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Old 10-16-2009, 10:12 AM
jackstrat jackstrat is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 838
Default Nut width: 1-11/16" vs 1-3/4"

I know this has been discussed to the nth detail, but my local Martin and Taylor dealer brought up a good point when I complained that Martin Dreads are produced with a 1-11/16" nut width, preferring 1-3/4". (Thanks to cutting 5/8" off of my second finger, my fretting hand is kinda messed up.)

They asked, can .063" really make a difference across the fret board, given that the difference in space between strings (if divided equally) is less than .013" of an inch. That translates to the thickness of four sheets of lined notebook paper.

For grins, I used CorelDraw to print out the two neck sizes with strings and overlayed them. Can barely tell a difference by eye, and given the imprecision of fretting fingers, why does .013" of an inch make a difference?

Is it mental?

I realize that the shape of the back of the neck makes a difference as it alters the fretting hand angle, etc., but again, why the big deal?

JackL
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