# Earvana Compensated Nut?



## Lorcan Ward (Jul 23, 2012)

Earvana - Compensated Tuning Systems for Guitars

Whats people's opinion on this. I need a new nut for my Schecter Custom 7 and I'm very intrigued with this idea. There are certain frets on 7 string guitars I find are slightly sharp so chords sound out of tune even when you have correct intonation.

I know Musicman use them on the JPXs, Blackmachine & Daemoness also use them so they must do something right.


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## EOT (Jul 23, 2012)

I've got one on my Daemoness. It seems to work pretty well. If you're having intonation problems it may be able to help fix it.

I don't remember my JPX having one though


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## maliciousteve (Jul 23, 2012)

I tried out a guitar with one and was considering having one fitted to my Strat. However I didn't notice enough improvement to warrant having one fitted so I had a regular graphite nut fitted instead.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 23, 2012)

Sorry I meant to say the JPX and other Musicman guitars have a compensated nut. 

Just spent the last hour or so adjusting the saddles and intonation so each fret is on the dot or slightly sharp. So far I've got every string in tune apart from the low E and B. The first 4-5 frets are sharp and powerchords on the B string sound a little off. Might be down to my high action though.


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## theo (Jul 23, 2012)

Wouldn't a compensated nut only affect open strings?


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## jazz_munkyy (Jul 23, 2012)

no, it affects the fretted notes by changing the fret positions in relation to where the string meets the nut


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## theo (Jul 24, 2012)

But as soon as a note is fretted, the only portion of the string in play is between the bridge and the fret being played is it not? 

Forgive my ignorance if I'm totally wrong, just enquiring here.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 24, 2012)

The Earvana nut does effect the fretted notes, but only because you intonate the open string a little differently. 

I like the concept of the Earvana, and it's great for chords within the first five or so frets, but I can't say that it significantly effects anything after that. I also find it to be not so effective when using tunings other than standard (tried it with open tunings on an Eclipse). Not to mention, if you're playing with another guitarist you'll want them to use one as well, or else you run the risk of sounding out of tune with eachother when playing certain parts, kinda like the Buzz Feiten system. 

I like Rick Toone's adjustable nut concept better, only wish he would miniaturize it and make it available for retro fitting. 

Basically, love the concept of the Earvana, but find it in the end to not make a huge different unless you're playing something rather specific. 

Any traditionally fretted instrument is going to have intonation issues, the system of fret locations used today is flawed. The only folks who have "solved" it are True Temperament, and even then it's not a great option.


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## theo (Jul 24, 2012)

I've always wanted to try a true temperament fretted instrument after seeing vai demo one. Bends would feel interesting.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 25, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I like the concept of the Earvana, and it's great for chords within the first five or so frets, but I can't say that it significantly effects anything after that.



Thats exactly where I'm having trouble, the B & E strings don't intonate right so if the nut was pushed forward slightly it looks like it would solve my problem.



MaxOfMetal said:


> I like Rick Toone's adjustable nut concept better, only wish he would miniaturize it and make it available for retro fitting.
> .



Looks hideous IMO but a great idea, just needs to be scaled down.
Intonation Adjustable Nut - TOONE & TOWNSEND



> Q: What is the material made of?
> 
> A: The proprietary and unique material formulation of our nut
> is high-ressure injection molded to create a brighter, tusk-like
> ...



Sounds promising! I'm going to gamble and get one, will post back here how it works aswell as some before and after clips.


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## bob123 (Jul 25, 2012)

Ernie Ball JP's have em... Gotta be worth SOMETHING, but its effects are probably not THAT great. 

True temperments are the only things I know that actually "fix" intonation problems. The rest is mostly snake oil for the most part imho.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 25, 2012)

bob123 said:


> Ernie Ball JP's have em



EBMM models have compensated nuts, but they're not Earvana.


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## bob123 (Jul 25, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> EBMM models have compensated nuts, but they're not Earvana.



So why did they sue (and win) earvana a few years ago?


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 25, 2012)

bob123 said:


> So why did they sue (and win) earvana a few years ago?



Ernie Ball Music Man has never used Earvana nuts. That's a fact. 

You can argue the semantics of they were constructed almost the same, but they never were Earvana nuts.


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## bob123 (Jul 25, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Ernie Ball Music Man has never used Earvana nuts. That's a fact.
> 
> You can argue the semantics of they were constructed almost the same, but they never were Earvana nuts.



Lol sorry, lemme rephrase this. "EBMM used the first style of compensated nut, of which earvana copied and got their ass sued off on their JP model guitars".


