String Spacing for NUT - High E and Low E to edge - How to measure?

[davidos]

Do I measure from the middle of the Low E to the edge of the fretboard when trying to center the high and low E on the fretboard when installing a new nut? Or is it the side of the string closest to the edge...

Dan Erlewine says the strings should be about 1/16" in from the edge but is that measured from the middle of the string or from the side of the string closest to the edge?

[K-man]

From the center of the string.

[fullerplast]

I don't measure, I look. There is no universal measurement because it depends on the particular instrument and how the frets are finished at the ends. You want enough fret on each end to allow some vibrato and/or bending without sliding off the fret. If the frets are beveled at an angle, that means your strings have to go more "inboard" than if the frets are cut and finished more vertically (my preference). Light gauge strings and/or a heavy vibrato player....same thing, more inboard. With a narrow neck it's a delicate balance.

[Structo]

Stew Mac makes a handy little nut slot device.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Me...cing_Rule.html

There is also a video to show how to use it.

[fumbler]

I always like to give the high-E a tiny bit more room than the low-E.

Is this a bolt-neck or set-neck guitar? You can loosen, yank, tighten a bolt-neck to help align the strings farther up the neck.