nickel strings, the stainless steel zero fret will keep and last longer. And the dents will show up in the nickel strings instead.
Other advantage : it's a fret and it sounds exactly a a fret. A nut can sound different to a fret depending on the material. Vibration on zéro fret are really minimal so I'd not fear it to wear too quickly. I always build with zero fret and play my own guitars and actually other frets wear faster.
I believe a zero fret can improve intonation. In the lower fret positions, notes are typically sharp due to the relatively high position of the string in the nut slot. The zero fret eliminates that.
I've found sanding the bottom of the zero-glide can get tricky. if one's not careful you can wind up with an uneven bottom which can ruin the nut install. If you want to go with a zero-glide you may want to go with a nut/saddle sanding tool to ensure an even surface on the bottom. looking forward to seeing the other product you mentioned. i love zero frets and I'm eager to seeing an alternative product.
I have one of those Japanese 335 style knockoffs with a zero fret. Got it for my 16th birthday, which was more than 16yrs ago. The nickel fret wear is definitely an issue. Interested to see the zero fret install vid.
Interesting discussion. I have a Gibson SG that came with a Zero Fret and it was some type of brass alloy that wore quickly. They replaced it with a different material and eventually sent out the latest version and I really don't remember if it was stainless or titanium. The only advantage that I saw was the ease of setting the string height for the first fret. Graphtech makes a TUSQ replacement for these also. This guitar was one of the 2015 Les Paul 100 year models and I'm not sure they put these Zero Frets on any models after that. Bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with a well made bone nut and unless it is a real improvement why change from that?
I once bought a cheap Korean guitar with a Floyd Rose type locking tuner system. I didn’t like the locking system aspect because it was a pain to set up and I never use a whammy bar, so I took off the little locking nuts that were tightened down to fix the strings in place. This meant the strings passed over V-shaped notches cut into a metal nut. They sounded OK to me and I played that guitar for years with no problems. Wish I hadn’t sold it when I needed cash.
I installed a zero fret kit on my mexi-strat from ZeroGlide, and apparently it wasn't made of stainless steel. I took it out within two months, it was pinging every time i bent strings or applying vibrato while playing. I loved the idea and the sound at first, but it didn't take long to wear divots in the thing. If you do mod your guitar with one of these kits, make sure you have the harder metal, or it will drive you crazy eventually. Luckily, I didn't have to modify my nut slot to install it, so I was able to put the previous TUSQ nut back into it without any further issues. Now if TUSQ starts making zero frets with the harder metals, I'm in, I'll try it again.
Great video! I think I’m going to get a guitar with a zero fret, it really does seem useful, and addresses some concerns I had about guitars that don’t have one
funny, I just bought a vintage Sekova with a zero fret yesterday, had no idea what it was and today your video pops up in my suggested list. New subscriber here. :-)
Another advantage to the zero fret... As frets wear due to use, then become unevenly worn to the point of needing leveling, re-crowning and polishing, the string-to-fret gap becomes greater with a nut only at the zero position, but a zero fret can be leveled along with all the others to keep the gap at fret one consistent.
Most Selmac gypsy jazz guitars have always had a zero fret, and are the better for it IMHO. String wear on the zero fret doesn't seem to be much of an issue, even after heavy use and extended time periods.
great stuff Chris . . . One thing I had thought about the zero fret was that, theoretically, your open strings would sound a lot more like the fretted notes . . . . more than a bone nut would, anyway .
Excellent information as usual! Love the work you do my friend! I own guitars from just about every manufacturer on the planet including the big names, and I have to say that I seem to always go back to my Steinberger. I think I subconsciously favor it because of the ultra-low action I'm able to utilize on that guitar. I've always suspected that the zero fret has quite a bit to do with this characteristic. Thanks for sort of confirming my suspicions on that and explaining the reasons behind it 😊
Big fan of ZeroGlide here. Used them on a few of my guitars, including a Cort acoustic. NB: Always upgrade to the stainless steel zero fret - the nickel ones just do not last.
All the German vintage guitar and Bohemian (Czeschoslowakian) guitars have one. These aren't the cheapo's. I have a Framus Sorella (black rose) archtop from 1962, but some student-luthier removed it when he put on a new fingerboard. Now I'm planning to restore it.
I bought a used SG this week, a 2016, and someone put a zero fret unit on the guitar which looks like a one piece thing, and man it plays great, but I have no idea who makes this one so replacement may be a challenge. I have never used it before but I like it a lot.
Great video Thank you very much :). Ned Steinberger almost made his zero fret GL and GM guitars perfect. I have 2 Gl4ta guitars that I’ve had the frets replaced on wirh stainlesd steel and a jumbo fret placed in the zero fret spot, ( U notched for depth ). The Huge bebefit is: the roller bridge saddles are SS same ass all the frets so when i play a chord the open strings ring true to the fretted ones, Amazing…
I played a Mosrite Ventures Model in the late 60's. The zero fret on those guitars (plus the amazing, straight necks) gave those instruments the closest workable action of any guitar I have ever played. Never had an issue with the zero fret, always seemed to be the best way to go. BTW, I've had a lot of the slots in a standard nut get worn down on non-zero fret instruments, especially on non-locking trem guitars like a Strat. The wound strings cut the slots down on a bone or plastic nut much faster than the zero frets became gouged. Of course, I represent a sample size of 1, but that has been my experience.
Another great video Chris. Have you heard of the eNut system? Monte Allums is the "inventor." It basically adds a fret right in front of the existing nut, which in my mind would serve the purpose of a zero fret to simplify the ease of setting the string height and compensating the nut by shifting the apex of the string slightly forward ( @ 1/32" he says).
My Vigier has a zero fret and the main advantage for the player is that you have no timbre difference between fretted strings and open strings. As for the wear, Vigier doesn't glue the 0 fret and you can buy some for really cheap. It's super easy to replace.