Is that better?


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 25, 2012)

What ever floats your boat Bob.


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## bob123 (Jul 25, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> What ever floats your boat Bob.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jul 26, 2012)

theo said:


> I've always wanted to try a true temperament fretted instrument after seeing vai demo one. Bends would feel interesting.


 
Not me. I have a hard enough time getting my fingers to go where they're supposed to with straight frets. (sounds like a personal problem).
Really though, wouldn't that be screwy to get used to? 
Anyone here played a true temperment?


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 26, 2012)

theo said:


> I've always wanted to try a true temperament fretted instrument after seeing vai demo one. Bends would feel interesting.








I've never played one but wouldn't a normal whole step bend on the 8th fret B string fall flat because of the angle of the fret


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jul 26, 2012)

Well its a bend, so just bend more.


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## Malkav (Jul 26, 2012)

theo said:


> Bends would feel interesting.


 
When Mattias Eklundh came down to South Africa for a Laney clinic he brought his Caparison with the True Temparement fretting system, I got to try it out after the clinic was over and to be honest I didn't notice bends feeling particularly weird, in fact with your eyes closed I don't believe you'll really feel a difference either. I had a very limited and short experience with it, and the guitar wasn't plugged in, but I spoke to him about it at length and he assured me that it felt no different to him but he definitely prefered the sound.

Also I work for the company that distributes Laney and a couple of other brands and they totally paid for me to go to lunch with one of my favourite players


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## killertone (Jul 26, 2012)

A Swedish guy closely affiliated with True Temperament lives in Austin and brought me a Les Paul fitted with TT frets to try out. It was really cool but a bit of a pain to tune up. I also met Anders, the inventor, when he came to town for SXSW a couple years ago. Nice guy, definitely a bit of an oddball but you'd have to be to invent such a system.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 26, 2012)

killertone said:


> a bit of a pain to tune up


 
How so?


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## SPLANCHN0PHILE (Jul 26, 2012)

I swapped mine out for a Graph Tech graphite nut. Plastic nuts sound cheap, cause they are cheap. The biggest problem I had with the Earvana is that thicker string gauges don't work with it very well, even if you try to file the string slots.


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## killertone (Jul 26, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> How so?


]I say "bit of a pain" because it is not a huge deal but this is the way Anders suggests you tune. A bit more time consuming then just tuning up with a good tuner like a Strobo Flip or even a Polytune (not in Poly mode). 

From the pamphlet that came with the guitar: 

*Recommended methods *
If you tune all the strings to the same reference string, you can avoid a small error on one string affecting all the others. 

Tune the high E string to a reference: compare 
5th fret E on the B string: adjust B 
9th fret E on the G string: adjust G 
14th fret E on the D string: adjust D 
7th fret E on the A string (one octave below); adjust A 
5th fret harmonic on the low E string: adjust low E. 

I have found this to be the easiest and most reliable way of tuning I have ever used. Since you are listening to the same note all the time, the ear "tunes in" to the overtones and an out-of-tune string sticks out from the rest like a sore thumb. It is also useful for tuning with electronic tuners of doubtful accuracy, as even the cheapest nastiest tuner will (usually) give the same readout for the same input frequency.


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## Pikka Bird (Jul 26, 2012)

bob123 said:


> Lol sorry, lemme rephrase this. "EBMM used the first style of compensated nut, of which earvana copied and got their ass sued off on their JP model guitars".


First? Hardly. EBMM are just very good at using some craaazy wording in their patent application so they end up "owning" more than the invention actually entails. "Non-sinusoidial", hm? Also, don't they own the rights to putting four tuners on one side of the headstock and two on the other?


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## bob123 (Jul 26, 2012)

Pikka Bird said:


> First? Hardly. EBMM are just very good at using some craaazy wording in their patent application so they end up "owning" more than the invention actually entails. "Non-sinusoidial", hm? Also, don't they own the rights to putting four tuners on one side of the headstock and two on the other?









Patent US6433264 - Compensated nut for a stringed instrument - Google Patents

Ernie Balls patent win keeps guitars in tune | Breaking News | PE.com - Press-Enterprise


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## Pikka Bird (Jul 27, 2012)

bob123 said:


> Patent US6433264 - Compensated nut for a stringed instrument - Google Patents
> 
> Ernie Balls patent win keeps guitars in tune | Breaking News | PE.com - Press-Enterprise



Yes? What's the point of showing me this? First patent doesn't mean first application.


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