Bookkeeper's Son
June 29th, 2011, 10:01 PM
I just replaced a Tusq nut (with a new Tusq nut) on my granddaughter's guitar. So, I decided to see what this "man-made ivory" stuff is all about, since I was gonna throw the old one out anyway. Absolutely impossible to break it by hand; was only able to break it with a pretty sharp hammer whack. The stuff is really hard and really strong. Although I don't have any hands-on experience with bone, I suspect that Tusq would perform as well or better. The convenience of a pre-slotted nut is obvious, and the consistency of a man-made product might be preferable to the variable hardness and porosity of natural bone. This was the second nut replacement I've done, both with pre-slotted Tusq nuts that fit perfectly, only requiring sanding down to proper height, taking about ten minutes in all, and costing about ten bucks. I can see why so many guitar manufacturers use them as original equipment. An excellent product!