I'm glad to see we're getting some serious threads on Mudcat that have something to do with music. Good work, people. Now, I agree that nothing less than a good Brazil nut will do for a really fine quality guitar, such as an old Martin or a high end Collings. There is nothing else quite like the tone you get by stretching a steel string tautly across a Brazil nut. In the old days the blues players used to call them "niggertoes", by the way, but it's not politically correct to do that now, so for God's sake don't do it! (unless you are making a historical reference to "the old days", like I just did...)

Certain influential voices in the music community have been lobbying recently for the use of cashews, claiming that it imparts a fresh new sound, suitable to the changing times.

Don't believe them. I tried it, and it sounds like crap. The cashews are simply not hard enough.

- LH