I realised I'd like a zero fret when I started using a capo for open tunings. I want the nut as just another (albeit stainless steel) fret, as if I had a capo behind it.
I am totally with you! I love the consistency of the sound in a zero position and non zero position with the capo. And that's what I want from the zero fret. Since I don't have a zero fret I just play with capo always, tuning my guitar in D :) And dreaming of a guitar with the zero fret.
@@AlexanderPetrov Would it be easy to buy a stainless fret that's suitable for use with the Zero Glide? I think the Zero Glide company could at least offer suitable frets for existing customers, I mean, without charging silly money. It wouldn't cost them much to post a couple, and it is their invention they would be improving on.
I'm guessing you would level and crown as normal but not do anything with the zero fret since you need that gap over the first fret. After the normal levelling process, then you could adjust your action at the 'nut' end of the fret board by sanding the zero fret down to the required level, crowning and polishing it separately.
You would just recrown the 0 the same as all the others. You don't leave the 1st taller than the 2nd, than the 3rd ad infinium. The relief dictates clearance on a guitar, never the frets.
7:09 There's practically no wear if you use stainless steel frets with nickel-silver strings. Steel frets, zero fret, locking tuners and even the simple treble bleed cap should all be an industry standard on all mid price to premium guitars.
I had a zero fret on a guitar I had back in 76 to 78. It was an inexpensive guitar but played ok, but as I gut it used there was a lot of fret wear on the zero fret which needed to be replaced but I didn't even know it could be replaced back then. Not I have a custom replacement fretboard a friend did for me about 7 or 8 years ago. it has the gold Evo frets and he said these will hold up much better than the nickel frets that were on it before. That guitar played great it got damaged and I have been on the hunt for another zero fret guitar but it seems they are hard to come by.
How about those Earvana nuts? They seem to think the nut should be at a slightly different location for each string, for 'proper intonation'. Can't do that with a zero fret. Or can you? I have a '65 Teisco with a zero fret. To make it intonate perfectly (with open chords on the first 3 or 4 frets), I placed a short piece of suitable diameter low E guitar string against the headstock side of the zero fret (between the fret and nut) under some of the strings, thereby lifting them off the zero fret and making them about 1.5 mm longer. Took some experimenting with a strobe to figure out which strings needed it. It's been there 40 years, works great and never moves. Of course there's no wear because the strings can't slide side to side on that piece of low E string. There is, however, some wear on the zero fret from the strings that are still resting on that. Someday I'll do a full refretting of the neck and maybe consider an Earvana or some such non-linear nut. Looking forward to your next video. Cheers!
"Can't do that with a zero fret. Or can you?" Try this with any guitar. Get a capo out and put it on the first fret. Voila! YOU HAVE MADE YOUR OWN ZERO FRET and it's not different from any other fret, zero or not. Same intonation still, neither better nor worse, it is easier to press down the first fret after the capo.
I put light strings on my new-old-beater acoustic I bought and the low e cracked the nut. Buzzed right through it. The string didn’t even come close to fitting in the slot when I changed them so I should have known better. Now I get to practice changing a nut and setting up an acoustic.
Interesting video. Seems like it's a no brainer why most players choose to use cheap and easily replaceable nuts rather than worrying about setup/ wear on a zero fret. The change in tone would be similar to a metal nut and would give you a brighter sound. This might not be desirable to some players.
Retrofitting is a bit of an issue for the reasons you mention. However, on new builds, there is no setup with a zero fret. It's automatic. Also, a stainless steel zero fret will last longer than a bone nut.
I really like them, but they’re quite rare nowadays. The Italian Eko brand use them and achieve amazing action and playability. A lot of Hofner’s had them as well. Unfortunately, these are mostly budget instruments and don’t sound all that great IMO. I’d like to see one on a custom shop Les Paul, or similar. Even on a well made classical.
Good information on the zero frets, I like them a lot. But to be honest I fail to see the wear problem. If the zero fret gets playwear, so will the other frets. Recrowning or replacing one more or less doesn't seem like a major issue to me, even cost wise.
If you ever hear a worn zerofret of soft fretwire, it'll sound like plucking behind the nut crossed with plucking an egg cutter. If the material is right...not too soft, not so hard it gets brittle, it will take that constant abuse. The more polished the surface is, the harder it is to get divots.
I have converted all my guitars to zero fret.Once you play it you will never go back. What if the guitar you just bought had a plastic 5th fret? Would you just accept that one fret on your guitar was made of a different material and will sustain differently? Your nut is no different.
I have owned my 1971 USA built Harptone Lark over 40 years and played the hell out of it. I've never experienced any wear on the zero fret, possibly because the zero fret is very close to the nut? Can imagine it could be a problem with the zero fret being maybe 1/4" away?
I think the proper term would be "the nut is placed BEHIND the zero fret". If it was placed IN FRONT of, it would be inside the first fret range, correct?
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I absolutely love zero frets! They just make so much sense. My first was on my Steinberger in the 80s. But in the last number of years, I’ve (easily) retrofitted a Les Paul, a Yamaha and a Martin acoustic using the Zeroglide system with a stainless steel fret (have not had any noticeable divots or wear). Much better action and intonation, also a tonal improvement. I hope the big guys start making them standard.
Couldn't agree more!
Altho it's not my primary vocation, I have serviced hundreds of guitars over a 50 year span, half of that career in the US and half in EU.. German guitars regularly used zero-fret from the 50's through the 70's and it serves 2 purposes that you didn't really touch on; a.) ensuring a consistent apex across the neck easing intonation adjustment at the bridge (even an exceptional saddle-filer can't always line up a perfectly parallel fulcrum across slots - and as you did mention; this is also dependent on string gauge!), and b.) increasing resonance through the neck, as even soft nickel transduces vibrations better than bone (i.e. saddle, not to mention the more prevalent plastics) to the underlying wood.
