ZB-9 Unslotted Replacement Nut for Banjos, Mandolins and Ukuleles

Single best upgrade I ve ever done

Jan 11, 2025

Replaced a stock plastic nut on my Squier Jaguar short scale bass with a zero glide today. Hand down the best upgrade I ve done to that or any instrument since I ve started playing. Action is now perfect intonation is spot on tuning is even better/easier as there is less friction to deal with. My initial reasoning for this upgrade was to minimize any nut work needed when changing string gauges now I just have to set intonation and tuning and it s good to go I didn t expect the immense open string clarity change nor did I expect that this bass could get any more sustain out of it but I stand corrected I ll be upgrading every bass and guitar I own to a zero glide now If you re on the fence just go for it - you won t be disappointed

Craig Miller

Great Idea And Product

Jul 6, 2015

This is one of those things that you ask yourself why has no one thought of this before, but it likely would have been very difficult to produce on a volume scale without CNC machines.......I put the ZB4 on a Washburn parlor guitar and was amazed at the difference in tone clarity, sustain and definition as well as tuning stability and the lowest possible action.........What more could you ask for for one single mod??.....Zero Glide makes several different sizes etc to fit just about any guitar, so be sure you get the right model for your instrument. The unslotted ZB4 requires slotting, so it does require some skill and proper files. I would recommend letting a tech install if you have no experience or tools. I do predict that some of the major instrument makers will be using this in the near future. Why did'nt I think of this. JB/Texas

Amazon Customer from

Acoustic Glide Nut

Oct 7, 2016

I installed this on an old Alvarez acoustic that used to belong to my Dad. The strings had started to buzz badly and the bridge height was maxed out so I knew it must be the nut. Took about an hour to cut down the new nut and shape with the Drexel tool; sided/polished the frets and installed glide nut with the tallest feet wire. Worked like a charm and no more buzzing. Even lowed the bridge down to a reasonable height as well. Great product and easy to install.

Jan Scallan from

The Offset Tang On The Fret Is The Key

Oct 15, 2016

I bought the mandolin version and fitted it to my Gibson. There's a lot of extra material to remove, but the result was great. Easier tuning (the old nut had tight slots for the A strings), better intonation. Later I used one of the extra frets in the package to fix a tenor guitar. For that, I simply filed the necessary ledges in the existing nut and widened the string slots. It would be nice if Stew-Mac would also sell the offset tang frets separately, for retrofitting to an existing nut.

Ross from