Totally Sweet Custom Guitar Nut

After watching a fab DVD from Netflix titled African Guitar I was compelled to pull my own guitar off of the wall. I put the capo on the sixth fret and played for a while as I sat on the deck. Lovely. That is until I took the capo off. Snap. I busted the nut.


Being the preiswert guy that I am, rather than paying some professional to repair it, I thought I might be able to do it myself. I took a piece of the miraculous DuPont Corian material, and began shaping it into a new nut with the rotary tool laying right behind the vise.

I then marked the string spacing.

I used the wife's jeweler's files to do the fine cutting.


Details of the files and other tools.


Detail of the finished product, next to the old broken one.


After much sanding and finish-fitting, and then final adjustment, the new nut looks just like the old. But not broken. I win this round, guitar.

Gary Bartz played like a motherfu**er.

Miles Davis The Cellar Door Sessions 1970

I know that this was Miles' band, and I know that Jack DeJohnette [drums] is a mother on this set, too, but man, Gary Bartz [alto & soprano sax]. Shit. Airto adds depth to the scene with his perscussion, and Michael Henderson [bass] ALWAYS lays the shit down. Keith Jarrett is nothing like his current self on this set. John McLaughlin sits in for two nights to lay some solos down and add to the fire Gary Bartz. Heavy.

This six-disc release has been a long time coming to Miles Davis fans. We all knew parts of it, as portions of these dates were edited together with some studio material to make the stone cold killer Live Evil 2LP set. Recorded at the Cellar Door club in Washington DC, these three nights give us a window into Miles' brain at the time. This band was as heavy and as hard as any he would put together, with the 1973-'75 band coming in as a close second.

The reason I focus on Bartz is because of my relative lack of experience in listening to his playing. I have heard a little of the NTU Troop material, but nothing was to prepare me for this. Certain players can hang behind the beat just enough to give such a heavy swing feel that it gives me a rush. Bartz is one of those players. To better that, he plays these solid blue-without-being-blues phrases that send me into fits. Backed by that killer band, the funk is so heavy I almost can't listen via headphones as I walk to work.

What must it have been like to be there? Get this set, and get the second best thing. Sony/BMG's music club www.yourmusic.com has this set for $35.94. Go there, sign up, and buy it already.

Tags: Miles Davis Cellar Door jazz

Jackie Mclean RIP

The fantastic Jackie Mclean died last week at the age of 73. I can't let his passing go unnoticed. Jackie is my favorite alto sax player -- as with all of the greats, the ideas behind the axe are what makes the musician. Jackie had this sharp intonation on the horn that set him apart in seconds upon hearing of four notes. He used that tone to great effect; it lent a sense of urgency to his uptempo work, and kept his ballad readings from becoming overly sentimental or syrupy.

He was able to mix a total command of the bop language with an ear for the New Thing players of the day, including Ornette Coleman. They played together on the album featured above. This was one of Ornette's very rare sideman appearances. One might conclude that Coleman regarded Jackie so much as to play on his record. Quite a compliment.

I will treasure all of his mid-1960s recordings on the Blue Note label, with that piercing tone giving a gospel shout, a impassioned call for justice, or a tender sentiment. At least we will have them to remember the great Jackie Mac.