I'm a true believer in the zero fret for years now and always wondered why it wasn't more widely adopted. I can only imagine that it's because it isn't necessarily visually appealing - and because of the stigma associated with cheap guitars.
At any rate; kudos to you Sir for highlighting such a relevant luthierial topic that doesn't get the attention it deserves!
I'm certainly no expert, but after having so much trouble keeping my Les Paul in tune, I've read that the angled headstock likely plays a large role in that, and that a benefit of a zero fret (the largest benefit for me, if it works (I haven't installed one yet)) is that the guitar will hold its tune much more reliably because the strings won't catch in the nut slots. Of course, if a nut is perfectly filed that will help a great deal, but it would be nice to just "set it and forget it" with a zero fret.
@@ClassicalPan Indeed Ted, I'll often use a smidgen of powdered graphite in the slots of a crappy nut (a pencil can help out there as well) to avoid any snagging sting effect.
@@jscan I've done that several times on my acoustic guitar, but I'm not sure it worked very well for me. I'll go at it with some fine grit sandpaper next time and see if I have better luck with that.
@@ClassicalPan I’ve got 3 Les Pauls. I’ve never had tuning stability issues. I have other guitars with Floyd Rose systems on them. And they never go out of tune. So if my Les Pauls were going to be finicky, I would have sold them. I use military gun grease on the posts of my Floyd Rose guitars. Where the knife edge of the bridge meets the post. I use it to minimize friction and the keep my knife edges from becoming deformed. So when I started getting hard tail guitars, specifically Gibson Les Pauls, I was already aware of people having tuning stability issues. So I used the military gun grease (Tw25b needle tip syringe) on the saddles and nut slots of my Les Pauls. I have minimal tuning issues as a result. Mostly during drastic humidity changes. But for the most part, they hold tune almost as well as my locked Floyd guitars. Especially my custom. That thing is rock solid. Tw25b. Stuff works better than any graphite, nut lube, etc.
I don’t like ‘serviced’ in this context
Great video! I have a Veleno guitar. Aluminum/ magnesium neck/aluminum body. A Veleno guitar has a zero fret. On this guitar all I see are advantages. Body/ neck material aside, I notice increased sustain and resonance. I have not experienced any wear on the zero fret in all the years I have had the guitar. John Veleno built the first Veleno guitar in 1966.
I installed the Zero Glide Nut System on my Gretsch some months ago. What a nice thing to have. Sound is improved for open chords, tuning/intonation has improved. I am a fan of zero frets!
I LOVE Zero frets! I have an old Japanese Tele clone and it has a rosewood neck and a zero fret, and it's literally my favoring thing in the world.
I have one instrument with a zero fret - a late 80s Washburn Status. I mean, I dont have any else to compare it to, but this bass (a headless) stays in tune incredibly well, and plays so smooth.
I just finished slotting a black tusq nut for a project guitar I use to teach myself this stuff. It didn't go too badly. I took my time, used this trick where laid a thin long thing of metal on the first few frets and scratched a radius into the nut face so I could see how deep to go. Having said that, the whole time I was constantly paranoid about going too deep or too shallow or not getting the radius right. My next project is replacing an entire fingerboard with a new one and I think I'm going to try this with a stainless steel fret of a matching size. I like the idea of having that zero fret there to ensure I get the right height and radius at that end of the neck. Thanks.
Nice vid. I have inherited a Epiphone twelvee from my deceased brother in law which has a zero fret and a broken nut and this is the first time I have tried to replace a nut. Intuitively, I had guessed the purpose of the zero fret, but until watching this vid, I wasn't sure. Pretty reassuring because I have a pretty nasty buzz on some of the higher strings which I think just indicates I haven't cut the nut slots deep enough yet because the strings are buzzing on the zero fret. I take note of the slot angles and clearance towards the back of the nut. I think my brother in law would be happy that I have watched this and now will make a pretty decent job of bringing the twelvee back to it's former glory.
I build electric cigar box guitars. A few years back I started installing the zero frets on all my builds, with amazing results. Firstly, they're easy to install, and all my guitars have a fantastic tone and sustain. I'll never give up my zero frets!
Mossrite used the zero fret and I always thought of these as premium guitars of the 60's. It lowered the action and made playability much easier.
I disagree
@@brysonw2952kindly explain why
@@moki2093 the reason would be that it makes whole instrument less hermonical because of the space between the bridges and each fret and there are other ways to increase the action and not compromise the sound. My opinion as a guitar player for many years. I've played both.
@@brysonw2952 k
Makes it easier to get a low action.. But the exact same action can be achieved with a standard nut, just more skilled work is needed
And zero frets were given that day... :D
Hehehehehe this made me giggle
Don't give a fret ya know, why fret? It's a zero anyway!🎸
Fret you
I like the idea of a zero fret because it helps to establish good action lower down the neck, instead of depending on the nut to be slotted low enough. I've actually only had a zero fret on a couple guitars, a Gretsch Country Gentleman and an EKO 12-string acoustic guitar, years ago.
I've got an old Kramer aluminum-neck bass, from maybe 1979 or so, and it's got a zero-fret. That instrument is 40 years old, and it's great. There are some slight divots in the fret, but it's nothing at all disastrous. (A regular bass nut would have been subjected to the same forces of wear and tear, and probably not have held up as well.)
I needed a new nut on my Strat, and opted for the Zero-Glide kit. I love it. The fret guarantees consistent action across all the strings at the first fret, with the same tonality for open and fretted notes. (Because, of course, they are now ALL fretted notes!) It also seems to me like the whammy bar stays in tune better - a benefit that Brian May has also attributed to the zero-fret on his own guitars.
