Mexican Telecaster Gets a Tusq Nut Installed

[@TheRoseCityRockers]

I just installed the white manmade ivory Tusque nut on my 98 American Strat. What a game changer. The nut was simple to install. I just needed to sand off the bottom nub and take a little off one side to make it fit. The height was much better and as result, I was able to get my action lower than from the factory! Plus string clarity and sustain is much improved. Highly recommended!!

[@jonathanhandsmusic]

Thanks for posting this one. Exactly what I needed to know about replacing the nut on my new neck, with a Tusq. Great video as usual Dave!

[@DoomOfConviction]

I need a new nut, first of all I measured everything on my nut and bought a TUSQ one and now I watch the man Dave providing sarcasm and good information. 🤘

[@daviddesmond2143]

Kids, I watched Dave's video then got the black Tusk nut for my Squire Telecaster thinline. It took me about 2 hours to put in after lots of sanding and fiddling around. I have worked on guitars but it I was going to do it again I would have a pro put one in. I did not need to file the string slots down. Thanks for this video it was very helpful. Another thing, I did the same test with dropping the nuts on a hard surface and listening to the sound, my old Squire nut had the same hi frequency as the Tusk.

[@markcassidy4232]

Your a very skilled Luthier. Excellent work and craftsmanship. I will vouch for the TUSQ Nut, Saddle, and BRIDGE PINS. The bridge pins I use on all my Martin Guitars. 1963 D28, 1969 D41 1969 D28. Thanks for the videos. Keep up the great work.

[@DavesWorldofFunStuff]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@tulyar1043]

One pearl of wisdom for you, before using a file rub the file with a stick of blackboard chalk, this will stop your file getting clogged up with particles of whatever you are fileing.

[@offbeatbassgear]

A very festive intro there Dave, you're going soft on us. I have some Tusq string trees that I like a lot.

[@profile1251]

Speaking of festive and Tusk string trees, reckon they make Xmas trees out of TUSQ yet?

[@guygordon2780]

Glad I saw the amp vid before you took it down. It shouldn't take that kind of pressure to make a company do the right thing (be helpful to your customers) -- but it does. They're just lucky you're such a nice guy. "No, you don't understand, Frida; He's got more subscribers than we have *customers*." --Head of Marketing, probably.

[@robertdunaway-tyll7635]

Explain what happened to me

[@curtisfranklin6830]

Thanks. very much. enjoyed your video. no background music. all went well with timing. you said just the right stuff. I found you today because the tele i built from scratch had just one small problem. The strings were not laying across the body end of the neck evenly. I had to move my bridge 3/16ths of an inch to get it right. I cut down some dowel to fill the wrong holes, then redrilled for the new correct fit and now its just perfect. Anyone out there thinking to build their own guitar, id say go for it. there is nothing greater than playing an instrument that you hand built. I got my tele kit from bulldog guitars and was very impressed that i didnt have to do any frett or neck adjustments. The fit was perfect and they had the neck set perfect. So all is well. As i am a carpenter and woodworker with tools the build was time consuming due to my nature of getting things perfect but very enjoyable. I am diligently pursuing learning to play the guitar in hopes i can play one as good as i can build one. Cheers dave

[@BenCoombs]

Man your intros keep getting better by the week, great stuff Dave!!

[@bristolfashion4421]

Thank you so much for all the little hints and tips you pop into each vid. :-)

[@DavesWorldofFunStuff]

Happy to help!

[@ralphbenites1819]

I like the color of the telecaster & the style

[@smasica]

Oooh, my favorite finish -- a nice 'burst.

[@michaelschertell2821]

Thanks this has been a great help as I plan my build...

[@ryansampley8162]

Your the best Dave love the your channel!

[@turbotoy18]

I feel like you did this just for me... Thank you!

[@63mckenzie]

I have this exact same guitar and I love it. Yes its rough and ready but play beautifully, rock, country, blues, jazz, whatever .I think with low cost guitars it is hit or miss whether you get a good or bad one. Remember a bad workman always blames his tools.

[@carbidejones5076]

Good luck with the amp and Merry Christmas to you and your family

[@gimmeagig]

I always learn something here. Thank you!

