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I've been talked into refretting an old Ventura guitar which has a zero fret. Should the zero fret be treated like all the other frets? Should it be higher? When the strings are open, should they be resting on the fret? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Although I have never used a zero fret, I would treat it just like another fret and yes the strings should seat right to it and the nut behind it should only be used to keep the strings spaced properly.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

John

I've never done one either, but I thought the Zero Fret had to be a bit higher ? I could be wrong though.

Jimmy Caldwell is the zero-fret expert here. I've asked him about this in the past and he uses a .055 zero fret height and .046 height on the other frets. That allows for a straight neck. I love zero fret guitars particularly for open tunings as they give the same subtle timbre on open and fretted notes. The Redwood/mahogany OM on my drawing is planned to have a zero fret.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

There have been other threads on this topic so you may want to look in the archives for what others have to say. Me personally, I always treat zero frets like Non-zero fret guitars. By that I mean, the height of the zero fret is determined by how high or low you want your 1st fret action to be ( just like a nut, I adjust the height to desired 1st fret action). You also can adjust the zero fret (by filing it)as to where the string(s) comes off the zero fret( that is your scale start point). If you need to sharpen or flatten a string you can file that fret ( to a limited degree) to help achieve your objective. The nut, in this case, is really nothing more than a string guide and should always be filed so that the strings do not come off the nut but rather the zero fret. I don't like "zero" fret guitars because I always adjust my fingerboard scale ( I always install Buzz Feiten sys. on my guitars). So to me a zero fret is just "in the way".

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Stephen, I used a zero fret on my first build and it worked great. The strings rest on the fret. The center of the zero fret is the "nut", measure your scale length from that point. I made mine .003" taller than the other frets.


Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

I see no reason why the zero fret should be higher than any other fret. When you fret a note, it should clear the next fret anywhere on the fingerboard so why make the zero any taller.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

   I've built less than a dozen guitars using a zero fretand they should be th same height as the other frets since neck relief and setup at the saddle will provide the clearance at the the "1st" fret. I'e hard of some doing their zero at a few thousandths higher ,but it's not necessary.

   I usually level, crown and polish my zero fret as just another of the frets. Treat it as though it is the first and you'll have no problem.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

I too have done "zero fret" and level them as you would any other fret.   Play one every day that was set that way and never had a buzz..   hmmm thats sounds boring..

I like the idea of the zero fret and plan to do my next couple of guitars that way. My only complaint with zero frets is I don't really like the way they look. I'm playing around with ideas for how I could construct it so that there is no visible fretboard between the zero fret and the nut (it's not really a "nut" in this case, but what I might call a "string guide"). The challenge in this, as I see it, is giving the zero fret a slot with good, solid meat on both sides for the tang barbs to bite into, and also making it easy to pull the zero fret in the future. If anyone's done this sort of thing and has any ideas or photos to share, I'd appreciate it.

As for "nut" compensation, I plan to just put the zero fret slightly forward of its theoretical position.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I havent done that, Todd, but maybe you could rabbit the nut to fit over the end of the FB.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Here's another non-permanent solution for zero fret.

http://www.monteallums.com/Stretch_Tuning_DW.html

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.