I would say that if you've got a guitar with a nut that's performing just fine, then stick with it. It's not broken, so don't fix it. But if you need a replacement for some reason, then go for the Zero-Glide.
My favourite guitarist, Brian May, placed a zero fret on his homemade Red Special. I believe it was because his little first acoustic had one. I've always thought his full chords rang out so well, and would attribute some of that to his zero fret.
My question has finally been answered. I have a vintage 1970's Lyle Acoustic Dreadnaught that has a zero fret. I have been battling fret buzz and could never tell where it was coming from. I was convinced the zero fret was causing it. When this guitar came to me I had never heard of Lyle guitars and just assumed it was a secondary manufacturer. It was not until recently when I got it out from the back of the closet that I did some research. The story of the Lyle guitar is quite interesting in itself. At that time I learned my old Lyle is actually a well made instrument. I had never done a set up on it and it always played well and stayed in tune fine. The action was quite high and i wanted to play lighter strings. ( I actually prefer D'Addario 8's. Yes, the are electric guitar strings but I like feel and sound) The bridge is angled and can be raised and lowered. It was pretty high and the action past the 12th fret was finger numbing. The neck itself is still straight and no twist. After a back and forth of adjusting the truss rod and bridge height I have the buzz minimized and a decent action. it stays in tune fine but getting the intonation will test your patience as I can't move the bridge forward or back. Fine tuning the height of the bridge is the only way and raising the action was something I didn't want to do. I have it to the point where intonation is only slightly off on 2 strings. The noise I kept hearing was not buzz. The old style tuners are worn and rattle if I dont take the slop out of the screw. Thanks Highline Guitars. I had never heard of or seen a zero fret before I stumbled onto this post.
Interesting, I've played guitar for 23 years and never knew about it. Your basically using a fret for a nut. Might help you get more sustain I would guess, along with the more uniform action.
Leshreddur Mitchell I think the zero fret guitar still needs a bit though for string spacing. I don’t know if slotting the zero fret a bit would function as a nut or not
blah, I ever liked zero fret guitars...Gretsch guitars are..I think Mosrite are..and that is probably the only zero fret guitar I would love to have, it's just another fret that needs more attention because it supports the strings...the nut is far better, the surface is larger, the pressure is spread out over that larger surface supporting the string and therefore won't wear out as fast, but since the strings sole resting point is on a fret, it will wear out faster. The string is vibrating against that metal fret and it is always being tuned against that fret...it just not a good idea in my opinion...never liked em...though as I stated I would like to own a Mosrite...Univox made copies in the 70's of Mosrites and they all had zero frets...I remember playing some, a lot of lawsuit guitars back then.
I'd kinda like to jam on a guitar with one, why not, I might like it.
@@leshreddur Take a look at Zero Glide. Simple way to retrofit your guitar with a zero fret. I'm probably going to try it on my Les Paul.
@@nasticanasta Paul McCartney never complained about his Hofner bass with a zero fret.
I'm so glad someone addressed the Zero Fret. Thank you Sir
Great vid. One comment. Roger Bucknall of Fylde Guitars (UK) has used zero frets on his custom acoustic guitars for at least 40 years, and has written in detail about their advantages. In particlar, he asserts that there is no need for the excessive wear at fret zero provided the nut is properly installed and cut between the zero fret and the tuners. So doing eliminates any sawing motion, and since the strings are in constant contact with the fret there is actually LESS wear than at the other frets. Equally, we don't get wear in the nut slots in a tradional nut. I have 4 guitars with zero frets, of which the oldest is 40 years old. Standard nickel wire and no zero fret wear and I've used everything from 10 gauge to bluegrass ropes on it over the years.
I use zero frets in most of the instruments I build. There’s another benefit to zero frets; they allow the guitar to play in tune better. It’s the same concept as compensated nuts and the Buzz Feiten System.
The way all these systems work is that strings are stiffer near their anchor point. The makes them vibrate more like a metal rod, an the stiffer the string is, the more out of tune the harmonics are.
So compensated nuts work by moving the nut slightly closer to the first fret. This makes the notes on the first few frets flatter. That compensates for the tendency of the notes to be sharp because of the string being stiffer near the nut.
A zero fret solves the problem by moving the anchor point away from the zero fret. This allows it to be a bit more flexible, thus playing more in tune at the low frets.
Luthier Rick Tuner has written about this. He also stopped using zero frets because he got tired of explaining the benefits to customers. Lol.
Regarding wear. I see no more wear than the rest of the frets. If they need to be dressed then so does the zero fret. It’s important to not have nut slots so wide as to allow more side to side motion over the fret than normal.
The zero fret should be dressed at the same height as the rest of the frets to maintain proper action over the first fret.
Great comment David thank you.
But really if your nut slots are deep enough that tension is lower and intonation on all my guitars in the first few frets is great. Thats why having the nut slots deepend to the right height is so important. I do see the zero fret as a benefit though when using hard metals since a nut replacement would be easy for the DIYer to make and more consistency of action each setup.
tecnolover2642 Zero frets do make the hight of the strings perfect, but as I said it also moves that anchor point away from the zero fret which improves the tuning of the first few frets. But if you use a standard nut it is very important to have the slots the right depth.
David Schwab - Appreciate your comment, just would you mind elaborating on what you mean by “zero fret moving the anchor point away from the zero fret”? I’m trying to understand but having a tough time visualizing this. Thanks!
Cheers
Ty Comes - TVPC Production Ok, so your nut and bridge saddle are anchor points. The string breaks over them at an angle which establishes the scale length of the string. What’s behind the nut and saddle don’t matter (but do act as a “shock absorber” allowing the string to bend easier)
Close to where the string is anchored it’s stiff. You can feel this if you compare bending at the first fret compared to the 12th. When a vibrating string is stiff it behaves like a metal rod. The harmonics tend to be sharp compared to the fundamental. This gives metal rods that metallic clang.
