Earvana Compensating Nut

[Seryaph]

Anybody get a chance to play an instrument with one of these? Are they as good as they are made out to be?


Also, getting this nut slotted and installed on your neck for $65 seems to beat the hell out of a $30 installed graphite nut that i would later have to take to my guitar tech who charges over $30 for nut slotting plus $100 an hour for labor.

Anyone know how these things handle excessive whammy-age?

 

[nathan a]

I've got one on a fixed bridge guitar, so no word on the whammy. I know some guys here have had problems with it wearing down too much. But I love mine, I find it make a huge difference in intonation, and I have no issues with its quality. Total win-win for me.

I think a lot of the necessity of the thing comes down to the way you play. I play almost entirely in chords of some form; rarely do I play any lead. If you mostly play single-note lines, I am not even sure if you would need it.

 

[Seryaph]

Well, I play a lot of chords, single notes, and everything in between.

I do play a lot of lead but the intonation of my guitar is still very, very important to me. When you are playing lead and you really emphasize a certain note, if that note is slightly flat or sharp its like getting stabbed in the ears. Just it just not make that big of a difference in terms of single notes?

Its also a matter of cost, getting a graphite nut installed is $30 cheaper, but getting slotted might cost me between $100 and $110 just for the labor, so it comes out to being about $70 more expensive.

 

[guitlouie]

The nut will not affect single notes, because your finger on the frets is between the nut and the bridge.  Compensate at the nut all you want, once you lay your finger down, it is your finger placement that is making the note sound sharp, or flat, or, in a perfect world, just right. 

 

[Seryaph]

But aren't your fingers between the nut and the bridge when you are making chords?
So that nut really just affects the intervals between the notes you play in the chords as opposed to the single notes itself? I am guessing, that the intonation set at the bridge + height of the strings of the fretboard + set up of the truss rod is what affects the single notes more.

Because I've played a poorly itonated guitar before, and it doesn't matter how hard or soft you press down the note at the fret, it will sound flat.

 

[tfarny]

No, you guys. When you use an earvana you intonate your bridge differently, too. So sure the finger is the 'nut side intonation' or whatever, but with the earvana each string is optimized for intonation from both directions instead of just one. The problem with a regular guitar is that fretting strings makes them a bit sharp but it affects each string differently because of string tension / thickness. Intonation (at either end) corrects for this difference, but it's better to be able to correct at both ends, this near-eliminates the sharpness problem in the lower frets. I've had a bunch of wine and been working all evening, so I hope this makes sense.

 

[GoDrex]

The nut will not affect single notes, because your finger on the frets is between the nut and the bridge.  Compensate at the nut all you want, once you lay your finger down, it is your finger placement that is making the note sound sharp, or flat, or, in a perfect world, just right. 

sorry but this is not entirely true...  I used and Earvana for a few months on my strat and it makes a noticeable difference in intonation on fretted notes. If you take a normal guitar, you can intonate it at the bridge by comparing the 12 fret harmonic and note, but you may still find that at certain fret your notes are sharp or flat. With the compensated nut it improves this situation. It doesn't entirely fix it, but it comes much closer to most of the notes being more in tune.

 

[guitlouie]

I'm wrong a lot.  It still does not make sense to me though.

 

[llama]

I have three teles, a Fender 52 Reissue, a Warmoth with a nut fitted by Warmoth and another Warmoth with an Earvana Compensating Nut that I fitted myself. I do not notice that much difference to be honest. The Earvana was a bit of a pain to fit and seems quite fragile - although I have been playing it for two years now and it's not broken yet. I am not sure that I would bother again but it is a bit of a novelty. As with most guitar gear - if it works for you then it's OK.

 

[Seryaph]

Yeah, I talked to the guys at Warmoth, and they told me that for the paces I am going to be putting my instrument through I will be better off with a graphite nut.


Anyone know any good techs in the Boston area who are nice guys and won't rob me blind?


Or any advice or words of wisdom on how to file the slots into a graphite nut?

 

[nathan a]

Anyone know any good techs in the Boston area who are nice guys and won't rob me blind?

Steve Morrill - awesome tech, super nice guy who loves to talk shop. He's on Mass Ave, number 160-something I believe. Right near the daddy's junky music on mass ave. His number is 617 315 5127.

 

[Seryaph]

Ah! You rock Nathan, I appreciate it very much.

 

[nathan a]

Ah! You rock Nathan, I appreciate it very much.

No problem, glad to give the guy business.