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Post subject: Unwanted overtone
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:07 pm
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I have an American Deluxe, and the G-string has this resonating overtone coming from between the saddle and tuning key. Tried a new set of strings, but same thing. If I barely touch the string with my finger (above the saddle), the nasty overtone disappears.

I did a test where I folded a small, thin piece of paper into a V-shape. Placed the piece of paper upside down on every string one by one (above the saddle), and picked the string to check how much each string vibrated. The G-string vibrated like crazy compared to the others, so I'm thinking that there's something wrong with the saddle.

Any thoughts?


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:16 am
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i think your right, theres something up with the saddle. Things to check-

1 are the height adjustment screws at about equal length sticking out the bottom of the saddle, so the saddle is parralell to the bridge plate.
2 check the saddle has no grooves in it.

either of those could cause the trouble your having.

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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:09 am
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It's a long way from the bridge saddle to the tuning machine. Are you talking about the nut?


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:13 am
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Overtone are caused by the string vibrating in a vertical motion instead of a eliptical pattern. Something is interfearing with the strings ability to vibrate correctly you have to find that cause. Some times that is caused by the pickups being to close to the strings and the the magnetic force pulling at the string as it vibrates but that does not sound like the cause on yours because it shows most often on the E string.

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Last edited by cvilleira on Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:15 am
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Quote:
It's a long way from the bridge saddle to the tuning machine. Are you talking about the nut?

Yes, of course. A minor norwegian <-> english translation that went totally wrong. Sorry about that. I meant the nut.

Thanks.


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:18 am
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If you just did a string change, sometimes the height screws for the saddles can become loose causing weird vibrations, noises, and overtones, so as previously mentioned, make sure they are snug enough to keep them from moving while maintaining the saddle height you prefer.

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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:20 am
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Nikininja - I'll check the things you mentioned more closely. The overtone is so loud and strong that it interferes with the overall sound when I'm playing.

Thank you.


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:20 am
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pt lover wrote:
Quote:
It's a long way from the bridge saddle to the tuning machine. Are you talking about the nut?

Yes, of course. A minor norwegian <-> english translation that went totally wrong. Sorry about that. I meant the nut.

Thanks.


Check to make sure the string is securely bedded in the nut slot. Grasping at straws here.


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:22 am
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bowlfreshener wrote:
If you just did a string change, sometimes the height screws for the saddles can become loose causing weird vibrations, noises, and overtones, so as previously mentioned, make sure they are snug enough to keep them from moving while maintaining the saddle height you prefer.

Yeah, absolutely, I'll check everything as thoroughly as I can.

Thanks a bunch.


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 9:02 am
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cvilleira wrote:
Overtone are caused by the string vibrating in a vertical motion instead of a eliptical pattern. Something is interfearing with the strings ability to vibrate correctly you have to find that cause. Some times that is caused by the pickups being to close to the strings and the the magnetic force pulling at the string as it vibrates but that does not sound like the cause on yours because it shows most often on the E string.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

Let me check everything you guys have said, and I'll post what I find.


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:44 pm
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The nut looks and feels okay. To be on the safe side I took a small brush and cleaned the nut slot.

The saddle also seems to be okay. Nothing is loose or dirty.

The pickups are not too close to the strings. They could actually be closer.

I don't know - it's very frustrating, and on top of it all the F chord is way out of tune due to the G-string. I have recently intonated the guitar according to the instructions in the support section.

I can mention that I use string gauge .009 - .046. Any additional thoughts?


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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:27 pm
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pt lover wrote:
The nut looks and feels okay. To be on the safe side I took a small brush and cleaned the nut slot.

The saddle also seems to be okay. Nothing is loose or dirty.

The pickups are not too close to the strings. They could actually be closer.

I don't know - it's very frustrating, and on top of it all the F chord is way out of tune due to the G-string. I have recently intonated the guitar according to the instructions in the support section.

I can mention that I use string gauge .009 - .046. Any additional thoughts?


How soon after the string change did you intonate? Sometimes new strings need time to stretch a bit, so I would re-check the intonation to make sure its still right. Also, does it make this noise when plugged into an amp? Unplugged or both? If just plugged, something in the wiring has perhaps gone weird. Have there been any truss rod adjustments? Cause I know if something went loose in the truss rod, or a loose truss rod, can make a weird vibratting noise, and perhaps its just being noisy at the frequency of the G string or something odd like that...

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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:34 pm
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all i can think is that it could be a weird microphonic pickup, maybe with a particle stuck in the pickup under the offending string. Does it make the noise on the other pickup?

Try this to be sure. Take off the saddle to the low E string and use it for the string that has the problem. If it still makes the noise you know its not the saddle causing th.e problem.

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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:25 am
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Quote:
How soon after the string change did you intonate? Sometimes new strings need time to stretch a bit, so I would re-check the intonation to make sure its still right. Also, does it make this noise when plugged into an amp? Unplugged or both? If just plugged, something in the wiring has perhaps gone weird. Have there been any truss rod adjustments? Cause I know if something went loose in the truss rod, or a loose truss rod, can make a weird vibratting noise, and perhaps its just being noisy at the frequency of the G string or something odd like that...

I've intonated the guitar multiple times, making an effort to really rule things out one by one. It does have this annoying overtone both plugged and unplugged.
The truss rod has been adjusted by a guitar tech, but this is 4-5 years ago. But I will check string action and the truss rod next.
It is a mechanical issue/phenomenon, for sure. I "just" have to find what in the world could make the G-string vibrate so much.

Quote:
Try this to be sure. Take off the saddle to the low E string and use it for the string that has the problem. If it still makes the noise you know its not the saddle causing th.e problem.

I'll try this too. I simply have to try every suggestion one by one to figure this out.

Thanks a lot to all.


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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:29 am
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One more thing to check, make sure the nut on the top side of the tuner isn't loose. That could make weird noise and make you think you have nut issues, and I guess it is a nut issue, just a different nut :lol:

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