On a piano the bass strings are very stiff. So to make the piano sound in tune with itself, the tuning is stretched; the high strings are tuned slightly sharp to match the harmonics from the low strings.
On a guitar the first few frets sometimes sound a little out of tune. Especially on unwound G strings. Things like the Earvanna nut and Buzz Feiten system attempt to compensate by moving the nut slightly closer to the first fret. This is like sliding all the frets closer to the nut. That makes the notes slightly flat. This compensates for them sounding sharp on the first few frets. Then you adjust your bridge saddles so the intonation is in on the upper frets.
A zero fret can over come this by moving the nut a bit behind the zero fret. This tends to allow the notes to sound better in tune.
Other benefits are having perfect action at the “nut” and first fret, which prevents the notes sounding sharp. Remember; when you press a string down to the fret you are stretching it. Same as bending it sideways a small amount. That’s why we need to compensate at the bridge by moving the saddles back to flatten the notes.
Took a very cheap strat copy and got rid of any intonation issues (w/o gaining years of luthier experience) by installing a zero thread.
The fact that physics PhD Brain May also uses it, gave me some confidence upfront.
And for wear: stainless steel!
Take a thread, remove the twang, use a flexible (Japanese) saw and cut a slot in the nut in the radius of the threadboard to move the (flat) thread into the „zero“position. You only mess up the nut, which could be a real cheap one.
Another good video. I had a 1966 Yamaha SG3 with a zero fret. It had a chrome nut which were just essentially slots for guiding the strings. I loved that guitar and never should have gotten rid of it. It played incredible.
I installed ZeroGlides on all my guitars several years ago and made my own brass nuts because they are indestructible. I love them.
Brian May's Red Special have zero fret, which was replaced for the first time in 2005, about 42 years after the guitar was built! And of course this guitar was and still is played very very much.
Keep in mind that guitar has stainless steel frets.
I love Brian May and his Red Speaial
@@davidmckean955 No it bloody hell hasn't. It was made in 1966 (or finished) while the rest of the frets had been filed down, recrowned or adjusted, the zero fret was changed only once in 2005 or something. What mitigates the wear s 3 things that works in conjuction. The scale of the Red Special is shorter than both regular strat or Les Paul. It is 24" scale, and he used/used 008 gauge strings, and of Optima brand, which are gold coated. Which means the friction and wear is even less. However, what people don't bring up that the zero fret had to be replaced again in 2016, which means that the original 1966 one was made of different, harder, material.
@@davidmckean955 No it bloody hell hadn't. The Red Special had ordinary frets. But it was in the 60s, stainless steel frets was barely invented, I do no think even Stainless Steel strings was invented. Hower, the new ones, made "by" him or with his blessing may very well have.
I had a zero fret and a bar in the head stock east of the first tuner that held all the strings down. Clever design. We’re talking late 60’s “cheap” Japanese guitar. Loved it.
Coincidentally, I was just discussing this earlier today. I have a 70s' Audition budget electric, sold here in the UK by Woolworths, that has a zero fret. It has a fairly decent neck, and once set up, is actually fun to play. Thanks for answering pretty much every question I had on this.
Fantastic video - I just discovered zero frets after seeing vids of headless guitars - was asking many questions as to why they were not more common and what was the benefit. Your video answered many of those questions. Many thanks.
I have one of the hated 2015 Les Pauls. I love the zero fret on that guitar. It has a zingy sound with open chords and is adjustable in small increments for setups. The robot tuners for replaced by Grovers right away, of course.
I have a 2015 Gibson double cut with the zero fret nut (and Grover tuners). What's not to love about adjustable string height and the ability to use up to 13 gauge strings without any slot filing? Open strings and chords sound awesome as well.
Hallmark guitars all have a zero fret as well, though non adjustable.
TheElectricBallroom Ladies and dudes a no fretted guitars will be harder to play. And thank you.
Excelent. Clear to the point. No time wasting. Can't wait to view the installation video. Well done you.
Thanks for the zero fret video ! My point of view, If the sound of a guitar with 22 frets of metal is determined by metal frets then the question is why the nut so the zero fret on most guitars is made of plastic or other materials and only rarely of metal. In other words, the zero fret on most guitars is not metal like the frets. Why this obvious sound difference? Metal nut sounds harmonious with the Metal Frets. Sound determined by metal. The zero fret an improvement of the intonation and playability. The zero fret is a hight precision guitar thing. I use a modern zero fret LP ! Sounds fantastic !
I bought a cheap 70s Japanese Jamboree/Ibanez for the old wood component. It's got the zero fret and i'm here to learn more. Great tone and resonance.
Thanks for the explanation. The new Ibanez BTB bass has a zero fret and that’s the first I’ve ever heard of this. I couldn’t find any information about it either explaining what it’s actual purpose was.
mine
I've been a bass guitarist going on 30 years and until this video I'd never heard of the zero fret. Seems like it would be a good thing to add if using stainless steel.
Great video, some points I hadn't considered, although as a player I feel you missed the main advantage for zero fret, at least the reason I have zero fret. And that is the consistency in sound between fretted and open strings. This is especially true in a bass guitar where the sound of string held in the groove of a nut can be quite different to the sound of a string held against a metal fret. (Probably exaggerated due to the larger gauge of bass strings?)
Another advantage of zero fret is that it gives lower action at the first fret making it much easier to get the string down. Since many chords have notes on the first fret this makes playing much easier, especially for beginners and casual strummers who use those chords a lot.
My acoustic jazz guitar from the 50's has one, it works great. I like it.
I have a 1966 Italian made Vox Super Lynx Deluxe with a zero fret. Fun old guitar!
I always thought it was a sign of a well made guitar to have a zero fret. My old Hagstrom Super Swede has one. I love the guitar and feel that it has excellent quality. I don't play it that often, so it was interesting to hear the main issue with zero frets are wear.
