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I'm rescuing an old Teisco Del Rey. It was literally pulled out of a dumpster. Just curious what the opinions are on the amount of transmissivity the nut provides. Does it all die at the zero fret? Or does the nut couple to the fretboard and help pass things along? Is it worth making a bone nut when all it really does is act as a spacer?

Everything in a guitar vibrates. I use a tuner clipped to the tip end of the headstock. It sees vibrations. I built a harp guitar with two necks. I only needed to clip a tuner to one headstock to tune the strings on both necks. The question is, "does a bone nut improve the sound of whatever nut is there now?" I suspect that the answer is whatever you want it to be.

I have no idea, Al. I'd just go with the zero fret and call it good.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I would stay with the zero fret.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I guess I wasn't clear.
I have to have a nut to provide string spacing. The zero fret has the most minimal notching, just enough to show me the spacing. So the nut at the end of the fretboard provides string spacing, but the strings don't actually touch the bottom of the slot. But they are going to touch the sides of the nut. As Hans said, everything vibrates, so I guess it can't hurt to have something other than the hollow plastic nut that came with it.

I think the bone nut might help. The nut does partially support the string so it would certainly be part of the equation. Plus it will look nice.

Barry is right. Bone looks nicer, and it's always a good time to use our skills. That Del Rey will look good when it's done. If you want to spring for it, I think someone like WD Music or elsewhere offers pre-made pickguards for them in pearl white... But you are adding P-90's.....

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Yes, unfortunately the original pickups no longer function. There were just enough parts that couldn't be salvaged that I decided on revamping it. I do have the original "sharktooth" panel. I'll put the P90s just slightly over it so the panel is still original. The pots are frozen, but the slide switches still work, so they'll stay. It'll be a conglomeration, but some school kid who can't afford anything will love it.

You are correct to say that when it is behind a zero fret the only job that the nut is doing is determining the string spacing. But the strings should sit at the bottom of the slot just like in a regular nut. It is just that the slot is cut lower than the height of the zero fret to generate a break angle over the fret. If the string in so tight in a V-shaped slot that it doesn’t get to the bottom and is jammed up against the sides then it is a poorly cut slot and it will cause friction of the string movement through the slot when tuning.

I would certainly replace a hollow plastic nut with a bone one for aesthetic reasons, and maybe it will help with sound as well.

A ha! I really hadn't thought about it since I'm not to that point yet. But, yes, the bottom of the nut slot will be lower than the zero fret height. And as long as you maintain proper tension on the zero fret, there is no reason the string can't at least touch the bottom of the nut slot. Thank you!

This is the real beauty of the zero fret setup. You don’t need to be precise about cutting the nut slots - they just need to be deep enough to get below the level of the zero fret (which, BTW, is the same height and width as all of the other frets). I use it in most of my builds. If you want, the nut can also be thinner (e.g. 1/8” like a typical saddle material).