Slutty guitar feels stiff....

[evh_slash]

Heya, my slutty pink Ibanez is feeling a bit stiff and im finding bends kinda tough, even though Ive had her professionally set up and fret dressed by a guitar tech/builder like a month or 2 ago....

The action is low and the bridge is pretty much as low as possible but for some reason bending the G, B and HIGH E strings are kinda tough.... just feels a bit stiff. My hand is aching /getting tired after a few bends because I have to push so hard...

I have her set up with guage 9's , set up to E standard. My tech set up did both of my Ibanez's, the purple one is fine and loose even with guage 10's, yet the pink one is making my wrist sore....
Maybe the truss rod needs some tweaking or something... Any ideas what could be the problem or why this is happening ?? Especially considering I have guage 9 strings !! Should I take it back to him ?? Its still a new guitar so I dont think the frets need another dressing, surely ... Just feels like theres alot of resistance from the neck/fretboard/frets... If I do slow motion vibrato on the b string it feels like its grating/rubbing/dragging against some resistance, and I can even hear this rubbing noise through my amp...
Stav

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

How many springs do you have on her and how are they arranged?

Also, tune down to Eb! I would never play in standard again....

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

:bigok:

 

[CTN]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

How many springs do you have on her and how are they arranged?

This.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

You're complaining because your slut feels too tight......mm... ok.....

Are you SURE your strings are 9's? Are the frets so low now that your finger tips are dragging against the fretboard wood when you bend?

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Cheap guitar. I'm not trying to be mean today. . Its why I'm selling my Korean Mockingbird Pro-x. Its a 1000.00 dollar guitar, so not exactly "cheap", but It just has that cheap , stiff feel of a newer mass produced mid level guitar, even though like yours , its set up for super low action,9's, and it can play super fast and sounds great. Compared to my 90's Jackson, it feels tight, and , yeah, "cheap". I think a Floyded new guitar may have a lot to do with it, as I have a newer Korean Epiphone Zakk Wylde fixed bridge that feels, plays , and sounds great.

This is one explanation I offer. I may be wrong here. Its an observation that isn't really based on anything except a singular experience with that one guitar, maybe one other similar guitar- a 500.00 "Agile " Les Paul that also was very stiff/tight feeling, though sounded pretty good , although a pickup swap did do wonders for that particular guitar in terms of "feel".

The Pro-X might probably come alive with a Dual Rectifier..I do not have a high gain amp yet. Maybe thats why..you have the wrong amp? Heres 'Chatreo' with a Mockingbird Pro-x and a Tri-Axis H&K..hard to argue with these results, I mean, unless he had a totally different set up, which is possible;

 

[evh_slash]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

hmmm, I would hope not! Its a $1000 guitar... It has 2 main back springs with an extra 2 mini springs on the zero point system.... Both are the exact same specs, except the purple is Eb guage 10 (plays nicer), and the pink is guage 9 E (what it was designed for, both came like this factory). Just feels like its rubbing on something when I bend the string... I have lowered the action pretty much as low as it will go, maybe I should raise it back a little bit...

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Action is too low. When your action is to low you can't really get a good grip to bend the string. Also your fretboard radius is it a compound radius or straight radius?

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Maybe part of the big lady stockings are rubbing on the strings as you play?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

My first recommendation would be to check the tension of the springs in the purple one compared to the pink one. Not just how the trem is adjusted but remove a spring from each and bend them. There's a chance that the pink one has stiffer springs. If so, order some that are looser. Yes, it matters.

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

My first recommendation would be to check the tension of the springs in the purple one compared to the pink one. Not just how the trem is adjusted but remove a spring from each and bend them. There's a chance that the pink one has stiffer springs. If so, order some that are looser. Yes, it matters.

+1 my first thought

Another way to test this, without messing with the springs at all (which without doing further adjustments can throw the trem completely out of balance)....Block the trem with something...doesn't matter much what, just to test it out. Just something to stop the trem from moving when a string is bent.....If it feels better/easier/smoother, taking any play in the bridge out of the equation....Then springs is where I'd look.
If it still feels weird/stiff with the bridge blocked, then you can rule out the springs being to blame. An chances are you'll just need to raise the action a bit.

Also FYI the other Being Eb, even with heavier strings, will still feel slinkier on the same scale length. and another also...Neither was "designed for" either Eb or E standard...they're guitars, you can tune them however you want, with whatever gauge strings you want.

 

[LuredMaul]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Purple one is a USRG30?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Just feels like theres alot of resistance from the neck/fretboard/frets... If I do slow motion vibrato on the b string it feels like its grating/rubbing/dragging against some resistance, and I can even hear this rubbing noise through my amp...
Stav

Fret polish.

Also, many Strats and SuperStrats have pretty floppy necks. The give way when bending.

 

[evh_slash]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Hmmm It feels more like the frets/fretboard themselves are just rubbing against my fingers when bending up.... Ive read about some of this on other forums, FRETBOARD DRAG ?? but didnt really get much ideas how to cure it. Half step bends are easy but whole steps are not sore on my fingers, but agony on my wrists for having to push... Im gona try raising the action a little bit, if this doesnt help then I'll take it back to my tech and get him to take a close look at the truss rod, back springs, action etc.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

See if you can tell a difference between how highly polished the frets are between the two guitars. Frets that aren't polished enough can feel somewhat "sticky". This might be more noticeable to some players over others.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

Bit of fretboard oil?

What kind of fretboard and how big are the frets?

 

[evh_slash]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

It doesnt matter because both guitars are the same model with same fretboards and dimensions, set up by the same guy... jumbo frets, 24 fret scale, large scale ( neds F pickups for both ) with a ibanez floyd style trem. The only difference the pink is in E , and the purple in E flat.... I will get the truss rod, string height at nut, action, frets double checked.... I feel the drag/rubbing as I bend or vibrato the b string / g string.... The string never touches the fretboard so that isnt the problem....

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

I feel the drag/rubbing as I bend or vibrato the b string / g string..

See if you can tell a difference between how highly polished the frets are between the two guitars. Frets that aren't polished enough can feel somewhat "sticky".

:wink:

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

I hope I'm not stepping on yer toes by pointing out the obvious but... how old are your strings?

Plain strings getting stiff and starting to grate on the frets sounds like work-hardened and lightly corroded strings to me. Often they will rust more on the back side where your fingers aren't polishing them smooth.

I'm always surprised at how fast strings will go south when I don't play a guitar for a bit. I drag it back out and wonder "how did I ever jive with this thing?", then realize the strings have gotten narsty.

 

[evh_slash]

Re: Slutty guitar feels stiff....

The strings are horrendous now that you mention it !! hahah Maybe I'll try switching the strings first ....