Zero fret

Wizard

Now that I'm being pressured into making a neck, I'm doing lots of homework.

The idea of a "zero fret" has popped up and some people make compelling arguments for it.
i.e. why have a concept of "open" and "fretted" notes?
Why not make them all fretted?
http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/tips/zerofret.htm

Others make equally compelling arguments against.
One of the best arguments I've heard against it, is: "it's extra work & looks stupid".

And ... is it, as logic suggests, at the same height as all of the other frets?

So ... let's hear the views !!

AlanRatcliffe

Zero frets aren't more work to install over a properly cut nut (not if you're fretting the neck anyway) any tiny extra work is offset by the precision work you don't have to do on the nut itself (which with a zero fret is basically nothing more than a string guide).

The upside is that they make the first fret action as perfect as it can be. Zero fret guitars are almost always good players, unless the bridge action is way high or the truss is way too loose.

The downside is that if you use a whammy, they increase the friction over a regular nut and the chances of string binding are good if the zero fret is not in good condition.

Wizard

Thanks Alan.

Your answer has rekindled my interest in this concept; especially since it removes the trickiness of the nut which I never solved properly with the strat I assembled.

My logic tells me that the zero fret is the same height as all of the other frets.
In fact, that would almost seem to be the main point of it all. (action & intonation)
Am I correct?

makepeace

Excerpt from wikipedia:

The zero fret is positioned at the location normally occupied by the nut. On a guitar having a zero fret, the nut is located behind the zero fret and serves solely to keep the strings spaced properly. The strings rest atop the zero fret, which is sometimes higher than the other frets.