You may have wondered what it is that makes some guitars sound better than others—two guitars can be made from the same woods with the same technical specs, and one may just have something uniquely special about it in terms of tone or playability. Well, there could be several reasons for this, but one of the contributors to great tone may surprise you—the nut.
This seemingly insignificant part of your instrument has a far bigger impact on your guitar’s tone than you may believe. The height, string spacing, and material of the nut can dramatically change not only the sound, but also the sustain, intonation, and playability of your guitar.
When it comes to nut materials, bone and TUSQ are the main contenders, as these give the best tone and playability for your instrument. Plastic is common on cheaper guitars, but we’d recommend avoiding this whenever possible.
In this article, we’ll provide a clear comparison of TUSQ vs bone nuts to help you choose the best nut for your guitar and help your instrument sound and feel its best. Let’s dive in!
The guitar nut is located at the end of the guitar’s fretboard, just before the headstock, and serves several purposes. The first is to raise the strings off the fretboard and frets so there is no buzzing, and to create enough height to fret the strings properly.
The second is string spacing. You’ll notice when looking at the nut that the strings each have their own slot where they should sit around half of the string’s thickness into. This spaces the strings perfectly evenly across the fretboard, allowing them to be fretted properly and not touch each other while being strummed or picked. These slots or grooves also hold the strings in place and prevent them from sliding into one another.
Another equally important aspect of a nut is tone. Depending on the material of the nut, the guitar’s tone may sound brighter and cleaner, or duller or even “muddy.” It can also affect the stability of the guitar’s tuning, as some materials cause the strings to “stick” in the nut slots, affecting the way the strings slide through the grooves.
The nut may also affect the intonation of your guitar. The spacing of the strings on the nut, as well as the height and depth of the string, can affect the “scale length” of the string, thus altering intonation when they are pressed down and fretted.
Bone nuts and TUSQ nuts also have different tonal qualities, and this is what this article will focus on today.
Bone is the traditional material used to make guitar nuts, and the material is still widely used for instruments today. This is especially true on more high-end, handmade instruments.
Ivory was also used in the past, but thankfully, the widespread legislation against the use of new ivory has pretty much halted its use. The ivory used on nuts is largely sourced from elephant tusk, which is obviously ethically questionable and for the most part illegal.
Bone was a favored material for nuts due to its availability, its strength, and its ability to create deep and rich low frequencies plus clear, crisp high frequencies. Bone resonates fantastically well and is highly durable.
Of course, there are some downsides to bone. Since it is a natural material, there are inherent inconsistencies. Because of these inconsistencies within the material, it may resonate differently on different parts of the nut. In essence, this means your E, A, and B strings may resonate louder and clearer than the rest—for example. Or only one string may be dull while the others resonate perfectly. Or you may get lucky, and the nut resonates beautifully across the board—this is a bone nut’s main issue. These inconsistencies can result in variations in tone and even weaker sustain.
Bone is also a very dry material, and this can cause the strings to “stick” in their slots, causing tuning issues and thus requiring the regular application of graphite or another lubricant to help them slide properly while being tuned or bent.
Lastly, guitar luthiers often have problems when having to work with bone due to the prevalence of “soft spots” in the material—inconsistencies in bone density. Sometimes luthiers will create string slots in the nut, only to discover that there are soft spots that prevent the instrument from producing the resonant depth that is required.
Thankfully, we now have new technology that helps prevent these issues. Enter the TUSQ nut.
Read also: A Guide to Guitar Anatomy - Everything You Need to Know.
So, what is so special about TUSQ nuts and why are they often the top choice for guitar players and luthiers? There are various reasons for this, but it all comes down to a single property—TUSQ nuts are made from a synthetic material, as opposed to the natural materials of bone or ivory. This creates unparalleled consistency in both tone and stability.
The TUSQ nut was first invented in the 1980s by Dave Dunwoodie, a designer at the guitar gear company Graphtech. It is a synthetic material designed in the form of cutting-edge quality polymer to mimic the tonal qualities that natural materials such as bone and ivory produce, without the downsides.
