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Permalink Reply by Brendan deVallance on April 5, 2011 at 2:05am

Can you give us a picture? might be worth a thousand words.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on April 5, 2011 at 2:13am

I had the same sort of problem.  I laminated a piece of wood onto the back side of the head to drop the tuners.  It is probably 1/4" thick.  You might have to take a little off the top side depending on the total thickness.  I can take a picture tonight, if you need it.

 

I still use 3 pan head screws to hold the strings tight over the nut.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesdog on April 5, 2011 at 2:21am

Learn to string properly (if you don't know allready), the strings should be fed trough the tunerpost in a way so when you wind it up it pushes the string down towards the headstock.

 

If that does not work you can allway's go to a guitar shop and get some of those little stringtrees they also use on Strat's and Tele's for about a dollar or two like this one.

 

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Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on April 5, 2011 at 4:08am

Thanks for the replies.  The one string can that is giving me a problem is a small gauge, and I can alleviate some of the problem by winding the full length of the string so it is pushed to the bottom end of the tuner.  I'll look for some of the string tees as well... I like that idea.

 

I already build up the back of the neck with a 1/8" thick piece of purpleheart, and I really don't want to add any more as I like the way it looks now.  Obviously should have gone thicker than 1/8 in hindsight.

 

I'll try to post a pic tonight.

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Permalink Reply by Glaze on April 5, 2011 at 4:46am

I have seen many solutions to this problem on mass produced electric guitars.  Fender has used several different styles of string retainers to hold the strings down on the nut.  Vintage Kramer's with Floyd Rose locking nuts had a metal bar all of the strings went under to hold all the strings down on the nut.  Many high end electric guitars use the locking Sperzel tuners because the tuning machine posts are at staggered heights, so the high e-string tuning post on a Strat style guitar will be very low and close to the wood of the peghead.  This keeps the strings held down onto the nut.  

 

My cheap CBG solution:  You could use a U shaped nail wire ran through the hole of the ball end cut off of an electric guitar string.  I would just drill two very small holes smaller than the U nail wire gauge size in the peghead, put some epoxy glue in the holes and push/tap in the U nail with the brass string ball end on it.  Once installed you could glue the ball end at the top of the U wire nail or just leave it unglued because once the string is ran under it and tuned up it will be held into place at the top of the U wire nail.  

 

I have seen several people use very small eye bolt wood screws for this same thing on the strings.      

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on April 5, 2011 at 5:26am

Even simple brass screws work well, just put them very slightly offset from the direct line from the nut-slot to the tuner.  The string catches under the head of the screw.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on April 5, 2011 at 5:31am

That's an idea.  I assume you're talking a pan head screw.

Mark Werner said:

Even simple brass screws work well, just put them very slightly offset from the direct line from the nut-slot to the tuner.  The string catches under the head of the screw.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on April 5, 2011 at 12:29pm

everyones made that mistake before...

heres a couple of 'retaining bars', one from neck scrap hardwood, one from bone.   Just make a slot underneath for each string with a dremel wheel or a sawblade..   its like another nut, but upside down

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Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on April 6, 2011 at 4:46am

Here's a couple of pics that I promised.  I like the eye-bolt idea, and will try to stop at Ace Hardware after work.

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Permalink Reply by Glaze on April 7, 2011 at 7:05am

Jef Long

 

Now this looks incredible.  Very similar design/idea to the metal bars use to hold the strings down on the Floyd Rose locking nuts which many guitar manufacturers used.  

Jef Long said:

everyones made that mistake before...

heres a couple of 'retaining bars', one from neck scrap hardwood, one from bone.   Just make a slot underneath for each string with a dremel wheel or a sawblade..   its like another nut, but upside down

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Permalink Reply by William McCauley on April 7, 2011 at 8:27am

I used a plastic "zip-tie" ( ty-wrap, wire tie) to hold the strings down on one of my builds.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on April 7, 2011 at 6:52pm

thanks glaze.  its even more like the 'block' one on a fender XII from the 60s, which is pretty much where i pinched the idea from, anyways.. seems a pretty obvious solution to me, takes a second longer restringing,feeding it thru there, but overall im quite happy with it, ive done 5 or 6 like this, tho not for a long time, i mostly do slotted headstocks now, which is another elegant way around the same problem

 

btw the 'extra fret as nut' idea is pinched from Australian guitar manufacturer MATON, who did this in the 70s..  only the rear (tuner side) one is slotted for the strings, the one closer to the bridge is the zero fret

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