Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

[maxdave2010]

Strange question, especially since you can't see/hear it, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas.

It's a Squier Deluxe Strat (Rosewood fretboard/not sure about the body/TB-5 Custom bridge pup). For some reason, it seems so muddy through my amp, while my Epiphone (Rosewood fretboard/mahogony body/Stock Neck pup, Invader bridge) sounds just fine.

There's a 500k volume pot, S.D. Custom in the bridge and nothing for tone. I've tried switching pups around, new strings, but it still remains the same. Is there any possibility that it could be a wiring/pot/jack problem, or is it likely to be down to the wood quality? I think it sounds quite nice unplugged, but I don't know what I'm looking for

I really don't want to part with this guitar, the fretboard and action are incredible. It just sounds so dark and undefined. Any thoughts?

-Dave

[edited to add more details]

 

[BigDaddy]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Sometimes no matter what you do a certain guitar does not sound good through a certain amp. It's just the nature of the beast.

It sounds like you might have the pickup adjusted too high(close to the strings).

Try backing it down on the bass string side. You might try raising the pole pieces to offset the loss of output.

You could also turn the pickup around so that the slugs are at the bridge side.

Change any old wires and make sure you don't have any cold solder joints. Clean the pots too. And use a switchcraft input jack if you don't already have one. Also I would use CTS pots over anything else.

It could just be the quality of the parts inside the guitar.

 

[tone?]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Dude probably cause the guitar maybe not made of wood at all!

i think that Squiers are made from presswood or something.

i also think that these people should be shot for making guitars out of anything else.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Without seeing/hearing it, I have no clue. I'd suggest letting another experienced guitar player plug it in, and see what he thinks.

I've had strats before that just sounded like driftwood, no matter what pickups are in it, and how good the setup is. Just sell it, and don't buy anything less than a Japanese or US strat in the future.

 

[B2D]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Maybe something is wrong with the amp?

But without actually seeing it... can't tell. Has the guitar always been like this or is this a recent problem?

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Maybe the guitar is made out of agathis?

 

[maxdave2010]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Without seeing/hearing it, I have no clue. I'd suggest letting another experienced guitar player plug it in, and see what he thinks.

I've had strats before that just sounded like driftwood, no matter what pickups are in it, and how good the setup is. Just sell it, and don't buy anything less than a Japanese or US strat in the future.

It's actually my first ever electric, I've had it for years now. It's been so battered and modified, not to mention being a squier in the first place, that I fear it wouldn't be worth selling. I love the way it plays though, I couldn't part with it!

Some very experienced guitar players have tried it, a few of them have loved it. For me, it just isn't as clear as I would like. It's a nice sound, but not as crisp as my flying v. I guess I'm just looking for a way to brighten it up a little.

-Dave

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Larger pot values.....arties de-mud mod......

Sure theres more ways

 

[maxdave2010]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Sometimes no matter what you do a certain guitar does not sound good through a certain amp. It's just the nature of the beast.

It sounds like you might have the pickup adjusted too high(close to the strings).

Try backing it down on the bass string side. You might try raising the pole pieces to offset the loss of output.

You could also turn the pickup around so that the slugs are at the bridge side.

Change any old wires and make sure you don't have any cold solder joints. Clean the pots too. And use a switchcraft input jack if you don't already have one. Also I would use CTS pots over anything else.

It could just be the quality of the parts inside the guitar.

Thanks for the advice, I'll give some of these a try. Do you think maybe 1meg volume pot might be worth experimenting with?

-Dave

 

[maxdave2010]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Maybe something is wrong with the amp?

But without actually seeing it... can't tell. Has the guitar always been like this or is this a recent problem?

My Epiphone Flying V sounds just fine through the same amp, cables and pedal. I wouldn't say the Strat sounds BAD, it's just too dark for my tastes. I know I need a new one anyhow, but I can only just about afford new pots at this point in time

-Dave

 

[B2D]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

My Epiphone Flying V sounds just fine through the same amp, cables and pedal. I wouldn't say the Strat sounds BAD, it's just too dark for my tastes. I know I need a new one anyhow, but I can only just about afford new pots at this point in time

-Dave

Hmmm... I'd suggest higher value pots and brighter strings but you've already tried this...

I'm at a loss here.

 

[I_M_Ken]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Maybe the guitar is made out of agathis?

hmm, i had an agathis body guitar for awhile now. still think it sounds great. maybe its cuz its one of those newer squires? hmmm....no offence to ppl who like squires....i like the old ones though....hmmm :bigthumb:

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Have you tried adjusting the pickup? Like mentioned earlier on, are you sure it isn't too close to the strings? How about lowering the bass side while leaving the treble side higher?

