Okay, I'm on a roll with reso setup/building questions...

What if....there was a strictly-fingerstyle, no-bottleneck National lover who didn't like the big nut widths on the shorter-scale models, and couldn't afford to custom order, a process requiring not only a premium for the custom neck, but list price on the guitar? And, what if, that person had also always wanted the now-discontinued National Radiotone Bendaway, and located one, and it had the 1.82 neck, but that hypothetical person took the hypothetical Bendaway to a really wonderful resonator tech who cut and installed a new narrower nut at say, 1 3/4" ???? Would that work? What if????? What if, alternatively, that hypothetical person also loved the Model D spider and wanted to do the same with a Model D roundneck??? Would that work? What IF????

if you would like to sell the bendaway email me - fischerspassky@yahoo.com
i've been looking for one

A tech can always cut a narrower nut, that's not a problem. The problem is going to be that the spacing is going to feel weird because the neck width at the nut is still going to be the same, even though the string spacing is narrower.

I wouldn't recommend changing string spacing, if there are any "divots" (those notches caused by wear) in the frets. The strings will seek out the deeper "divots" from the new spacing as you fret, puling strings out of tune. Changes in string spacing should only be considered if the frets are pretty much unworn.
Gene Warner
repairman

I wouldn't recommend changing string spacing, if there are any "divots" (those notches caused by wear) in the frets. The strings will seek out the deeper "divots" from the new spacing as you fret, puling strings out of tune. Changes in string spacing should only be considered if the frets are pretty much unworn.
Gene Warner
repairman

I wouldn't recommend changing string spacing, if there are any "divots" (those notches caused by wear) in the frets. The strings will seek out the deeper "divots" from the new spacing as you fret, puling strings out of tune. Changes in string spacing should only be considered if the frets are pretty much unworn.
Gene Warner
repairman

Gene feels pretty strongly about it!

If there's a lot of fret wear, he's probably right, but the guitar would be a candidate for some replacement frets anyway.

A good repair person is not going to make you a narrow nut, because there would be a big ugly space at one or both ends of the slot in the neck which the nut fills.

Your repair person could make you a new nut with the string spacing of a 1 3/4 inch neck. You would have to decide on which side of the fingerboard the extra space is going to be, or if you want to split the difference.

The main problem with your plan is you're still going to have that big, beefy National neck. You could have the neck shaved, reshaped and refinished, but that's going to cost you.

If you have found the guitar body of your dreams but really really REALLY want a narrower neck, contact Don at National and ask for a quote on a custom retrofit neck. Or go visit the factory in San Luis Obispo. They are wonderful people. But your budget will go out the window. I was there last spring thinking I might spring for a set of new alloy cones for my triplate. I ended up with the cones. And another guitar. A prototype wood body biscuit cone cutaway. Which I love. Budgets be damned.

Edited by - John Gribble on 09/18/2010 07:53:04

thank you all kindly for your input. much food for thought.

Sorry guys! I never knew that happened, and I have no idea why. Let's see if my apology comes up three times too.
Gene Warner
repairman

Sorry guys! I never knew that happened, and I have no idea why. Let's see if my apology comes up three times too.
Gene Warner
repairman