replacing a nut on an acoustic

dough

Has anyone had any experience with changing a broken nut. I need mine replaced and either have an option to go with another cheap plastic one for $15 or go bone for $75 at my local repair shop. Is this too much to get this fixed? I have a G series Takamine acoustic that cost around $300. It is my first guitar so I am very partial to it.

Novawind

If the guitar means anything to you (worth keeping for a while) then I'd just get the bone one. You'll have to replace another cheap plastic one anyway, and it won't sound as good as a bone one. $75 sounds steep though, most of that is probably labor.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/String_nuts/White_Bone_Nuts.html

for ideas

Edward Hatspace

I've got a G series Takamine as well. Go for the bone but check out different techs. Like Novawind says that sounds expensive. A blank bone nut costs about £5 so you might be able to get a better deal elsewhere.

who's_pearljam?

$75 US is pretty high for a bone nut. Like bone, you can buy one for 5 bucks or so but it IS tricky to make one. I've made hundreds of them so it's second nature to me, but it' it's a one time deal, get a tech to do it. Average cost should be anywhere from $35 to $50, unless there's no competition in the area.

For $75, you should be able to get a bone saddle along with the bone nut. The nut and the saddle are the two things that are most important to transfer sound to the wood, and doing both will make the guitar sound better.
Any guitar I fool with gets a bone nut and saddle, unless it has a tremolo. Then I use slipstone, but on acoustic, definitely bone.
Stewmac is where I get most of my tools and supplies. Their eyes must light up when my phone number comes up on their caller ID.