[@DavesWorldofFunStuff]

Glad to hear it!

[@WoodesosGuitarMods]

Yeah but didn't you know you could do all this fret dressing with a sanding sponge you'd normally use for wood finishing;-) I love you Dave. I'm glad guys like you exist to show us what to actually do!

[@daspacechoechechoz9028]

Dave is the definition of artisan...electrified. Thanks Dave, your pal, Dave.

[@jdavis.fw303]

I had kinda forgot about your channel. Used to watch it a few years back, subscribed now!

[@StoneShards]

Glad to hear about you getting your amp fixed. Just goes to show: sometimes, you just gotta put it out there, and see what happens.

[@rudiwillems1166]

nice done Dave's world of Fun Stuff Guitars repairs update i like these video's.

[@chadhyde50]

That being said, gotta can that one. Pure gold Dave.😂🎸🎸

[@gearhead762]

The Tusq sounds much brighter and focused in the drop test here and elsewhere. I am installing one on an Ibanez RGR121 DXWF to replace the plastic junk currently residing in the nut slot. Hoping it tightens and brightens up the sound a tick.

[@content-appreciator]

The drop test is always an eye-opener, worth more than a thousand words. Customer happy that he/she gets to choose.

[@hoofhearted7445]

I did the exact same tusq chanhe with my MIM strat. It wasnt hard to do at all and made a difference cuz my g string was twangy too. Tusq all the way. This is sandpaper toall wrong though. You tape fine sandpaper to your fretboard and sand down the tusq to match the radius of your fretboard! much easier. Then center and file down the edges till ur happy.

[@mikemanne8112]

very nice dave ! nice work !

[@snakebyte7271]

Awesome Dave, used the same technique on my mim neck with the rag & a piece of wood worked perfect drifted right out, Ordered a Tusq xl nut will use wood glue as well Thanks !

[@Woods_Hiker]

really cool that you got someone you in fact trust to mes with possibly fix your bass amp 👍🎸

[@Cigarsnguitars]

Always informative with a comical flair. Dave, you’re the best!

[@mikefarquhar5063]

Sweet bro! Neat work, didn't know the feeler gauge tick for nut slot height adjustment for the nut to the first fret. Every day learning something new thanks to good folks like yourself, I very subscribed,iked, and hopefully you make more vids, I'm having particular amount of trouble on my partscaster, fitted a new two point trem from old 6 point, it's a fender starcaster mim, 40 quid been modded tosound good, but just can't get that perfect balance of tension between new strings, obviously takes a bit of time, and the trem springs now up to 5 springs because of this, was thinking of getting harder springs so more room for adjustment for te claw, and less springs idk, it's ok when I dive a little but(is a oating trem) when I pull up a little it doesn't reset like it does when diving, so that tells me it's either the strings (D'addario nyxl 9.5 to 44 I also like the elixir coated poly and opti web) so it's not a full step up in gauge to 10s fro 9s, and there's no room left for the spring claw to tighten up to. I'm thinking have a compromise between bridge angle, losses off just put 3 hard springs and one of those push back devices that screw to the spring cavity to adjust the spring tension against. My big question is where at the point of tension of the strings, new strings that need to be settled in, after a week of adjustments, does the tension balance out, is there a way that's fool-proof step by step? I'd watch that vid, like and share to everyone defo

[@deadlegs187]

I've learnt a bunch from you Dave. Thanks very much

[@blkjckgtr3075]

Your FX's are getting better Dave,have a great weekend,Cheers

[@nuthineatholl6434]

I been up, I been down Take my word, my way around I ain't askin' for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I'm just lookin' for some Tusq

[@gurleyz]

With the name brand high quality Tusq nuts, you can usually get by ok without filing the nut slots as long as it is filed just right on the bottom where it positions itself for good intonation. It can be a bit more time consuming, but way less risk of ruining a brand new nut by over filing the nut slots. It think that's what he kinda what he meant when he said you can get lucky with these Tusq nuts. You do have to take it off and put it back on until the strings sit at just the right height, but it's way easier than trying to start from scratch with a super cheap bone blank nut.

