Greetings everyone and welcome to my website Vettaville. This website is dedicated to providing unique information about some of Line 6's modern guitar/amp technology...particularly the Vetta as well the Variax. Also visit the Netherlands Vettaville and join us for equipment discussions at Andy Z's Institute of Noise Forums.

email: nathanshane@vettaville.com

by Scott Bernardi

Institute of Noise forum member Scott Bernardi recently shared his Variax Earvana Nut Installation with everyone on the forum - thanks goes out to Scott for his detailed comments and pictures.

 

I installed an Earvana nut on my Variax. I love these things, got them on all my guitars (except my acoustic). They really do make a difference and are a very inexpensive ($30) upgrade.


The one you'll need for the Variax is the Les Paul style, 1 11/16" width. I got the black to match the original nut. This is for the the retrofit nut, not the OEM nut, which requires that you slice a little piece off the top of the fretboard. I did not want to do that.

Here's the original Variax nut.

The instructions on the http://www.earvana.com website are for the Strat model. The difference between the Strat and Les Paul type of nut is that on a Strat there is a slot cut into the fingerboard itself that you put the nut in, on the Les Paul the nut lays at the top of the fretboard (Variax does this too). Also, because of the angled headstock the nut should ideally be angled too, but this presents a problem with the retrofit nut (the OEM is angled).

Removing the old nut -


Take the strings and the truss rod cover off. This is probably the trickiest part. You take an exacto knife and score along between the nut and the fingerboard. Be patient and careful, and keep working at it. I slipped once and put a scratch in the fretboard, but it's hidden under the Earvana nut top (whew).


After you've gotten over halfway down to the bottom of the nut, you can take a pair of pliers and gently rock the nut back and forth. Do some more scoring, then some more rocking. Eventually the glue bond will break and you can take the nut off.

Here's the neck with the nut off.

Cleaning the nut slot -


You need to clean any glue residue off of the nut slot. I just used an exacto knife and a file. Keep it flat! You don't want to file the wood, just get rid of the glue.
Side by side comparison -


Here's a photo comparing the old nut to the Earvana nut. They are about the same height. The Earvana retrofit nut comes in two pieces, the nut base and the nut top. The bottom of the Earvana nut base is flat, the top is radiused (about 10", my guess).

Filing the nut base -

Take the nut base and set it in the nut slot. The screw holes are offset in the nut, I put mine so the screw holes were closest to the fretboard. You'll see that the top of the nut base sticks above the fretboard a bit. It needs to be level, so you need to file the BOTTOM of the nut base until it is. I just set a file on the workbench and held the nut on top and dragged it over the file. Try to exert even downward pressure on the nut, and flip it around end to end from time to time. File a bit, then look at it. I found at one point I was starting to put an angle on the bottom - it should be flat. Check the height often by laying it in the nut slot and running your finger over it to see if the nut base top and fretboard top are even.

Checking the nut fit -

 

Here's what it looks like when you've filed enough. Notice the sides stick out beyond the fretboard, so you'll need to do some filing there, too. Another thing I noticed is that the Earvana nut base is narrower than the original, so you see a stripe of white wood of nut slot when the nut base is in place. I just took some black enamel paint and painted the top of the nut slot so it wouldn't be so obvious.

Gluing the nut base -

I just used regular yellow wood glue - put a stripe along the nut bottom and the side that lays against the fretboard. Squeeze it into place and wipe off any glue that comes out the sides. I had some spring clamps, so I put a cloth on the back of the neck and held the nut in place with a couple of spring clamps. If you don't have these, I'll bet if you just held it in place for 10 minutes it would be OK. I did the gluing before work and then finished up that evening, so I let the glue dry about 12 hours.

Installing the nut top -


Put a screw through the center hole in the nut top, then place the nut top over the nut base and screw it in. Be careful with these screws - they're tiny, and if you drop one you'll never be able to find it. I had the guitar laying in my lap while I did this. Screw the screws in until they are not quite tight. I positioned the nut top so the top edge towards the headstock was even with the top edge of the nut base. Note that the other edge of the nut top will hang over the top of the fretboard a bit. String up you guitar as usual.

