Changing the Nut in a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Studio Pro

    Hey guys,


    I got myself a Gibson 2014 Les Paul Studio Pro. I really love the sound of it but the tuning stability just .. sucks.
    Especially the g and b String just don't want to stay in tune.
    I talked to my trusted techguy today and he said that many Gibson users switch the plastic nut to a bone nut.
    Now normally I trust this tech, but because I recently got myself a Kemper and the Les Paul my Bank account took quite the beating and I'm a bit sceptic if I really should do this,


    Now because this forum is so helpfull, I figured that I could just ask you guys if anyone had something like that done to his/her Gibson and can recommend it

    Havent changed the nut, because its only the little thing where the strings lay on. I think the tuners have a problem. Detuning arrived when they are not ok or you have a problem with your intonation at the oktave. This is maybe a problem of the bridge or old strings. To change the nut is a little voodoo. If you thing you get a better tone with a bone nut, ok then change it, but if you have problems with the tuning after playing or bending hard, normally the bad guy is the tuner himself. Do you have Grovers or vintage tuners installed? Sometimes the vintage ones are not long in tune.

    No need to change the nut, but Gibson is notorious for providing guitars with inferior nut work. Usually it just takes a bit of filing, particularly at the point where the strings exit the nut towards the tuners. They need to be rounded off a bit so there isn't a hard edge for the string to get hung up on. Gibson's in general require more care in shaping the nut slots due to the greater angle of the headstock, and the fact that the tuners cause the strings to come out of the nut at a side angle as well.


    Cheapest thing to do is put a little graphite in the nut slots (use real graphite in a tube, pencil lead contains clay that can make things worse). Silicon grease can also work. But a properly cut nut, even plastic, should not bind and cause tuning problems.

    Nuts CAN cause tuning problems. I had a LP studio which had tuning problems - a change of nut solved it. But it can be fixed with a simple file job to make the nut slots the proper size - provided the guy does a decent job. Strings binding in the nut is not really a problem with the material, even if different materials have different coefficients of friction with the string material.


    Bone nuts - yeah, I'm sure they have SOME amount of impact on the tone. But only for open strings. As soon as you fret a note, then the nut is out of the equation.


    Durability of nut material may also be a factor.


    Didn't know the thing about pencil lead and clay being a problem. Since so many people use it (luthiers included), I would think that at least a lot of the time that method works somewhat, so MAYBE that's something to try first. What you do is you take a pencil and scrape the edge of a stanley knife along the "lead" (don't cut) - use a very light touch to get the smallest possible "dust particles" - not broken off little "chunks". Then you mix that with a tiny amount of vaseline to get a gooey substance going. I think you can also put just a small amount of vaseline on a post it note or whatever, then "draw" on the paper in small little circles until you get the right result (basically, a black goo).


    You can then apply it with a piece of a high e-string to be sure the stuff gets in the nut slots. Don't get it all over your guitar, only just into the sluts.


    This, and other lubricants, won't help very much if the slots are not cut properly, but might offset the problem just enough if you're lucky.


    BE AWARE that the slots (and inevitably a bit of the surrounding nut material) will be coloured gray black.


    I *think* vaseline is safe for the finish - MAYBE - but I definitely would NOT!! take any chances. And I would not take any chances with not-intended-for-guitar-products either!! I think some chemicals can compromise the nut material as well.


    If you don't want to use the graphite method, then the brand that usually gets mentioned is "Big Bend's Nut Sauce", which is for exactly this purpose. I myself use GraphitAll Guitar Lube.



    But at the end of the day - getting that sucker properly filed should NOT be very expensive.

    +1 for big bends nut sauce. I have a 59 vos les Paul and the nut is a real dog. I replaced the nut on my previous Paul using a tusq pre cut and it worked well after a little filing. I wouldn't really recommend you do this unless you are confident. Try the lube on both the nut slots and at the bridge too first.

    You're damned if you do and damned if you don't

    The tuning problem is more than likely the nut.
    Gibson use plastic nuts, they should be bone.


    Usually just filing the existing nut correctly fixes the tuning problem.
    However, if the nut slots have been previously filed too low then it needs to be replaced, and if you're replacing it then you might as well use a bone nut at the same time.


    You can check to see if the nut slots have been filed too low.
    Fret each string on the 3rd fret and see if the string is touching the 1st fret, if it is then the slots have been filed too low and the nut needs replacing.
    The string should not touch the 1st fret.

    I'm choked, at the price they sell their guitars the less they could do would be to deliver them with a perfect set up... ?( Plastic nut is also questionable...


    Actually I agree that a well set up nut is very important for tuning stability but sometimes poor quality tuners can be the culprit too.

    Take it to a Tech and have the nut filed/recut and set up properly. I've played LPs for over 40 years all needing nut work at some stage. As mentioned above nuts (and frets) cut on Gibson's Plek machine which only does as good a job as the guy using it. Plastic nuts are fine especially the Corian material ones.

    My last Gibson LP (bought around 2007) had a tuning problem with the nut, mainly the G.
    I sent it back and they replaced it with another with the same problem, where upon I told the supplier either to give me a full refund or sort out the nut.
    They got their in-house tech to replace the nut which solved the problem.
    I mean these guitars aint cheap FFS...

    Original 50s era Les Pauls were Nylon. Historics/Reissues/Custom shop LPs I believe are now mostly Corian. They can all be a pain in the butt unless cut perfectly and are probably the weakest link on a LP. In addition to the reissue Volume pots lol.

    Quote from bigtoe

    There's a reason Gibson went to the metal zero-fret nut and robo-tuners on most of there 2015 guitars.


    Yup - somebody at Gibson HAD to make those robo-tuners a success (as they had made an exclusive deal with tronical for what I imagine is quite a lump of money) . The zero-fret nut was the only way they could make the system work at least somewhat reliably. Sadly, the new nut also means a sickeningly wide neck. Crazy stuff.

    A plastic nut vs a bone nut is a tone issue, not a tuning issue. That is, as long as you use some lubricant like graphite on the nut so the strings glide when tuned and you don't over-wind strings to the tuning peg so there is still some stretching for the string there to do.


    Most likely it's the tuners and their gear ratio. The extreme angle to the neck that Gibson has is supposed to help with tuning, but for the ones I've had it doesn't. Just makes it more prone to breaking (and break they do!)


    If you are really PO'd about locking in your tuning, you need a lock of some sort. Locking nut or locking tuners. But the new tuners screw holes might not match your current stock ones so the new holes will leave old ones that drop the equity of the guitar. I don't have experience changing to locking nuts, so google that one.


    Strings change tune when they stretch, not what posts they are laying against.


    Another thing to consider is your playing. Two things that detune a guitar playing style wise are hard pick attacks and lots of string bending.

    A lot has been said here already. Depends on why your having the tuning issue. Biggest problem is strings binding in the nut... Super fine emery cloth or similar from auto parts store can make huge improvements here followed by your favorite nut lube remedy. New strings with an appropriate wrap and stretch follow this in terms of most common. If you haven't changed strings yet they don't travel from well at all and can be new and intonate horribly