Help finding the correct nut groove location

[long past dead]

I have a Strat with an expensive pickguard/pickup arrangement. However it had a broken neck. I salvaged a neck from a Strat copy and all was fine until the nut cracked. After digging out the cheap plastic nut I tried replacing it with Bone, Graphite, etc. The problem, I am having is this. After I insert the new nut I can tune the guitar up BUT when using a chromatic tuner as I fret each string note they are not correct, mostly sharp (B string at 1st fret should be “C” but approx 20 cents too sharp. Same for G string, at 1st fret “G#” approx 20 cents too sharp, etc, etc.) This makes chords sound so off and out of tune. I need to re-cut the groove square to the neck and wider than the nut and possibly shim but this is where I cannot find any info. On my complete Strat the distance from the inside face of the nut to the 1st fret is 1-3/8 inches, yet when I try to set any nut to that location it is still off. I know I should just buy a new neck but can’t afford it and this neck was perfect until the nut broke and cleaning it out with all the glue mess left me with this predicament. Is there a precise method of locating the slot without making a super wide groove and haphazard shimming front and back until I stumble upon the correct distance? I can find no info on locating the correct nut groove from any point of reference.

[kiteman]

May not be the nut. Where the nut meets the end of the fretboard begins the speaking length of the strings. You need to measure from the nut to the 12th fret and from the 12th fret to the saddles. Did they match?

From the nut to the saddles is your scale length of the strings. What did you get?

[Katastrophe]

What guitar did the new neck come from?

GFS has unfinished necks with paddle headstocks for $37.95.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/Unfinished-STrat-fit-Neck-Paddle-Headstock-maple-Fingerboard_p_770.html

Can't vouch for the quality, but there are cheaper Strat replacement necks out there that'll work!

[Heywood Jablomie]

LPD, you said that the replacement neck was OK until after the nut broke, and now you're having problems with the replacement nut - correct? Is it possible that the new nut is too high, making notes sharp when fretting (especially on the lower frets)? Are you familiar with nut height determination?

[long past dead]

I always use .015 under 1st fret as my benchmark for cutting slots and have never had a problem. I have perfect intonation at the 12th fret so it is 1/2 way but I will double check by measuring. I will check out the necks but I hate those cheapo mighty mite necks with one way truss rods etc. I am so frustrated and confused I might look for an old beat up strat with burned out electronics or take out the pickups and keep them as spares. You mention specs for nut slot height What specs do you use????

[Andy]

make sure that the nut grooves are cut at an angle so the string is not touching in the middle or somewhere else, also that it's not cut on an arc you may get from a rocking motion...it needs to be strait and at a slight angle. and ofcourse as mentioned, at the correct depth. the type of nut should have little impact on intonation.

[Heywood Jablomie]

make sure that the nut grooves are cut at an angle ....
Probably doesn't apply, as the OP's guitar is a Fender six-in-line type which does not have the strings angled at the nut.

[aeolian]

I have no experience working with the nut of a guitar, but here's my thoughts on your situation just trying to think through the problem.

If I were in your situation I would try this. On the b string I tune my first fret until it is exactly tuned to C. I would then play every fret up the neck to see if all of the frets are reasonably in tune. If they are I will then play the open string b to see if it is sharp (which I'm guessing will be your case). It it is sharp I can conclude that the high point of the nut slot of the b string is too close to the bridge.

I believe in most guitars the high point in the nut is the edge of the nut towards the first fret, but that is assuming that the position of the nut is perfect. I can see that it may be necessary to cut the slot so that it is shaped like an upside-down V to move the high point of the nut back a little towards the peghead.

By all means let me know if my thinking is screwed up. I have been playing guitar for a long time, but never had to work on the guitar nut before.

[Bloozcat]

Pretty much what others said. Whenever you replace a major part in the string path, re-setting the intonation is usually needed. It shouldn't be a big deal unless the scale length ended up way off due to a scale length problem with the new neck when installed.

[Andy]

this explains much better what I meant about the nut slots.
I got the impression that for some reason the nut was causing intonation troubles, and I immediatly thought about the slots.

imbed didnt work

try again

nut slots- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qavM3G_7Plg&feature=player_embedded

intonation- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwIcCcP6XoY&feature=related

[long past dead]

Thanks again for all the additional info. I made a new nut and worked up the neck. I have proper intonation from the 2nd fret all the way up the neck but cannot get it at the first fret. I decided to give it up and had a funeral for the neck today.