Nut Slotting Gauge

The gauge works ok but there are some potential improvements that seem very obvious. 1) The gauge is marked up backwards. If the scale markings were oriented in the other direction you could simply read the dial. If you use the gauge as per instructions you have to do math in your head to arrive at the value you are measuring for. That seems silly. I have tried setting my dial to zero when the string is pressed down, which allows me to read the dial when I release the string and see the measurement value first hand. The problem with this is that it takes 3 hands to do this effectively. 2) The curvature on the bottom of the brass bass seems goofy. It makes the tool sit on most fret boards at an angle that makes it appear as if the brass block was machined incorrectly. The fact that you have to rotate the base for use on the outer or inner strings makes the angle on the foot seem like its either a bad fit or a really bad fit. A straight flat bottom seems like the best all around choice. I may machine my base to reflect this opinion. I am normally very pleased with Stew Mac tools but this particular tool seems to include unnecessary compromises that could be improved. Thanks.

This gauge made nut setup incredibly easy. More accurate than a ruler and faster than feeler gauges. My only criticism is that the brass feet will mark up your finished fingerboard a bit. I put little cork feet on it, but you could also use painters tape on each side of the first fret to prevent having to go back and polish the board again.

Great tool! I used it to slot the nut, set the action, and adjust neck relief on all my guitars. It's nice to have a measurement instead of eyeballing it.

This gives me great accuracy when measuring the nut string height. I might have to do 2-3 measures for each string, mainly because of quality control. I would like to have only one tool that works with bass and guitar, That's why I only give it a 4.

Don't even try to set your string height without this tool.

True, this does change the way you slot a nut, and provides much greater accuracy than feeler gauges or other measures. However, don't expect it to work as simply as it should. Consistently I have to take the same reading on the same string about three times to gain real accuracy. Even with that though, it is a great tool.

I bought this to accurately perform set ups and also to help when I was replacing a nut on my Gibson. I probably would have been just fine without it, but I must say it is a precise and pretty instrument and works very well for it's intended purpose. It will remain as part of my arsenal to keep my guitars sounding great.

Great tool . Sits stable on fretboard , handy swivel dial and easy to use . Easy to get repeatable settings , I think the plunger is to heavy as I use it for relief and saddle heights but you need to be careful as plunger holds string lower than actual . If it had a lighter plunger it would be a perfect alround gauge
Still a worthy tool in any toolbox . To give credit it is sold as a nut slot gauge and not a jack of all gauge and with that in mind its intended purpose gets a 100%

this gauge is easier to read then a steel ruler, i also use it to measure sting action @ the 12 fret before i restring a customers guitar.

This tool makes the process of nut slotting a lot easier. A-must-have-tool for exact accuracy!