What the heck is wrong with my guitar? (strange dissonant sound on especially g-string)

    Quote from alwainwright

    @Michael_dk - I've been dealing with what seems like the same issue on my Suhr. Just ordered a set of strings with a wound g to see if this makes a difference. It's been to the shop where I bought it, traded e-mails with Suhr and been to a local tech for complete set-up. Mine has a Floyd Rose bridge and I've installed a tremol-no to see if that helped. Reduced it a little bit, but didn't fix it. Also tried a fat finger, which didn't help either. I've been selective with which profiles I use, so it is minimized. It's not a profiler issue, it is the guitar. Please keep posting as you troubleshoot.


    Curious to hear - what did Suhr respond with?

    Quote from Michael_dk

    Curious to hear - what did Suhr respond with?


    Nothing was wrong with the guitar. If I still had concerns, take it back to the shop where I bought it.


    I'm pretty sure that mine is related to the Floyd Rose, as it did improve some after I installed the tremol-no. Seems that the frequency around the 12th fret of the g string is exciting something in the guitar.

    Of course it will .
    If you have base tone of your string with amplitude A and a distored or resonance tone with much lower amplitude B, after high gain clipping stage amplitude A is much lower (and the whole signal is amplified).
    In other words you lowering amplitude A by clipping and level of signal B is going up because amp amplify all the signal to do another clipping.
    Thats why you hear all of this with high gain profiles.

    Quote from DamianGreda

    Of course it will .
    If you have base tone of your string with amplitude A and a distored or resonance tone with much lower amplitude B, after high gain clipping stage amplitude A is much lower (and the whole signal is amplified).
    In other words you lowering amplitude A by clipping and level of signal B is going up because amp amplify all the signal to do another clipping.
    Thats why you hear all of this with high gain profiles.


    Great explanation of what happens - although my question was more in reltion to it being picked up by the pickups or not. I know my tremolo springs aren't really picked up as far as I can judge - not a lot anyway

    Tremolo is reacting with the string like the body of the guitar.
    There is no one way reaction string -> body. Is like String<-> Body contr-reaction.
    It is only matter with what amplitude this reaction will be - how much will this influence the string movement.
    Simple test - try to knock the body of the guitar or try strumming the springs of your tremolo :)

    Quote from Michael_dk

    Did that translate into the amplifier?


    Yes.


    On my Ibanezes there were also buzz problems with tremolo strings. I have also dampened them with foam. You can also insert small piece of wood between tremolo block and guitar body, then you could take all strings away and still play guitar to test if they are source of the buzz.

    Quote from alwainwright

    Nothing was wrong with the guitar. If I still had concerns, take it back to the shop where I bought it.


    I'm pretty sure that mine is related to the Floyd Rose, as it did improve some after I installed the tremol-no. Seems that the frequency around the 12th fret of the g string is exciting something in the guitar.



    That's also what I would have said if it were my company, I'm sure... :-/

    Quote from Michael_dk

    No on both counts.


    I have only tried with D'addario's EXL110 (10s). I have some elixirs underway - will try with those when they get here. Firebird: When you say "similar problems", can you describe it a bit more in depth?


    In the meantime, any other suggestions are welcome! :)



    OK, tried a different brand now, and a different size (0.018 as opposed to 0.017 - like throwing on a set of 11's, but just the g string). No change. Tried a WOUND g string, which helped greatly. The problem is still there, but no worse than on the adjacent B and D strings. It's workable for now, but just isn't cool to have to use a wound 3rd, I think.


    I wonder how bends with a wound string affects fret wear too. Usually we bend the g string much more often than the E, A and D strings.

    I hope you get to the bottom of this problem.
    I've had my eye on the Brent Mason model for a while. One would expect that with a guitar in that price range you wouldn't have these kind of issues.
    Did you buy the guitar from a shop? If so, I'd take it back and get them to sort it out or replace it. You shouldn't have to deal with it being anything other than fit for perpouse.

    Just a suggestion, try some grease / lubricant, oil etc. to all moving parts on the bridge. I had a annoying sound coming from one of my guitars (higher end ibanez with floating bridge) and after struggling to find out what was wrong at first, I tried spraying this lubricating contact cleaner (has some oil) to moving parts of the bridge and took the problem away (though I have to do it again once in a while to prevent it coming back).


    The sound on the clips is very similar that I had, I guess the difference is that I was able to hear mine acoustically too (by bending high-e from certain frets).

    Quote from Michael_dk

    Tried a WOUND g string, which helped greatly.

    That wound string would probably have greater tension than a plain one which may affect the neck relief. Sure there is no string buzz? Could try to loosen the truss-rod about 1/4 turn. Also, any form of physical rattle that is transferred to the strings should be audible if you put your ear to the guitars body and listen to the acoustic tones. I assume you have checked for loose screws on the guitar. A rattling pickguard can have a nasty effect on the magnetic-field under the strings when the pickups move along with it.

    Quote from Ilelee

    Just a suggestion, try some grease / lubricant, oil etc. to all moving parts on the bridge. I had a annoying sound coming from one of my guitars (higher end ibanez with floating bridge) and after struggling to find out what was wrong at first, I tried spraying this lubricating contact cleaner (has some oil) to moving parts of the bridge and took the problem away (though I have to do it again once in a while to prevent it coming back).


    The sound on the clips is very similar that I had, I guess the difference is that I was able to hear mine acoustically too (by bending high-e from certain frets).



    My trem is locked with a tremol-no. But I can't rule anything out at this point.

    Quote from heldal

    That wound string would probably have greater tension than a plain one which may affect the neck relief. Sure there is no string buzz? Could try to loosen the truss-rod about 1/4 turn. Also, any form of physical rattle that is transferred to the strings should be audible if you put your ear to the guitars body and listen to the acoustic tones. I assume you have checked for loose screws on the guitar. A rattling pickguard can have a nasty effect on the magnetic-field under the strings when the pickups move along with it.


    I've continually checked neck reflief.
    Also, I've tried tuning the "old" plain g-string both up and down by a whole tone to see if there were any effect - no such luck.

    We'll, my issue wasn't actually in floating bridge "mechanics" but in one of the fine tuners of the floating bridge. I guess there is some spring there as well or something which started to cause issues when tension was applied to the bridge, especially when bending strings. .

    Could really be everything..truss rod,tremolo,the nut..the best solution is to bring the guitar to a really compentent guitar technician in your area;


    Btw..


    Quote

    I’ve been playing mostly rhythm guitar the time I’ve had it, but lately when playing some lead-type stuff...... when playing single notes above the 7th fret ...


    This gives me a little heads up.Sometimes guitars do strange things after many years and react "like a woman" if you dont love the "whole thing".. ;( ...well...


    I have seen this quite a lot times with the main guitar of players who only play rhythm/open chords till the 5th fret and completely ignore "the rest".Their guitars sound great as long as they play their rhythm stuff but sound like shit if anyone tries to get some lead sound out of it beyond the 5-7th fret.Everything then gets out of control.


    Again.Could be any kind of problem or a combination of all things mentioned here in the thread.Bring the guitar to a good expirienced/technician.Best thing you can do.Good luck.