Sympathetic string vibrations...

[Chad]

Recently got an ESP Eclipse II (Les Paul style) and it's a great guitar, but has the LOUDEST sympathetic vibrations I've ever heard and I've owned/played a lot of guitars. The worst offfending area is the string length between the nut and the tuning machines. I put some foam behind the nut and that took care of it. There is slight string vibration between the bridge and tailpiece, but not bad enough to worry about for live playing. However, if I was recording, I would also dampen that area with foam.

Just wondering why this is much more prevalent on some guitars compared to others?

Do you personally dampen the vibrations or just leave it alone?

Discuss.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

Recently got an ESP Eclipse II (Les Paul style) and it's a great guitar, but has the LOUDEST sympathetic vibrations I've ever heard and I've owned/played a lot of guitars. The worst offfending area is the string length between the nut and the tuning machines. I put some foam behind the nut and that took care of it. There is slight string vibration between the bridge and tailpiece, but not bad enough to worry about for live playing. However, if I was recording, I would also dampen that area with foam.

Just wondering why this is much more prevalent on some guitars compared to others?

Do you personally dampen the vibrations or just leave it alone?

Discuss.

I dampen my Hamer 335 copy right after the nut. I think it is more prevalent on some guitars over others, because I don't have to do it on my others.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

I am a Fender Jaguar sicko. I make a feature of those resonances.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

I like to dampen it usually. In my experience, tape works better than foam. There are lots of reasons some guitars have more than others. The break angles, whether some sustain/vibrations are being lost in loose-fitting bridge parts, whether the body and neck resonance is actually feeding vibrations back into the short string sections....

 

[greekdude]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

Recently got an ESP Eclipse II (Les Paul style) and it's a great guitar, but has the LOUDEST sympathetic vibrations I've ever heard and I've owned/played a lot of guitars. The worst offfending area is the string length between the nut and the tuning machines. I put some foam behind the nut and that took care of it. There is slight string vibration between the bridge and tailpiece, but not bad enough to worry about for live playing. However, if I was recording, I would also dampen that area with foam.

Just wondering why this is much more prevalent on some guitars compared to others?

Do you personally dampen the vibrations or just leave it alone?

Discuss.

I guess you have tried to tighten all screws behind the nut right?

 

[Chad]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

I am a Fender Jaguar sicko. I make a feature of those resonances.

Yeah, I have a Jazzmaster and don't mind it so much when I grab that guitar because it's part of the experience. But with most other guitars: do not want.

 

[Chad]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

I like to dampen it usually. In my experience, tape works better than foam. There are lots of reasons some guitars have more than others. The break angles, whether some sustain/vibrations are being lost in loose-fitting bridge parts, whether the body and neck resonance is actually feeding vibrations back into the short string sections....

Just curious, but what kind of tape? Black electrical?

 

[Chad]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

I guess you have tried to tighten all screws behind the nut right?

Yeah, during setups I always make sure all screws & everything are tight on a guitar. Seems like tuning key bushings are loose on nearly every guitar regardless of whether it's a new or used instrument. Also, usually find tune-o-matic bridge posts are sloppy in their inserts. To tighten the fit, I usually remove the posts, wrap some teflon tape around them, and reinstall. Works like a charm.

 

[DonP]

Re: Sympathetic string vibrations...

Here's an odd one. I had this weird noise when I hit the G string on a Les Paul. It turned out to be the pickup height adjustment screws.