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=== Nut ===
The ''nut'' is the 0th fret - the last part of the fretboard before the headstock. It is basically a fret that is always frettedactive, giving the strings a consistent pitch and means to resonate. HoweverUnlike frets, it is usually not made of metal, but of a hard plastic or bone; however, locking nuts typically use metal. The nut has grooves carved into it for routing each string. Between these and the bridge saddles, the string cannot slide as it resonates, giving it a consistent pitch.
Some nuts are ''locking nuts'', using hex bolts to clamp the strings inside the nut, so that tension between the tuners and nut remains firm even during a whammy bar dive. Without the locking nut on some guitars, a strong whammy bar dive can cause the strings to slack to the point where they become unwound around the tuning pegs. When the whammy bar is released, the string may wind differently or not at all around the tuning peg, causing the tuning to be off.