All of the inherent problems of bone or ivory such as inconsistent density, difficulty in sourcing, inconsistent tones, and the necessity of lubrication are negated by using the synthetic polymer material. TUSQ is reliable, consistent, and has none of the natural issues that can negatively impact the guitar’s sound. Some TUSQ nuts (such as TUSQ XL nuts) are even self-lubricating with their PTFE technology, and this emulates the natural tuning stability of bone or ivory without requiring lubrication.
This PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) technology lubricates to prevent string binding, is resonant and thus amplifies the guitar’s tone, is consistent, and is pressure-formed to transfer string energy efficiently. Also, these nuts are pre-shaped and thus require only minor trimming to fit almost any guitar.
TUSQ nuts are also far easier to source than bone or ivory and don’t have any of the ethical concerns that come with these natural materials.
In short, the benefits of the tuning stability and consistency found in TUSQ nuts are so effective that some of the biggest names in guitar production such as Gibson, Tacoma, and Taylor use TUSQ nuts as the industry standard. This alone should be enough evidence of their superiority.
If we haven’t yet convinced you of the superiority of the TUSQ nut, here’s a comparison table to show you just how superior TUSQ nuts are.
| Feature | Bone Nut | TUSQ Nut |
| Material | Natural (bone/ivory) | Synthetic polymer |
| Tone | Rich lows, crisp highs, although can be inconsistent at times | Consistent tone, balanced frequencies |
| Sustain | Typically inconsistent, often varies by string | Consistent, predictable |
| Tuning Stability | Requires lubrication, can be inconsistent | Excellent, some self-lubricating versions available (TUSQ XL) |
| Consistency | Inherent variations in material i.e. soft spots | Uniform, synthetic, and thus predictable |
| Sourcing | Ethical concerns, availability issues | Readily available, environmentally friendly |
| Cost | Varies | Varies |
| Installation | Can be tricky due to inconsistencies | Pre-shaped and thus generally much easier |
Whether you’re looking to upgrade the nut on your current guitar, or you’re searching for a new guitar to purchase and want to prioritize it coming with a usable nut, you’re going to want to choose the best nut for your needs.
Let’s look at some of the most important points to consider when choosing the best nut for your guitar.
When it comes to tone on guitar, it really can be subjective—one player’s search for a certain sound may be the opposite of what another player is trying to achieve. Subtle variations in tone may be exactly what you’re looking for, and in that case, a good quality bone nut may be the ideal option for you. You may also have a very old vintage guitar that you want to restore or keep as close to the original as possible, and using a bone nut will help keep with this authenticity.
With that said, the tone of a TUSQ nut will almost always produce a superior and more consistent tone—vintage guitar or not.
If you are a gentle player, softly strumming on a few chords for a couple of hours at a time, tuning consistency may not be high on your list of priorities, and a bone nut should do the trick for you.
However, for heavy-handed players or those who love to bend strings or even use a tremolo (whammy) bar often, tuning stability is highly important. The strings need to be able to slide across the nut easily without going out of tune after every bend. For the reasons discussed in this article, TUSQ XL is the clear better choice for these players.
Since TUSQ nuts and bone nuts are priced relatively similarly, budget is not too much of a concern when choosing between the two. However, since TUSQ nuts are generally pre-shaped and thus easier to fit, they will often take less time for a professional (or you) to install and thus hopefully reduce the installation costs and save time.
Ivory and bone may be natural, but they come from animals, and this raises some ethical concerns—not only for vegetarian or vegan players. Bone sourcing is self-explanatory, and ivory largely comes from elephant tusks, which in most cases the animal is killed to source. Thankfully, new ivory is largely illegal now, but even older ivory you may come across likely has this dubious practice behind its sourcing.
TUSQ is environmentally friendly and does not need animals to produce. Ethically, it’s clearly the superior choice.
We hope we’ve answered all your questions in this guide to TUSQ vs bone nuts. While bone nuts certainly still have their place in the world of guitars, there is no denying the benefits of using a TUSQ nut. All of the inherent problems of bone nuts such as inconsistent density, difficulty in sourcing, inconsistent tones, and the necessity of lubrication are negated with TUSQ. They are reliable and consistent, and some are even self-lubricating with their PTFE technology.
Of course, the choice is yours, but hopefully, this article has given you enough information to help you make that choice. Thanks for reading!
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