As a general rule, the top of the nut should be sanded down so that no more than half a string’s diameter sits submerged in the nut slot. When strings sits too deeply in the nut, they tend to bind and make a creaking sound as your tuning up the string.  They can also prevent the string from moving and then your in the middle of a song and you stretch a note, now the added tension forces the string to unbind in the nut slot. The result, out of tune and the audience puts their hands over their ears.

Process for Sanding a Nut Down*:

1. Using a sanding block, sand the bottom of the nut so that the nut sits at the desired height.

2. Check to see how low the strings are sitting in the nut. If any are more than halfway down in the nut slot, then you’ll want to use your sanding block or sanding surface to sand down the top of the nut.

We used 3D computer animation to illustrate this concept in Fret MD: Acoustic Guitar Setup and Maintence.

* This process is the same for all guitars with a bone, plastic or graphite nut. (e.g. Electric guitars, acoustic guitars, basses etc.)

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