I don't know what's wrong with the A string on my guitar and it's a bit hard to describe, so bear with me. It's an Epiphone Les Paul Deluxe (not that that's relevant). The A string is ringing on the frets when I pluck it but the other strings aren't. Short answer is higher the string but I don't think that is the answer. When you pluck the strings they vibrate nicely in the plane of the guitar and the vibration decays gradually, linearly and predictively. However, the A string doesn't. It vibrates like it's tuned to an octave down like it's lower tension than it should be. It isn't. It's tuned correctly. When I pluck the A string the vibration is excessive and it looks like it's pulsing rather than decaying gradually. I'm fairly sure that its vibrating in other than the plane of the guitar so no wonder it's hitting the frets. What I think I'm seeing is a beat frequency superimposed on the string. Does that make any sense? I've pressed on the string behind the nut and that doesn't seem to alter this basic odd vibration any. Could it be a badly tempered string rather than something in the setup? WTF can it be?
Ian
Lowering my
expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Comments
With so many comparison web sites out there, how do I choose the best one?
• that the hex nut on the machinehead is nipped up properly.
• for cracks in the nut slot.
• that the A string saddle is sitting correctly in the bridge.
• for breaks in the string wrap wire.
• for lifting frets.
• for curvature along the neck.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
The only other likely possibilities would be a weird overtone caused by the neck pickup being too close to the strings - although that would usually affect the E string more - or a resonance in something like the truss rod which could be very close in frequency to the string.
Try either lowering the neck pickup or retuning the string a semitone up or down and see if either thing makes it go away.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Ian
Lowering my expectations has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.