Thanks for the great video
The wear from the metal of the strings down to any bone, plastic nut is actually worse. I have replaced way more nuts in my days due to DOWNWEAR - same gauge strings throughout the decades - and have not replaced or needed to replace any of the zero frets that came with all headless guitars. They were quite a fad during the 80s. All had to have zero frets.
Thanks for all your great instructional videos....been inspired by them over a year now.
I have installed a zero fret on an inexpensive acoustic and noted increased sustain and improved playability. Found the process easy to retrofit because the kit did come with various size fret wire to match the existing guitar frets. The nut included in the kit did need some gentle sanding, but patience with this process paid off. I definitely will try one on an electric guitar soon.
Thank you for the information! I never bothered considering a zero fret on one of my guitars. But it seems to be a pretty good thing.
I think the zero fret is the very best idea of a nut and have found that using an A string cut to match the length of the nut and using a file or blade to notch the nut to fit the A string into it , to match the correct distance works amazing as you can use brass or steel A strings and the wound A string has groves already that really work well for containing strings in place, very simple job, very short time to do and really for the player not the uptight I own a 3,000$ guitar person ;)
I have a Supro Violin bass (apparently that's the model name) from about 1965 which has a zero fret on it. It has picked up a bit of fret buzz and it's at that zero fret so I'm thinking I'll just replace it now. I'm sure when I take the strings off, it will be worn as I've owned this bass since I was 11 (1983) and never did anything to the frets.
Thank you for the video. This is some very helpful information.
I had a Japanese Epiphone 12 string I bought in 1972 and the zero fret was great. Yes some wear did occur but it was a Gibson /Epiphone guitar. All solid woods BTW. I had it and played it live for nearly 20 years.
I notice Gretsch has had zero frets on many models and Chet was no fool.
What pushed me to finally go zero fret was a Jeff Beck interview. I did a rewind on my PVR to take a closer look at the nut on his Strat - it was a zero fret.
Regarding the ping or kink that is heard when bending strings on zero fret. On electric guitars it isn't picked up by the pickup at all. It's behind the "witness point". You may definitely feel or hear it acoustically. But I eroded my zero fret dent off, on my headless Klein, by actually bending quite a few times, so the edges of the dent became blunt (both ways). Took a couple of days.Then the former groove that may have looked like a V shape turned into a shallower "pit" instead with a mild slope instead. Ping and kink gone. And mind you it stayed for that forever, and still are. One - sort of - file the sides more blunt with the bending and let the strings be the file grinder.
One thing people forgets is that the actual string does get deformed precisely too, at that area. On old strings all strings will have dent that will deform so much that you have been eroding off half of the gauge. One can even have it on several spots along the strings length. Dents are made both on the frets and strings, eventually. So then the distance above the first fret is jeopardized. But it is a very easy soluton to this: Change strings. And here comes the caveat: On bone and plastic nut, the strings "point" doesn't become deformed. So the gauge stays. But since the strings are made of steel and nut is of bone/plastic it will slowly grind and erode its way down, eventually being too low above the first fret anyway. But it takes longer time.
Just because of this, all luthiers seems to have a dilemma, of whether keeping the zero fret at the same level as the rest of the frets, or that it should be kept - a hair - higher/taller than the rest. If you do that you're back to the same dilemma as with the nut, that you deliberately cuts it too high, in order to avoid buzz, but having first fretted notes turning too sharp. If you make it line up after first fret intonation, you may end up eventually getting a lot of fret buzz on open strings. Every string and setup will do that eventually. You can even get rid of string buzz with brand new set of string on, that hasn't deformed at the zero fret point. All of a sudden it has naturally raised itself to a perfect distance above the first fret. But it seems that whatever you try to buck and mitigate, you'll end up having "too low" eventually. There's no perfect set up for both nuts or zero fret that will last. If you have a zero fret of stainless steel and uses stainless steel strings, the friction and slow erosion will be the same on both strings and frets. If you use nickel strings, the stainless steel zero fret will keep and last longer. And the dents will show up in the nickel strings instead.
Other advantage : it's a fret and it sounds exactly a a fret. A nut can sound different to a fret depending on the material.
Vibration on zéro fret are really minimal so I'd not fear it to wear too quickly. I always build with zero fret and play my own guitars and actually other frets wear faster.
That is why I like brass nuts
Zero glide arriving today. Can’t wait to install.
I believe a zero fret can improve intonation. In the lower fret positions, notes are typically sharp due to the relatively high position of the string in the nut slot. The zero fret eliminates that.
My Epiphone Viola (Beatle Bass) has a zero fret. I like it, both from the maintenance and playing aspects.
I've found sanding the bottom of the zero-glide can get tricky. if one's not careful you can wind up with an uneven bottom which can ruin the nut install. If you want to go with a zero-glide you may want to go with a nut/saddle sanding tool to ensure an even surface on the bottom. looking forward to seeing the other product you mentioned. i love zero frets and I'm eager to seeing an alternative product.
I have one of those Japanese 335 style knockoffs with a zero fret. Got it for my 16th birthday, which was more than 16yrs ago. The nickel fret wear is definitely an issue. Interested to see the zero fret install vid.
Interesting discussion. I have a Gibson SG that came with a Zero Fret and it was some type of brass alloy that wore quickly. They replaced it with a different material and eventually sent out the latest version and I really don't remember if it was stainless or titanium. The only advantage that I saw was the ease of setting the string height for the first fret. Graphtech makes a TUSQ replacement for these also. This guitar was one of the 2015 Les Paul 100 year models and I'm not sure they put these Zero Frets on any models after that. Bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with a well made bone nut and unless it is a real improvement why change from that?
