I just changed strings on my Strat for the first time since owning it and beefed up from 9's to 10's. I made adjustments to the trem claws and all that, tuned it to pitch, and immediately noticed the G string sounding lame.

I thought maybe I had a bum string, so I swapped it again from a like-set (Dean Markely Blue Steel's). Well, I'm still having the same issue. Interestingly, when I fret anywhere on the G string, it sounds fine. Sustains properly, rings out, etc. It's only when I hit the string open where it has this dead sound.

What could the culprit be? Nut binding? I don't hear any pings when tuning up, but I still wonder if the larger gauge string is causing a problem at the nut. Again, I only think this because the string only sounds dead when struck open.

Any idea?

Not the nut binding, more likely dirt got in there.

Get some dental floss and floss the nutslots. Avoid using greases and gumptions to lubricate the slots. They just attract dust and turn it to dirt. If you use waxy floss it will lubricate the nut slots well enough as well as clean them out.

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No no and no

i would check the saddle and the bridge

If it were the saddle it would happen on every fret and the open string too, Guitar Vulture.

Always worth paying attention to your saddles though.

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No no and no

That was it! Thank you!

I didn't have any dental floss, but I have an eye glass kit with some very tiny flat head screwdrivers. I took the smallest one, and gently ran it through the slot, and BAM, a some caked up gunk flaked out. Looked a lot like dried up toothpaste.

Tuned up and singing like a G string should. Thanks again.

It could possibly be a dead string in the new set.I have bought new strings and have found as many as 2 dead strings in a new set.Change the string and that may very wel be to problem of course it could be what others have suggested too.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

sorry............can't help it.....................
g-strings.............bum strings.......................lubricating nuts........................lossing the nutslots........................snigger!


too tired away to bed..................

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

Well now that our G strings are all sorted out, with no bum notes (PPPaaaaarp) and Wookie has hopefully had some sleep. We can get on and see why wet lubrication is never a good idea for open mechanisms.

What tends to go on with vasceline, nut sauce and other lubes. Get some of that stuff, put it on a plastic sheet and leave it alone. Just put it on a windowsill for a couple of weeks. Forget about it, then go back to it. See how all the dust in the air has stuck to the stuff. Like flies round a dog egg.
The same thing happens at the saddle end too, if you lube your saddles. With the added bonus of dead skin getting straight on it as soon as you start palm muting. Why I say you should always pay attention to your saddles, always. Whether you lube or not. As per GuitarVulture's suggestion.
GuitarSlinger makes a good point too. Aside from stringing up a guitar, you'll never know if a string is ok.
If you must smooth out nut slots, use a dry lube like graphite or wax. Though it really is a temporary fix to a bigger problem. If you constantly need to do it, then theres something wrong with the nut slot that needs to be sorted out. Don't be fobbed off by any hack who says 'ah that'll sort out with a bit of nutsauce'. Now you know the reason why.

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No no and no

Now I have had some sleep and got the juvenile toilet humour out of my system ...............



+1

(smirk.....)

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

A bum string was my first thought. I was aware of the possibility, and having previously had no problems with the first set of strings, I assumed a bad string was the cause.

The guitar was purchased new in December, and this was the first time I had changed the strings. I had been waiting until I worked up the gumption to slap some 10's on there, as I'm not experienced with tremolo systems and compensating for the additional tension. When I bought the guitar, it had been sitting in its case in a back room for quite some time, as some other fellow had it on layaway. Apparently, after a year, layaway expires because it was sold to me. Anyway, I'm curious as to how the grime built up in the first place, and I should probably check the other slots just to be sure, despite having no audible issues on any other strings.

Then again, when removing the original low E string, I noticed a white residue on the string at the nut similar to what I scraped out of the G string slot.

For the record...totally happy with the 10's on there. Beefed up the tone just perfectly for my ears.

Might just have been a bit of fretboard lacquer got in there ( Maple board ), run your fingernail along the side of the frets next time you have the strings off, I though it was a chip in the fret itself to begin with, anyone with tips on safely removing excess fretboard lacquer.