[@markcaserta1367]

My Squier Classic Vibe came with really nice dressed frets. I will replace the nut though as the nut it came with was not so hot. The guitars build quality was really nice though.

[@artemisg.8057]

Hi! I received my Classic Vibe few days ago. Mine too, came with a nut which I call "sloppy job". I will take it to the guitar center and ask them to replace it.

[@DriveCarToBar]

A kids glue stick is great for glued items that you don't want to be permanent.

[@briancardwell7226]

Merry Christmas Dave

[@jonreynolds6248]

Love the festive holiday intro, hehe. I got one for sale on Ebay exactly like that at the moment. No kiddin', same year, same color and everything. I guess it's not that big of coincidence given the amount of them out there. I just thought it was weird. Thanks again for all the teachin' and the life lessons, Dave!

[@JohnBodoni]

I'm always surprised when he doesn't say "vasectomy" when removing a nut...

[@bassa69]

dude removing a nut is castration

[@Shaun.Stephens]

Vasectomy is cutting the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm from the testicle to back of the the prostate. Removing a nut is a (partial) castration.

[@williamcampbell7387]

Medically, it is referred to as an orchiectomy, from the same root as orchid. Go figure-- I thought only maidens had flowers.

[@Afurthyclays]

What's the Tusq model/part # for that Telecaster? I see several different ones for "Fender" style guitars.

[@jafethuerta]

I need to know as well jajaja

[@Damaged262]

Not for anthibg, but you know some good shit, bless your hear!

[@ricklee4883]

Thanks for showing what to do re nut replacement. I was a bit concerned that you dressed the fret ends without protecting the fret board. Can you comment why you didn't mask off etc when dressing fret ends? Thanks

[@pigjubby1]

Same issues my MIM Tele has.

[@michaele4221]

Love the intro. Merry Christmas. I just saw a guy make cracks in his gold top Gibson finish with compressed air and a hairdryer. Wouldn't that totally screw up the playability of the guitar? And what about the electronics? Not that I would ever do that to my basses. Just wondering.

[@cpk313]

Those tangs are exactly what I have to take off on a used Baja Tele I just got. Almost every one on the neck is sticking out. Too bad that file isn't readily avaible.

[@therickashesoloband]

dave how ya doin I came by to let you know that your new video is really cool I gave it thumbs up to prove how cool it is take care dave have a great weekend

[@surfrby8876]

I’ve been told I have a heavy hand when filing nuts 😬, and I do, still trying to perfect it , any way thanks for the video from Boston ☘️

[@Riverdeepnwide]

Dave is your amp guy Pete looking for more amp repairs? I'd love to see him working on stuff like we love to see you at it.

[@ToddSauve]

I don't think you cursed on this video Dave! Well, maybe once. You are getting better my man! Soon, if you keep trying, you will have control of your tongue! And then all the kiddies can watch it too! :) And another note, I don't hear much difference between the bone or the plastic nut in the drop test. What does that mean? The Tusq nut definitely sounds different.

[@TheCleaner6969]

Fender needs to really address that nut issue. Just got a Sonic & I couldn't get .008 under the high e.

[@stevehogan8829]

Merry Christmas Dave. Very pretty Telecaster. I bet you can make it Mucho BetterO I'm not good enough yet to do the fret ends without tape. I do pretty good but I do see some marks occasionally if I don't use tape. Not horrible but enough to know I was there on some of them. As long as it mine I'm fine but I couldn't work on someone else's frets without taping. I"ve avoided replacing a nut.. One of those things that seems like it would be easy to screw up. I'll wait till I have one that must be replaced.... give it a go myself and if it sucks I'll take it to someone who knows how to do it.

[@onpsxmember]

Just get a ultra cheap beater neck to try stuff out. That way, no other guitar has to take the first abuse. If you screw up a nut, all you destroyed is a bit of bone and a few hours. It's no magic...if you do a few you'll get the hang of it. There is so much information out there how to make them.