I once bought a cheap Korean guitar with a Floyd Rose type locking tuner system. I didn’t like the locking system aspect because it was a pain to set up and I never use a whammy bar, so I took off the little locking nuts that were tightened down to fix the strings in place. This meant the strings passed over V-shaped notches cut into a metal nut. They sounded OK to me and I played that guitar for years with no problems. Wish I hadn’t sold it when I needed cash.
Es un placer escuchar a una persona experta y honesta. Gracias!
I installed a zero fret kit on my mexi-strat from ZeroGlide, and apparently it wasn't made of stainless steel. I took it out within two months, it was pinging every time i bent strings or applying vibrato while playing. I loved the idea and the sound at first, but it didn't take long to wear divots in the thing. If you do mod your guitar with one of these kits, make sure you have the harder metal, or it will drive you crazy eventually. Luckily, I didn't have to modify my nut slot to install it, so I was able to put the previous TUSQ nut back into it without any further issues. Now if TUSQ starts making zero frets with the harder metals, I'm in, I'll try it again.
Great video! I think I’m going to get a guitar with a zero fret, it really does seem useful, and addresses some concerns I had about guitars that don’t have one
funny, I just bought a vintage Sekova with a zero fret yesterday, had no idea what it was and today your video pops up in my suggested list. New subscriber here. :-)
4:35 The new question is why did it come back? That's largely because the intonation will stay put more easily plus the strings will sustain better.
Thank you. Very helpful to understand the pro and cons. I thought the zero fret was just a way to make guitars cheaper.
Another advantage to the zero fret... As frets wear due to use, then become unevenly worn to the point of needing leveling, re-crowning and polishing, the string-to-fret gap becomes greater with a nut only at the zero position, but a zero fret can be leveled along with all the others to keep the gap at fret one consistent.
Most Selmac gypsy jazz guitars have always had a zero fret, and are the better for it IMHO. String wear on the zero fret doesn't seem to be much of an issue, even after heavy use and extended time periods.
great stuff Chris . . . One thing I had thought about the zero fret was that, theoretically, your open strings would sound a lot more like the fretted notes . . . . more than a bone nut would, anyway .
Excellent information as usual! Love the work you do my friend!
I own guitars from just about every manufacturer on the planet including the big names, and I have to say that I seem to always go back to my Steinberger. I think I subconsciously favor it because of the ultra-low action I'm able to utilize on that guitar. I've always suspected that the zero fret has quite a bit to do with this characteristic. Thanks for sort of confirming my suspicions on that and explaining the reasons behind it 😊
Big fan of ZeroGlide here. Used them on a few of my guitars, including a Cort acoustic. NB: Always upgrade to the stainless steel zero fret - the nickel ones just do not last.
I believe Brian May's guitar also had a zeroth fret in order to drastically minimise the tremolo friction along with a roller bridge
Building a Red Special now and yes, it's a famous zero fret design.
All the German vintage guitar and Bohemian (Czeschoslowakian) guitars have one. These aren't the cheapo's. I have a Framus Sorella (black rose) archtop from 1962, but some student-luthier removed it when he put on a new fingerboard. Now I'm planning to restore it.
I bought a used SG this week, a 2016, and someone put a zero fret unit on the guitar which looks like a one piece thing, and man it plays great, but I have no idea who makes this one so replacement may be a challenge. I have never used it before but I like it a lot.
Well what do you know! Very educational! A cryogenic treated fret made from titanium. I really like the idea of this zerofret.
Great video Thank you very much :).
Ned Steinberger almost made his zero fret GL and GM guitars perfect.
I have 2 Gl4ta guitars that I’ve had the frets replaced on wirh stainlesd steel and a jumbo fret placed in the zero fret spot, ( U notched for depth ).
The Huge bebefit is: the roller bridge saddles are SS same ass all the frets so when i play a chord the open strings ring true to the fretted ones, Amazing…
I'm very interested in this topic. Thanks for the info.
Good information. I seem to recall the Ventures Mosrite guitars had zero frets back in the early 60's.
Yes, they did. And they weren't necessarily cheap guitars either.
I played a Mosrite Ventures Model in the late 60's. The zero fret on those guitars (plus the amazing, straight necks) gave those instruments the closest workable action of any guitar I have ever played. Never had an issue with the zero fret, always seemed to be the best way to go. BTW, I've had a lot of the slots in a standard nut get worn down on non-zero fret instruments, especially on non-locking trem guitars like a Strat. The wound strings cut the slots down on a bone or plastic nut much faster than the zero frets became gouged. Of course, I represent a sample size of 1, but that has been my experience.
The biggest advantage (in my opinion) is the use on multiscale guitars. It does make the production a lot easier and so these are more affordable
Very informative. TY. Very helpful on my Johnny Ramone Mosrite build.
Another great video Chris. Have you heard of the eNut system? Monte Allums is the "inventor." It basically adds a fret right in front of the existing nut, which in my mind would serve the purpose of a zero fret to simplify the ease of setting the string height and compensating the nut by shifting the apex of the string slightly forward ( @ 1/32" he says).
The asymetical zero fret I will be installing shifts the apex forward by a hair over 1/64"
Really interesting video. I learned a lot!
My Vigier has a zero fret and the main advantage for the player is that you have no timbre difference between fretted strings and open strings. As for the wear, Vigier doesn't glue the 0 fret and you can buy some for really cheap. It's super easy to replace.
Excellent - thanks - restoring an old Honer nylon with 0 (Kurt Cobain played on 'Something In The Way').
This video boosts my confidence in the work.
There's the Zero Glide nut, it's an upgraded version of the Zero Fret System.
I realised I'd like a zero fret when I started using a capo for open tunings. I want the nut as just another (albeit stainless steel) fret, as if I had a capo behind it.
I am totally with you! I love the consistency of the sound in a zero position and non zero position with the capo. And that's what I want from the zero fret.
