Annoying playing issue with my J45 - help appreciated

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71952
    camf said:
    Thanks @ICBM. Looks like a new nut might be worth a try. I suspect for some more refined players the string spacing might be fine but it does look quite a bit closer to the edge than the ES-125. I think something with a spacing more like the ES-125 would suit me a lot better although I'm guessing that might also entail a fret dress (although I think that was done not so long ago), a check of the bridge and maybe a general setup too. Are you busy? :)
    I should be able to do it fairly soon - the workshop is a bit full of large amps just now.

    Maybe next week...


    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    Cheers John, that would be great. See you then.

    cam
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    If the top E string is not actually slipping off the fret end then I'd be looking at the string sliding along the saddle as the source of the pinging tbh. 

    I know you said you checked the bridge saddle, but can you reproduce the exact sound by deliberately moving the string from side to side at the saddle? 
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  • earwighoneyearwighoney Frets: 3489
    edited May 2018
    camf said:
    The nut is standard 1 3/4" I'm not really sure how I'd measure the spacing. 
    If you have digital calipers then use them to measure the E to E spacing at the nut. 

    But I'd like to add that a new nut with narrower string spacing could be the solution.  If you have calipers yourself and can do a few mods yourself then you could get a premade one from Christ Alsop Parts like this

    I bought one myself with wider spacing than I had before.

    I just saw you have ICBM as your local repairman, take the guitar to him instead! 

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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    p90fool said:
    If the top E string is not actually slipping off the fret end then I'd be looking at the string sliding along the saddle as the source of the pinging tbh. 

    I know you said you checked the bridge saddle, but can you reproduce the exact sound by deliberately moving the string from side to side at the saddle? 
    I'd actually had @ICBM have a look at the bridge before, when I was still trying to identify the problem. He gave it a clean up and smoothed a couple of rough spots but it still hasn't solved the problem. At that point I hadn't considered that the problem might be at the other end.
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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    edited May 2018
    Thanks @earwighoney. It will be off to @ICBM next week for some TLC. 
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    camf said:
    p90fool said:
    If the top E string is not actually slipping off the fret end then I'd be looking at the string sliding along the saddle as the source of the pinging tbh. 

    I know you said you checked the bridge saddle, but can you reproduce the exact sound by deliberately moving the string from side to side at the saddle? 
    I'd actually had @ICBM have a look at the bridge before, when I was still trying to identify the problem. He gave it a clean up and smoothed a couple of rough spots but it still hasn't solved the problem. At that point I hadn't considered that the problem might be at the other end.
    Isn't that something he should have checked by default?
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71952
    meltedbuzzbox said:

    Isn't that something he should have checked by default?
    If I had actually noticed a problem I would have :).

    Chasing this kind of thing can be tricky if it's caused by - and this is not a criticism, we all do things slightly differently - the player's exact technique.

    I just had another one where the owner was finding a choke at around the 15th fret on a Tele. I couldn't get it to do it at all, but when I handed him the guitar it was really obvious. All in the different ways we attack the notes, I think.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    edited May 2018
    Yep, update on this. As I should have done before, I recorded some songs on the J45 and did some proper analysis. Consequently, I realised the problem was occurring pretty much only when I was playing an open D chord - which, as a singer, is quite often. I think I just need to check my wrist position and see how it goes. Although I’m always going to leap to @ICBM’s defence - he doesn’t need it but he’s been a huge help to me for around 30 years - he’s entirely right on this again. Even with just knowing where the issue was, I’ve been virtually able to erradicate it. Even I couldn’t work it out or demonstrate it when I took the guitar to him. When he played it, it sounded fine. 
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