 

[xjordanx]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

I am so frustrate. I have this problem as well with my own Frankenstein strat, currently with a set of P-Rails in it.

I can say from mow own experience that it is NOT the pickups, it is the GUITAR. When I first built this guitar I used a Duncan JB in the bridge and Carvin M22V in the Neck. I could never get it sounding bright and spanky even when center-tapping in to single-coil modes.

I figured it was a bad choice of pickups and eventually, with great anticipation, purchased a set of P-Rails after hearing the great demos of them on youtube. I am a pragmatic engineer and used to believe that the tone of an electric guitar MOSTLY came from the pickups. How WRONG was I. The P-Rails sound just as muddy as the JB and M22V (in fact, the M22V should be really bright because it's a lower winding count an lower DC resistance p'up).

I have tried many different wiring schemes as well, with 3-way switching, 3-way with coil taps, and even bypassed the tone control (since I never dial back the tone in my playing anyway). I have played this guitar through high-gain amps (Carvin V3, all three channels, Carvin Vai Legacy), through VOX AC15, Vox AC30 (both with Greenbacks and with Celestion Blues speakers), and an Orange 2x12 combo. In all of these excellent amps where my Carvin SC90 guitar sings and sparkles and does whatever I want it to, this Frankenstrat with Duncans or with Carvin P'ups sounds like a fart after 12 glasses of cheap Charles Shaw wine.

IT IS NOT THE PICKUPS. IT IS NOT THE AMPS, IT IS NOT THE WIRING.

My only conclusion is that the dullness is the bad combination of:
*Cheap body wood, supposedly American Ash (bought from Metal Shop Music via Ebay) but MUCH too cheap to be true. I suspect it's Chinese or Indonesian crap for the Costco "Fender" starter guitars. Geeze, the plywood guitars made by Onyx and other horrible brands in the 80's were better than this I am sure.
*The expensive Fender USA hardware (supposedly genuine, purchased at Guitar Center San Marcos CA), which includes the 2-point delux strat tremolo, big-apple scratch plate, Sperzal USA tuners, Graphtech nut, and pickup selector. These items should all combine to sound awesome, and coming from a reputable supplier and for the price I paid I would expect to be identical to what is found on a USA standard or delux Fender.
*$120 Canadian Maple neck, which is maple on maple fretboard. This too came from "Metal Shop Music" as so-called Fender Licensed distributor.

My only viable conclusion here is that the wood simply SUCKS, and literally, SUCKS the tone out of this instrument. This is so frustrating after all the time and money spent.

All I can say is learn from me - buy an old genuine strat and replace the other parts but keep the good wood!!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

don't buy anything less than a Japanese or US strat in the future.

We've had a thread here in the last couple months about Squires, with some pretty discerning forum members praising their quality and tone. You don't need to spend a lot of money these days for a good guitar. The one the OP bought was years ago. The fierce competition in the guitar market since the economy went bad, has forced manufacturers to up their game, and recent production is of a much higher standard.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

We've had a thread here in the last couple months about Squires, with some pretty discerning forum members praising their quality and tone. You don't need to spend a lot of money these days for a good guitar. The one the OP bought was years ago. The fierce competition in the guitar market since the economy went bad, has forced manufacturers to up their game, and recent production is of a much higher standard.

Look at the date.

 

[hermetico]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Maybe this is some kind of impedance missmatching or a a big lost of high end due to capacitancy issues.
My best recommendation here should be to use a HIGH QUALITY BUFFER pedal to get rid off those kind of issues.
I fully recommend Wampler's Decibel+ (not of his previous buffer versions, just that one).
And, additionally, I would try a magic pedal, like the Xotic EP Booster, that can bring bak to life the sound of your guitar.

Those would be the two things I would check, after you've tried rest of things.

 

[Securb]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

My thinking is if the setup sounds good with the Epiphone and there is no wiring issue with the Squire it could be an EQ issue. I would play around with an EQ stompbox before ditching the Squire if it plays as nice as you mentioned.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Look at the date.

So now I have to look at dates too? It's not enough that I have to watch for typos and keep my balance from falling out of the chair. Now I'm tasked with checking dates. Where does it end?

 

[Juanhanglo]

Re: Why does my guitar sound so muddy?

Try a full shred. Anything but mud with that one