unmusical overtone trouble

rgalpin · Post by **rgalpin** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:31 pm

when i hit an open A string i am getting a rattle-ish sounding note that seems very close the root A - it rattles underneath in a nasty unmusical way that destroys the focus and sweetness of the A.

i've actually heard this on many guitar to varying degrees - but it has become very noticeable on my main guitar and it's driving me nuts - i have tried everything filing the nut - filing the saddles - stuffing a rag around the springs on the trem - filing the fulcrum where the trem contacts the post - i am all out of ideas.

anybody ever have any experience with this sort of thing?

BashCoder · Post by **BashCoder** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:46 pm

Not exactly, but I have one SG with a pickup that sometimes touches and vibrates against the body -- especially with an open A. Annoying!

JimiJames · Post by **JimiJames** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 12:04 am

If it's a Stratocaster in question, are your saddle screws are seated touching base. You might have a floater...???

Truss rod...???

Screw the claw down to put more tension on the whammy...???

JJ

rgalpin · Post by **rgalpin** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:40 am

whatever it is - it's riding on the note produced by the open A string - but it's subtle enough that I can make it tolerable by lowering that side of the pickup.

could the truss rod actually be vibrating/rattling inside the neck? i have a warmoth 23 3/4 strat conversion neck - it has a truss rod adjusment screw on the side of the neck down at the heel where it connects to the body for easy access.

maybe i'll just try tweaking the tension on that bad boy to see if it makes a difference.

i'll also check where the saddle screws hit the base - that is exactly what i envision the source this rattle to be like - a metal on metal "zzz- zzz" thing that compromises the stability of the note.

awesome input! thanks. i'll post my findings.

45auto · Post by **45auto** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:51 am

truss rod could be rattling inside neck. my boogie bodies (much like yours) had this very prob.

BashCoder · Post by **BashCoder** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:04 am

How did you fix it?

JimiJames · Post by **JimiJames** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:30 pm

BashCoder wrote:How did you fix it?

Sledge Hammer !

JJ

45auto · Post by **45auto** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:51 pm

well, the damn thingalways had a bit of a reverse bow, so i had to keep the truss as loose as possible, but snug enough to not rattle. there were actually times that i stuck it into a dresser drawer face down & let the neck bow the right way! i believe you can build a jig & apply heat & get some results? i'm not the expert luthier really. just do alot of improvising!

BashCoder · Post by **BashCoder** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:08 pm

Heck, that's better luthiery than I would have done. I'd probably just squirt a small amount of that spray foam insulation deep into the neck. Enough to stop the rattling but still allow the truss rod to work.