Since I don't have a zero fret I just play with capo always, tuning my guitar in D :) And dreaming of a guitar with the zero fret.
@@AlexanderPetrov Would it be easy to buy a stainless fret that's suitable for use with the Zero Glide? I think the Zero Glide company could at least offer suitable frets for existing customers, I mean, without charging silly money. It wouldn't cost them much to post a couple, and it is their invention they would be improving on.
@@ToneSpectra Thank you very much for suggestion. I will disover this option! Looks great for my Stratocaster! \m/
keep it clean! Cool video about zero frets didn't know about em. Think ill stick with my NUT for now
How would a zero fret change your approach to leveling and re-crowning frets?
I'm guessing you would level and crown as normal but not do anything with the zero fret since you need that gap over the first fret. After the normal levelling process, then you could adjust your action at the 'nut' end of the fret board by sanding the zero fret down to the required level, crowning and polishing it separately.
You would just recrown the 0 the same as all the others. You don't leave the 1st taller than the 2nd, than the 3rd ad infinium. The relief dictates clearance on a guitar, never the frets.
7:09 There's practically no wear if you use stainless steel frets with nickel-silver strings.
Steel frets, zero fret, locking tuners and even the simple treble bleed cap should all be an industry standard on all mid price to premium guitars.
not having to recut the nut everytime I change tunings seems amazing tbh. F#2 - A 2 is a fairly e change in gauge on a 7 or 8 string.
This was a very interesting topic. Good explanation!
I had a zero fret on a guitar I had back in 76 to 78. It was an inexpensive guitar but played ok, but as I gut it used there was a lot of fret wear on the zero fret which needed to be replaced but I didn't even know it could be replaced back then. Not I have a custom replacement fretboard a friend did for me about 7 or 8 years ago. it has the gold Evo frets and he said these will hold up much better than the nickel frets that were on it before. That guitar played great it got damaged and I have been on the hunt for another zero fret guitar but it seems they are hard to come by.
How about those Earvana nuts? They seem to think the nut should be at a slightly different location for each string, for 'proper intonation'. Can't do that with a zero fret. Or can you? I have a '65 Teisco with a zero fret. To make it intonate perfectly (with open chords on the first 3 or 4 frets), I placed a short piece of suitable diameter low E guitar string against the headstock side of the zero fret (between the fret and nut) under some of the strings, thereby lifting them off the zero fret and making them about 1.5 mm longer. Took some experimenting with a strobe to figure out which strings needed it. It's been there 40 years, works great and never moves. Of course there's no wear because the strings can't slide side to side on that piece of low E string. There is, however, some wear on the zero fret from the strings that are still resting on that. Someday I'll do a full refretting of the neck and maybe consider an Earvana or some such non-linear nut. Looking forward to your next video. Cheers!
"Can't do that with a zero fret. Or can you?" Try this with any guitar. Get a capo out and put it on the first fret. Voila! YOU HAVE MADE YOUR OWN ZERO FRET and it's not different from any other fret, zero or not. Same intonation still, neither better nor worse, it is easier to press down the first fret after the capo.
I put light strings on my new-old-beater acoustic I bought and the low e cracked the nut. Buzzed right through it. The string didn’t even come close to fitting in the slot when I changed them so I should have known better. Now I get to practice changing a nut and setting up an acoustic.
They have a Special Raised Zero Glide Nut which allows for slide playing action
Interesting video. Seems like it's a no brainer why most players choose to use cheap and easily replaceable nuts rather than worrying about setup/ wear on a zero fret. The change in tone would be similar to a metal nut and would give you a brighter sound. This might not be desirable to some players.
Retrofitting is a bit of an issue for the reasons you mention. However, on new builds, there is no setup with a zero fret. It's automatic. Also, a stainless steel zero fret will last longer than a bone nut.
Very educational, thank you!
Really great video. Very informative yet succinct. You got a sub.
I'm curious to see how you'd retro fit an existing guitar without moving the bridge back to compensate. Interesting topic.
Move the Nut
I love you! Thank you for the wonderful and insightful video. God bless you!
I really like them, but they’re quite rare nowadays.
The Italian Eko brand use them and achieve amazing action and playability. A lot of Hofner’s had them as well.
Unfortunately, these are mostly budget instruments and don’t sound all that great IMO. I’d like to see one on a custom shop Les Paul, or similar. Even on a well made classical.
Good information on the zero frets, I like them a lot. But to be honest I fail to see the wear problem. If the zero fret gets playwear, so will the other frets. Recrowning or replacing one more or less doesn't seem like a major issue to me, even cost wise.
Remember, the strings are ALWAYS in contact with the zero fret so it wear faster than the other frets.
If you ever hear a worn zerofret of soft fretwire, it'll sound like plucking behind the nut crossed with plucking an egg cutter. If the material is right...not too soft, not so hard it gets brittle, it will take that constant abuse. The more polished the surface is, the harder it is to get divots.
@@HighlineGuitars Good point, thank you!
But a brass nut wouldn't replace the function of nut and 0 fret both together?
The Zero Glide Nut is an updated version of that
I have converted all my guitars to zero fret.Once you play it you will never go back.
What if the guitar you just bought had a plastic 5th fret?
Would you just accept that one fret on your guitar was made of a different material and will sustain differently?
Your nut is no different.
That's a very good point. Thanks!
I have owned my 1971 USA built Harptone Lark over 40 years and played the hell out of it. I've never experienced any wear on the zero fret, possibly because the zero fret is very close to the nut? Can imagine it could be a problem with the zero fret being maybe 1/4" away?
I think the proper term would be "the nut is placed BEHIND the zero fret". If it was placed IN FRONT of, it would be inside the first fret range, correct?
I guess it depends on whether you consider the front toward the tuners or the bridge.
Nice one man. All the best from the UK.