Official Luthiers Forum!

What does everyone prefer? Equal spacing between strings or equal spacing from center to center of strings. If you could please explain your preference.

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That's up to the client for the most part.

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I always use equal spacing between the strings at the nut. For fingerstyle guitars, sometimes I do equal spacing between the strings at the pins too.

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Casey why do you do one verses the other?

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Feel. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

The Stew Mac string spacing rule IIRC does equal spacing between the strings not between their centers. Equal spacing between centers has the thicker strings appearing and feeling (to some) closer together.

There is no wrong or right here it's a personal preference thing but I can relate to you some of my experiences with this:

The Stew Mac string spacing rule is a gem of a tool and does more than nut spacing. For Mandos, arch tops, even G*bsons with new saddles that need to be notched (electrics) it can help you set string spacing at the bridge end of the instrument.

It's one of those pretty inexpensive tools that gets used more than most other tools in our busy shop because it's very versatile.

Don't know how many nuts I've made in the last ten years but there have been lots of them. Only once..... only once did someone ask me for spacing specific to the distance between the string centers vs. the spacing between strings. He was a retired Luthier who didn't want to make the nut for his personal guitar. He wanted equal distant spacing between string centers and came to us because others only, according to him, offered equal spacing between strings. Although picky sorts who want something different and unusual can at times, I repeat at times not always.... be a red flag about dealing with them I made him his nut. He loved it and since I never got to meet him personally he called the next day after picking up the guitar just to thank me. Nice guy.

But the point here is and was this is the only time that I was asked to do something other than what the SM string spacing ruler provides. FWIW I made this guy's nut simply using calipers and checking my work along the way slanting files to compensate for any drift of the desired centers. It's no harder in my opinion to make either nut, we just don't get requests for anything different beyond once that I can recall in ten years.

What is FAR more common are requests for string spacing that permits bass note thumb overs, that one we are asked about and provide routinely.

Also WAY more common is different spacing on an instrument that had prior fret work somewhere else and the Luthier radically beveled the ends permitting some players to pull a string completely off the fret top. There are only two solutions when someone ruins a guitar this way 1). New narrower nut spacing and 2) refret without radically beveling the fret ends.

I'll add that anyone who can make a decent nut should be capable of doing either spacing.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I also LOVE the Stew Mac string spacing tool too. It gets an incredible amount of use and makes mark out a breeze. I got a guy now who wants center to center though so it's back to the old steel ruler.

My personal preference is equal distance and I believe that's what most people like, even if they don't realize it

I love the stewmac tool also. I use it for the nut and then use equal distant centers for the saddle end. Someone else on here made the argument that the opposite is more logical because you're fretting hand aims for the middle of the string while you're picking fingers reach to grab the edge of the string.

But honestly, I don't know if I would be able to tell a difference! It's only about 20 thou diff from side to side. I have been using that to space nuts for years, so if I went back, who knows?

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Pat

I have used the StewMac tool since it became available and no one has complained. Love it.

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Thanks for answering fellows.

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