How To Work Out Spacing At Nut From Bridge Measure

[Makavelli]

I have found a site that will calculate your string spacing for you if you know your E-e measurement at the nut - unfortunately i don't as i am fitting a new nut to a used guitar i bought without a nut - is there a way to calculate these measurements using the E-e from the bridge?

The nut is 42.5mm wide and the E-e measurement at the bridge is 52mm

[Devon Headen]

Do you already have a neck? I just make the E to e on the nut whatever is comfortable, and then fill in in between. That's a lot easier to do correctly if you properly planned out your build full size before you started, though. Usually I leave 1/8" - 3/16" (depending on what I want) between each outside string and the edge of the fretboard. You really need all your measurments beforehand so that you can lay out your neck according to the taper from the nut to the bridge.

[frank falbo]

The bridge spacing is irrelevant. Actually, your nut width is somewhat irrelevant too, because some guitars have rounded over neck edges and jumbo frets. That makes the overall playing surface a little narrower than if the neck is straight up, with smaller frets that don't angle in so far. I would suggest marking the E's by eye, so that you think they're far enough from the edge that they won't have the tendency to slip off, but not so narrow that it feels unnatural. Then measure that, and go to your website.

[Makavelli]

Do you already have a neck?

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It's a guitar i bought of e-bay as a project , respray gone wrong with no hardware, i didn't think that this included the nut!! Washburn WI64 to be precise - i have tried contacting washburn but they haven't been very helpful. So i was going to make one.

[Guitarfrenzy]

I think you need to read Stew Mac's info about making a nut before you start, and I would really advise you buying the String Spacing Ruler. Like was previously mentioned , 1/8" from the edge for the E strings should be sufficiant, but to make a very accurate spacing, you need to consider the 1st fret width and distance of bevel your dealing with. PRS even moves the little E string farther away from the edge for playing reasons.

link

Also this diagram I did for my newest guitar I'm building may explain it better.

[Makavelli]

Thanks for the replys guys - i was already aware of the stewmac link, thanks anyway though. I guess i'll just have to wing it. I had just thought that given the precise nature of scale lengths etc there was a magic formula for string spacing, neck taper etc.

[Devon Headen]

The bridge spacing is irrelevant. Actually, your nut width is somewhat irrelevant too, because some guitars have rounded over neck edges and jumbo frets.

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Say what ? I thought you did pro set up work Frank? How on earth can you say that string spread at the bridge is irrelevant? Especially for someone piecing together a kit. If it's a strat bridge with a strat neck, the spacing will work out well, but if the spacing is much different than a Fender neck the string will be noticably too far in or too close to the edge. I always lay out string spacing in much the same way Guitarfrenzy posted before starting work on a guitar.

[frank falbo]

He's asking how to take the bridge spacing, and somehow translate that into what his nut spacing would be, like dividing by a certain percentage or something. The bridge spacing is irrelevant when calculating the nut spacing. Even if the strings slowly advance toward the outside of the neck as you approach the higher frets. The nut spacing should be based on preference, and width of the actual playing surface of the frets.

I'm saying that at this point, the bridge spacing is irrelevant to Makavelli. He already has his parts.

Also I was typing my response at the same time you were typing yours, So it's not a response to your post, but to his. He seemed to want to use that website to get precision measurements, but then he said he'd wing it, so more power to him.

[Devon Headen]

Gotcha. I thought you were saying that bridge spacing was irrelevant to setup. When you're already working within set parameters, it really is more just a matter of opinion.