Customer Reviews

Golden Gate F-3303 Extension Nut for Dobro Guitar with Stevens Steel or Other Steel Bar

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The Golden Gate F-3303 is intended for extending the nut on resonator guitars that are ordinarily set up for fretting. In other words, this is a device that allows the player of a round neck resonator to set up the instrument for square neck-style lap playing. With this extension nut, the player can change back and forth from having the instrument set up for fretting (or a combination of fretting and slide playing) or alternately for steel bar playing. The buyer needs to realize that although the extender simply fits non-obtrusively over the top of the guitar's regular nut, you must slacken the strings in order to make the switch. In other words, it's not something that you're going to be able to do in between songs at a gig. However, the Golden Gate is very sturdy, seems to fit a wide variety of string gauges, and changes the guitar's intonation set up very little. Do note, though, that because changing the angle of the strings from bridge to nut also changes the length of the scale ever so slightly, tuning the open strings perfectly in tune means that the frets will not mark 100% precisely where the touched notes need to be played. Since so much of slide playing relies on the ear and not on precise visual placement of the bar directly over the frets, it is not a problem. This device is ideal for the players who plan to do, say, some Delta blues with a combination of fretting and use of an over-the-finger slide (normal, short nut setup), and then maybe work on Bluegrass lap-style resonator playing in the future. It's not for someone who is going to change set up hour by hour or day by day. The only way you could probably do that would be to own two instruments. If you don't need to make quick, frequent setup changes and don't want to own two resonator guitars, the Golden Gate F-3303 does the trick! At less than $10 compared with the price of a second resonator guitar, it's a no brainer.

I bought this to use on my dreadnought acoustic guitar in order to decide whether I would like/be any good at playing lap steel. It works as advertised--raises the strings enough to use a good heavy slide without the annoying fret bang you get when using regular guitar action. For the price, you can't beat it. Let me see...$400 for a dedicated slide guitar or $4 for an extension nut? The decision is a no brainer. I'd recommend this even if you own or are planning to buy a Dobro, because it can be used on any guitar and isn't permanent.

These little guys lift your strings a full 1/4" above the fret board at the nut. They look like a heavy gauge piece of stainless with clean slots cut for the strings. The alternative is a cast metal unit (looks like pot metal or Zemac) that in effect does the same thing but moves the strings up a fill 3/8" above the fret board at the nut. The 1/4" is plenty of space to use a heavy tone bar for slide.
I've installed two of these both on acoustic guitars. No de-burring or adjustment to the slots was required. Can be installed by slacking off the strings and sliding the lifter under the strings and over the nut. Works great. They look better than the alternative.

Fast shipping. Works great. Turned my Carvin DC 400 into a lapsteel in just minutes and just as quick to change back. Great product!

If you are not sure you are going to like playing a lap guitar / dobro, then grab your acoustic and put this nut on.
I was not sure if I was going to like playing a lap guitar so I tried this nut. Now that I have tried it, i am sure that I will be buying a Dobro.. HOWEVER - the deep full bodied sound you get from using a nice acoustic can't be beat for certain songs. - I would NOT tune the acoustic to OPEN G like you would a DOBRO because of the stress it puts on the guitar. I tuned mine to Open D and WOW what a sound. Have fun.