[@wademiyataki9221]

Look at you, all Christmasy... Was wondering about the pjb. Hope it gets fixed for you. Cheers.👍

[@tomfoolery2082]

Hope u dont mind me askin ,iv looked at alota places for a 4mm truss rod wrench 10" to 12" t handle like u hav. Where did u find 1 like u hav in this vid ? And the vise like the nut was in, found a vise at well that place, they kinda proud of em. Lol Iv learned a lot from ur channel, thank u very much.

[@jesterraj]

Hi did you had to do any cutting of the nut slot??

[@tedsmith4353]

Like the vids. I'm no Luther. Puts a smile on me face to see I'm doing thing correctly.

[@12south31]

Nope, your a Ted!

[@porksboy]

If you will make figure eight while sanding that nut down you will keep the sides parallel.

[@D1it4FN]

Your production levels are going through the roof Dave. Guess it's just a matter of time before we see you cruising the red carpet eh?

[@jonlennon3348]

Only curious but I didn't notice you doing the intonation? Unless I dozed off,LOL

[@davidkastin4240]

Unfortunately he doesn't show the intonation or pickup height adjustments in every video. Something that we like to see

[@petedazer3381]

You still rock Dave, lemme tell ya!

[@sunnys3325]

Can u also shave more off the bottom to get the nut height correct after shaving the little bump off? Im about to install one on a strat and thats what I thought u should do. ✌

[@PaulJonesy]

Yes that’s what I’m hoping to do with a tele nut I’m replacing with tusq. I guess it assumes the ratios between all the slots are right so they all need the same amount taken off the height.

[@seansmith7100]

It all depends how far it's off to the individual guitar. If all are high, sure. Baby steps, measure 5 times, re tune to bitch, adjust. Don't do this when you have to rush if you can help it. Also as Dave suggested...This is the last setup step.

[@geoffwhitaker6062]

Dave, the fret end file you said you can't find, looks a lot like the one made and sold by FretGuru. I use their string action gauge.

[@notyou1567]

Tusq nuts make guitar setup and intonation SOOOO much better.

[@bjmccoy5638]

does a note last longer on them tusq nuts? when you play a distortion note for a long time?? thats the kind of nut im lookin for if anyone can help. i played a gibson les. once and my budy told me he had a bone nut on it. the note rang out for a long time when i played a solo vabrato note. dont know what ki d of bone it was tho.

[@petercollin5670]

Dave, you can find those triangular files in stores that sell chainsaws and chainsaw accessories. Hope that helps.

[@GetUnwoke]

imo during the drop test the tusq sounded more like glass while the plastic sounded more like...well.. plastic. lol but those two sound a lot more similar to each other than the bone nut. I'm in the market for an upgraded nut for my MIM baja tele so I guess bone is what I'll try first.

[@2bikemikesguitartopics145]

I'll need to try those tusqe nuts. I like 18 thou on base strings, 16 on treble, but if its a 9-12 radius, 17 on D&G. Works best for me.

[@RyanDardenA]

After all these years I finally just realized your voice reminds me of Garfield the cat

[@onpsxmember]

From what series?

[@jameskrys5286]

Those Tusq Tune-O-Matic bridge saddles improve tone also.

[@javierespana2807]

I use a nail filer to smooth fret ends and works fine. No scratches on the neck

[@ThroBakChannel]

I suspect your favorite fret end file might be from FretGuru.com. I have one and it looks like the same one in your video.

[@randolphpatterson5061]

I think the most significant difference between QUALITY nut materials is durability, and not really so much tone or sustain. There are probably guitars out there with nuts made of such soft, cheap material that they can have SOME effect on tone & sustain, but in most of those cases, every other thing about those guitars is cheap, too. If a person replaces a cheap saddle on an acoustic with a good one made of micarta, bone, antler, graphite, or Tusq, it's probably gonna sound better than the cheap saddle, but changing from, for example, Tusq to bone won't make any huge difference. The fit is more important, and another big difference-maker is whether or not the saddle slot is cut through to the bare top wood.

[@truyentrinh8419]

Hi. Thank you for your very helpful video. I have a question, my new Squier Tele 40th anniversary have a problem that the high E string sound dull when play open, i changed the higher nur but still the same. Please advise. Thank you. Troy.

