Nut

Anatomy & Gear

The nut is a small piece of bone, plastic, or synthetic material located at the very top of the fretboard, where the neck meets the headstock. It has four grooves that guide the strings and keep them evenly spaced. The nut also sets the string height (action) at the first fret.

Nut quality significantly affects playability. If the slots are too deep, strings buzz against the first fret. If they're too shallow, the strings sit high and require extra pressure to fret, especially on the first few frets.

When you play an "open string" (unfretted), the nut acts as one end of the vibrating string length, similar to how a fret does when you press down. This is why open strings have a slightly different tonal quality than fretted notes.