Tuning and Intonation Adjustment -

This is an essential part of the installation. Putting the Earvana nut will change your intonation, and it needs to be readjusted. For those of you who have never intoned a guitar, it's pretty simple - all you need is tuner and a screwdriver. I used the tuner in my PODXT. Start by tuning a string as accurately as possible at the 12th fret harmonic (not the open string). Now lightly fret the 12th fret. That tuning will be off. If it is sharp, you need to lengthen the string by adjusting the saddle away from the neck. You can turn the saddle adjustment screw clockwise to do this. Note that as soon as you turn the saddle screw, you've also changed the tuning, so you'll have to tune at the 12th fret harmonic then compare it to fretting the 12th fret again. Repeat the process until the 12th fret harmonic and the fretted 12th fret are both in tune. It took me about 20 minutes to do all the strings.

Adjusting then Earvana nut position -


Now, lightly fret the 1st fret of each string and see if they are in tune. I lucked out, all the 1st fret strings were perfectly in tune, the low E was just very slightly sharp. I decided to leave it as is and just tightened down the nut screws. You can adjust the Earvana nut up and down (towards headstock or away) to adjust the 1st fret tuning. But guess what, if you do that, you've just changed the length of the string again, so you'll have to readjust the intonation. I think aligning the top edges of the nut base and nut top is optimum anyway, so chances are you won't have to move it from there.

Results -

I would not own an electric guitar that I didn't put one of these nuts on. I'm seriously considering putting one on my Cort acoustic electric too, But I might have them OEM nut put on by a professional. Maybe later I'll try to do a sound clip. I should have thought ahead and done a "before" so you can compare to the "after". I also replaced the tuners with Grover locking mini tuners. Now my Variax sounds in tune, and stays in tune! The most dramatic improvement occurs on open strings, but it does improve intonation on the lower frets up through the 5th or 6th fret also. Like I said in a previous post - I wouldn't own an electric without one of these. It is definitely worth it.

Earvana Technical - How Does It Work?

 

Below are scans from a chart which came with the Earvana nut. They label how many cents off each fretted note was from ideal all the way up the neck, both with and without the Earvana nut. The difference is quite dramatic.

The problem -

On any guitar equipped with a standard nut, all strings are given equal break-off points, regardless of tension or mass. Without compensation, notes inherently play too sharp - as seen in red numbers in the chart below.

The solution -

The Earvana Compensated Tuning System (CTS) is scientifically designed to correct these inherent tuning flaws. By creating unique break-off points at both the nut and bridge, the Earvana CTS compensates each string for differences in mass, pitch, and tension. The result is dramatically improved tuning across the entire fretboard as seen in the chart below.

The chart test was conducted using a Peterson 490-ST Stobe Tuner at C 440 Hertz. Red numbers are cents sharp. Blue numbers are cents flat.

Typical Pitch Measurements (cents)

Earvana Pitch Measurements (cents)

Alternate Method of Setting Intonation

Setting Intonation using the Peterson VS-II

The following is an excerpt from the Peterson VS-II tuner about setting intonation. Their method differs from the method mentioned above and is specific for the VS-II tuner, therefore other tuners may vary.


After deciding on string gauge, setting string height (nut & bridge), neck relief—factors that affect the guitars intonation considerably—the individual string lengths need to be adjusted. For this task, use Equal temperament in the VS-II’s TMPR menu.

• Lower the pickups away from the strings to avoid "doubling" and electromagnetic pull.
• Lay the guitar flat on a bench to adjust it, but always check the intonation with the instrument in the playing position, as the readings will be visibly (and later audibly) different. You should always aim to freeze or "cage" the image on the Strobe Tuner display, the less movement the more accurate the results.

Where setting the intonation is concerned, an often-used technique is the 12th fret & flageolet comparison method. In this method, the flageolet or "harmonic" of the 12th fret is compared to the fretted string at the 12th fret, and saddle position is adjusted as follows:

• If the fretted note is flat compared to the flageolet note, move the bridge saddle forward to shorten the string.
• If the fretted note is sharp compared to the flageolet note, move the bridge saddle back to lengthen the string.
• Adjust until both fretted note and flageolet are identical in pitch.

While this is a common system, it is not always the most satisfactory. One popular alternative is to adjust each string so that it is in tune at two points an octave apart from each other on the fret board using a strobe tuner. Using the 5th and 17th fret as an example:

• Tune a string at the 5th fret.
• Check the string at the 17th. If sharp, move the saddle back, thus lengthening the string. If flat, shorten the string by moving the saddle forward. Remember to fret the string using the pressure that you would normally apply while playing. • Keep repeating this process until each string is in tune as much as possible at both the 5th and 17th frets. This method takes time, and has to be repeated if you change string gauges, but if properly executed, yields very satisfactory results.