[@kravensoda6038]

Cheers GoochmanDave!!! Question, can a guitar neck have fret sprout more than once?

[@kravensoda6038]

@@DavesWorldofFunStuff Thanks Dave!!!

[@howardmaryon]

I have to do a similar nut job on my cabronita tele. I get the point about doing the nut slot filing after the rest of the action height stuff has been attended to, but maybe it was the camera angle throwing me off but it looked like the bass e was much closer to the edge of the fretboard than the high e - I was going to set them to the same amount?

[@KarlKarsnark]

Dave is getting fancy with the big Hollywood intros! Dave, I've been doings some semi-major guitar surgery lately, and thanks to your vids all has gone well. However, I'd love it if you could do a vid on exactly how the electronics in a typical electric guitar work (i.e. current/signal flow), so that we might be able to figure out how to do a basic wiring job without separate schematics. Thanks for all the great work. Cheers!

[@remotexpolde]

Lol Seriously!! Airline made me check my strat,, Got it back and they Killed the switch. Tried to install a new one, followed everything and now have a 4 position switch and an Off position. LMAO!

[@chrisbirch4066]

Dave what do you think about necks? Fender and after market brands?

[@hastyberford]

You didn't need to tell her you were recording as long as you were one of the parties on the conversation.

[@steveejohn8830]

that Tusq nut sounds like it is the note D

[@zettepix2009]

My god... I cam eto see how you changed the nut and met all your tools

[@asdaven1]

The tusq and plastic sounded pretty close to me while the bone sounded different. I think the problem is the plastic nut just needed some filing and adjustment and its not the material. Ive heard its synthetic bone so its not just a soft piece of plastic and many online say the factory is hard and will take filing well. Thats probably why theres improvement with the new nut because its cut better than fenders. But with the proper files, from my understanding...a comprehensive professional setup would take care of this because they go over that. Telecasters are already bright sounding guitars so the Tusq could make some sound too bright. Ive read the best improvement in sound as far as hardware is changing to the vintage bridge and brass saddles. And of course pickups.

[@at89able]

Dave I have a tele I want you to set up how would I go about getting it to you. I’m outta Arkansas

[@wotasod]

id change the string tree as well

[@midwestfisherman]

LOL...”Evil empire”!

[@ThomasTribeTrails]

that nut resonation trick was cool, also very telling. I would think the better overall guitar note would come from a nut that had the ability to sing, not a total sound killer. Rather a ping than a thud.

[@pks41805]

There is a file on Amazon that looks like your wooden handled file.

[@SF_Curious]

Is that tele a 9.5 radius? What model bone nut will fit on that radius?

[@Vern859]

That little nub(not the center nub, that tiny one on the low side) on the xl tusk nut, i took that off my tusk nut and it made my action to low. Came out at. .014 I like .018 to .016 on nut action. I ordered another one. If the nut action is to low the notes dont ring out as clear right???

[@freedomination2]

telelicious

[@becherescu88]

What’s the GraphTech Nut model? I’m looking to swap mine as well. Thanks!

[@tofusauce]

"Mexican telecastorr"

[@kenberger859]

Next time you may need a new file try "brownells" gun parts they have gun Smith quality files and fine tools.

[@acloserlook5823]

I'm sure he will find another one of those files he likes there. Good call.

[@davidkastin4240]

And now it is Telelicious 😆

[@davidlopez1208]

Hey Dave how much do you think it would cost me if I take my guitar to a shop to have nut replacement done? Thank you

[@randelcross]

Freda's probably going to send you coal for your stocking Dave... Glad to hear a good outcome on the Bass amp and glad you're not spending Christmas in jail.... oh wait.......... you're in Canada! Cheers!

[@dalgguitars]

Tele-licious. Nice!

[@zdcyclops1lickley190]

If the action on your guitar changes when you have it in playing position versus on the bench your guitar has something wrong with it. on the bench The only thing that is different is the direction of gravity. If the weight of your guitar when it is on the bench bends the neck there is something wrong with it.

[@budandbean1]

So how did you get a schematic for the amp Dave? Last time the problem was you didn’t have the schematic.