The Zero Fret

Zero frets do insure better intonation. With the better fret materials we have now, they should make a comeback.

Overly a properly dressed nut they don't really.

What they do is allow quick, low string action at the first fret by essentially being the same as playing the second fret with a capo. This lets you cut the nut behind quickly because the string height is set by the fret itself.

The downside is they wear quicker than the rest of the frets because the strings are being drug across them as you tune up / down under pitch and when it wears out, it's more involved to replace than a nut.

I don't really have a problem with them, but no real reason to use them imo.
 
This morning I got this from a STEW MAC email...

ZerO_Glide_Nuts.jpg



ZerO Glide Nuts


The easy way to install a nut, and accurate string height is built in.

Better tuning, better open string tone
The zero fret approach reduces string contact in the nut by 93%. Strings glide freely on the polished fret, and return to tune fast and reliably.

No modification needed
No cutting or changing your guitar. You can switch back to your conventional nut if you ever feel like it. Fretboard radius is not an issue: choose the ZerO Glide that fits your guitar, and the zero fret flexes to conform to your fretboard.

Available preslotted for most string spacings, and unslotted for any situation.


$30.00

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Nuts_and_Saddles/ZerO_Glide_Nuts.html
 
I've owned one guitar with a zero fret. It was a Goya 12 string with action 1/2" high at the 12th fret.

I know it wasn't the zero fret's fault, but that guitar soured me on zero frets.
 
Overly a properly dressed nut they don't really.

What they do is allow quick, low string action at the first fret by essentially being the same as playing the second fret with a capo. This lets you cut the nut behind quickly because the string height is set by the fret itself.

The downside is they wear quicker than the rest of the frets because the strings are being drug across them as you tune up / down under pitch and when it wears out, it's more involved to replace than a nut.

I don't really have a problem with them, but no real reason to use them imo.

The Brian May guitars have a zero fret. The first one I got a few years back developed a groove under the second string within HOURS, and every time you bent the string, you could hear a "ping". Annoying as hell. Back it went. Ashasha from HCEG replaced one with a SS fret to prevent similar issues.
 
The Brian May guitars have a zero fret. The first one I got a few years back developed a groove under the second string within HOURS, and every time you bent the string, you could hear a "ping". Annoying as hell. Back it went. Ashasha from HCEG replaced one with a SS fret to prevent similar issues.
Yeah, whenever I get my Steinberger refretted, I want whoever does it to put a SS fret at the zero fret.
 
The Brian May guitars have a zero fret. The first one I got a few years back developed a groove under the second string within HOURS, and every time you bent the string, you could hear a "ping". Annoying as hell. Back it went. Ashasha from HCEG replaced one with a SS fret to prevent similar issues.

SS does help for sure.
 
The Brian May guitars have a zero fret. The first one I got a few years back developed a groove under the second string within HOURS, and every time you bent the string, you could hear a "ping". Annoying as hell. Back it went. Ashasha from HCEG replaced one with a SS fret to prevent similar issues.

that Ashasha was a cool guy.
 
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