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4001/4003 Nut
Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2002 8:00 am
by rob
I know that Rickenbacker used bronze for their nuts, because that's what my 4001 has. But, my new 4003 (Dec.'01) has a black nut. Is the black an anti-corrosive (Rustoleum) paint? Or is it a totally different metal?
Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2002 1:11 pm
by markthemd
Rickenbacker , to my knowledge has NEVER used metal for nuts on any bass since they began making basses in the 1950's .
The brass nut thing can be traced to Glen Quan of Badass Bridge fame .He seems to be THE guy , and then the Alembic shop in the late 1960's picked up on it .Glen told of the 'increase' in sustain to a bass and got lots of business .
My arguement was ......"once you fret the string , what does the nut do but hold the strings in a given spacing?" so much for that marketing .
By the way ....I will not install brass nuts for anyone .It kills my files .And at $15.00 per file ,no thanks .There is great material that does not ruin files .NEXT!
The black nut is a phenolic material .Most of it was a cotton linen phenolic.This material is a cousin to Bakelite .Rickenbacker lap steels were made of that stuff for years .It is a carry over from that time .It is tough as nails and wears really well .
The new stuff is 'Delrin' .It also works well , in fact easier, and is more readily available .Tone differance? I don't really hear it .And for only 4 notes ...it works well.
The black hardware is NOT paint ...it is called 'Powder Coating' .A totally different type of product .
For info on that .....go to AltaVista Search engine .You will get more technical info on it looking there.