Why do guitar nuts break?

[ACA]

So I'm borrowing an American Tele, played it once on Sunday and it kicked ass.

Went to play it today noticed the low E was buzzing like a bitch.. turns out the ivory nut broke off a bit. What causes this? Age? Temperature? Gremlins?

[The Boathouse]

Gremlins. Related to the Knot Goblin who puts knots in all your cables.

[Burn That Shit]

Gremlins. Related to the Knot Goblin who puts knots in all your cables.

Yep.

[ACA]

So no reason / faults?

[The Boathouse]

Man, I already told you.

[theguy77]

why do the nuts break? becuase of a serious case of blue balls HEYOOOO

/immature as fuck

[xRustyx]

I believe that they just get worn out, similar to strings. Plus they are usually fragile, as they are made of plastic.

I play bass and haven't worn one out, but they are almost always replaced by my luthier. I usually get bone or graphite, not plastic. Bone and graphite are much less brittle, and therefore better suited for the job.

So I'm borrowing an American Tele, played it once on Sunday and it kicked ass.

Went to play it today noticed the low E was buzzing like a bitch.. turns out the ivory nut broke off a bit. What causes this? Age? Temperature? Gremlins?

[patrickhowell]

I believe that they just get worn out, similar to strings. Plus they are usually fragile, as they are made of plastic.

I play bass and haven't worn one out, but they are almost always replaced by my luthier. I usually get bone or graphite, not plastic. Bone and graphite are much less brittle, and therefore better suited for the job.

Yeah, upgrade. It'll sound better and last longer.

[xRustyx]

Last longer yes, sound better is debateable. The increased sustain, warmth, or any other benefit you would get by replacing the nut goes away once you fret a string.

Brass nuts used to be a huge trend in the bass world, but after everyone realized fretting notes cut it out of the string's vibration path, they qiuckly died as they were a pain to cut/expensive. On the other hand, changing bridges out will greatly affect your tone on every note, because it is always used to create the sound wave. I.e high mass bridges, or brass bridges.

Not to be off topic, but that is a common misconception in the world of musical instruments.

[Tristan Needler]

It's this guy's fault:

http://www.freewebs.com/winterfest12/nutcracker.jpg

[xRustyx]

It's this guy's fault:

http://www.freewebs.com/winterfest12/nutcracker.jpg

HEY OH!