Out of tune.. What?

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

She stays in tune and has almost perfect intonation, but when I hit a string (mostly open G and D) it does this uououououououo sound. It doesn't seem right. Pick ups are really low, so that's not the problem. The bridge is fixed like a rock, and the tuners work fine. Neck relief is fine too and the action is a little bit high (I like it that way). It doesn't have fret buzz.

May a 'plastic' nut cause this? It's the only thing I haven't touched yet.

Thanks folks.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Sounds like its oscillating? Could be a nut thats cut a little low. Clips?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Is the string above the nut (where the tuners are) vibrating and causing the weird sound? Try dampening the vibration up there with a bit of cloth and see if it stops.

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Sounds like its oscillating? Could be a nut thats cut a little low. Clips?

That. No clips today, will have some later or tomorrow.

Is the string above the nut (where the tuners are) vibrating and causing the weird sound? Try dampening the vibration up there with a bit of cloth and see if it stops.

Nope. I must add that it does it even when playing higher frets (+12) in almost all strings (B G D A). But it is not so obvious because vibrato makes the oscillation less noticeable. But I can do nothing when playing chords involving open strings.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

badly cut nut + placebo about having the same effect when fretted ?

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

badly cut nut + placebo about having the same effect when fretted ?

The nut looks like a plastic piece of ****, I have my axe at the office right now and it's horrible (the nut). But yes, when fretted in it does that weird thing! It is exactly what you would expect from high pick ups. Gonna have to replace the nut. What do you recommend? Bone standard nut or Tusq graphtech?

 

[greekdude]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

I have black TUSQ in my ibby ARZ800 (LP-style) and it was there from the factory, no problems at all. What kind of guitar do you have?

 

[Grenade]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Nut and Saddles? Is the break angle of the strings good on both ends?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

What guitar is under discussion?

Noises like those described can originate from the bridge/tailpiece area. As a fan of the Fender Jaguar, I have paid handsomely to have noises like the ones you wish to eliminate.

On a Tune-o-Matic™ and stopbar combination, for example, the saddle sections and the angle at which the strings pass over them can introduce problems. The strings may just be touching the back edge of the T-o-M on their way to the tailpiece. If you wrap your strings over the stopbar, that can cause metallic overtones. Inspect the condition of the string slot in each saddle. Ensure that neither the saddles nor the retaining wire are loose.

At the headstock, inspect the machinehead hex nuts (or ferrules) for tightness of fit.

It is not unknown for a truss rod to resonate against its own channel sheath.

For nut material, I suggest bone - real or synthetic. Do not assume that a commercial, pre-cut replacement nut is finished. Fine fettling will probably be necessary.

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

A cheap H series LTD I bought a couple of months ago. Nice guitar btw

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Does that model have a Tune-o-Matic style bridge and through body stringing? If so, try damping the strings at the point just before they enter the ferrules in the front of the guitar body.

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Sorry funkfingers and Grenade, I had not seen your posts:

The bridge needed some mods. It's a TOM which has a lot of movement (not stiff as a high end one, so I had to deal with that, and sustain improved A LOT after). Now it's really fixed. Strings go thru-body, that makes a really good angle with the bridge. Tuning machines are tight too! Will try dampening the strings, thanks!

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

The low end of the LTD range is currently manufactured in either Indonesia or China. Some of the budget hardware leaves a great deal to be desired. GraphTech replacement nut and saddles would probably be worthwhile investments - even if they cost almost as much as the guitar itself.

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

This one is from Indonesia. Tuners are fine, but the bridge and nut are just crap!! I don't think I could buy individual high quality saddles here.. I'll start by changing the nut for a bone one. If that doesn't help, a new bridge (Gotoh's are easy to find) will be the next step.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Take precise measurements before ordering.

In the case of the bridge, be aware that these come in both Metric and Imperial sizes and with several different stud and insert permutations. Do not assume that screw thread pitches will match.

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Out of tune.. What?

Take precise measurements before ordering.

In the case of the bridge, be aware that these come in both Metric and Imperial sizes and with several different stud and insert permutations. Do not assume that screw thread pitches will match.

Thank you for the advice! I have a friend who imports guitar stuff, so I could ask him to get the right ones.

Here are the audio samples.

-Each string open
-12th fret of each string
-17th fret of each string

And the rest is just some random playing (including a well known solo) just to show how she sounds. I think it's decent for a cheapo'

Cheers-.

Oh, her name is Camila

https://soundcloud.com/matt-rock-6/cami1