Starpeve Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Hi friends. I have a pr5e which I love, but recently the strings seemed to suddenly sound tinnier. More the unwound strings, but all to a degree. I tapped, knocked, pressed everywhere that I could think of to determine if a brace was loose, or a wire toucking the body inside etc. I had EB electric super slinkies on it, and as a test put some heavier bronze acoustics I bought some time ago on it-12-58s. Very carefully! It cured it quite a bit, but I think there is still a touch of the tinniness- now I'm not sure if I'm deluding myself. All the fret wires seemed secure, the only thing that seemed to have an effest on the sound was to dampen the strings with a finger behind the bridge along the pins. Any suggestions? There are no rattles or buzzes to speak of, just this slight tinniness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffmac Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi friends. I have a pr5e which I love, but recently the strings seemed to suddenly sound tinnier. More the unwound strings, but all to a degree. I tapped, knocked, pressed everywhere that I could think of to determine if a brace was loose, or a wire toucking the body inside etc. I had EB electric super slinkies on it, and as a test put some heavier bronze acoustics I bought some time ago on it-12-58s. Very carefully! It cured it quite a bit, but I think there is still a touch of the tinniness- now I'm not sure if I'm deluding myself. All the fret wires seemed secure, the only thing that seemed to have an effest on the sound was to dampen the strings with a finger behind the bridge along the pins. Any suggestions? There are no rattles or buzzes to speak of, just this slight tinniness. first off 12-58? why so heavy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starpeve Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Cos I had 'em! And also I thought going to the other extreme might highlight any possible problem. They won't stay on long, I can assure you! Although they do ring out, I must say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 ...the only thing that seemed to have an effest on the sound was to dampen the strings with a finger behind the bridge along the pins. Any suggestions? Is it possible the pin slots are too big, and the strings are roaming around in there? Are you pressing down at all, bridge to top? Because that isn't good if that stops it. If you are pressing lightly towards the pins it's possible they are just sloppy, or the string isn't pulled up close enough. It is also possible the piezo saddle is a little wonky underneath, and if you press on the strings you help to keep it still. Just some suggestions. I would like to hold it and hear it for myself, see if we could figure it out. I am not at all a luthier, but I do occasionally play one on the internet. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Heavier strings have a tendency to be difficult to install and the bridge pin area. The pin 'grabs' the string and pulls it down, thus causing the ball end to pull away from the sound board, thereby inflicting your guitar with suspended balls. The suspended balls, being coaxed to vibrate when the guitar is strummed, could begin to 'sizzle' like tambourine jingles within the loops that constrain them. But I'd think that suspended ball sizzle would be more like a rattle than a tinny sound. However your 'tinniness' seems to pre-date the heavies. Is the guitar particularly dry? Maybe, you're suffering from tinnitus. (seriously) Do all your guitars sound tinny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starpeve Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Is it possible the pin slots are too big, and the strings are roaming around in there? Are you pressing down at all, bridge to top? Because that isn't good if that stops it. If you are pressing lightly towards the pins it's possible they are just sloppy, or the string isn't pulled up close enough. It is also possible the piezo saddle is a little wonky underneath, and if you press on the strings you help to keep it still. Just some suggestions. I would like to hold it and hear it for myself, see if we could figure it out. I am not at all a luthier, but I do occasionally play one on the internet. rct It doesn't seem to make any difference pushing down on the bridge- my first thought was the piezo- but it does if I lay my finger along the strings betwwen the bridge and pins, dampening them. Nothing has changed from new, those strings were on for a while. There doesn't seem to be any rattle etc that I can produce by tapping, knocking, shaking, and nothing around the saddle appears to be pulling away or anything. Maybe I should buy some ebony pins - is there a taper/ size I should get for the Epi, as I see there are choices when I search the online stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 No clue... But I think the other guys may be on the right direction questioning whether something inside the guitar's "box" is just loose enough to give a slight buzz that might give the effect. I'm the other way around on strings - 9-42 DR Zebras on my PR5e. Not super straight acoustic, but no problem through an acoustic amp or a board. Sometimes a bit of extra space at the nut can in theory cause a "tinny" sound - but given how light a set of strings I use without that problem, I dunno. That's why I'm wondering about something internal that might be just a tiny buzzing at higher registers. Still... a possibility could be something funky at the nut. I dunno. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starpeve Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 No clue... But I think the other guys may be on the right direction questioning whether something inside the guitar's "box" is just loose enough to give a slight buzz that might give the effect. I'm the other way around on strings - 9-42 DR Zebras on my PR5e. Not super straight acoustic, but no problem through an acoustic amp or a board. Sometimes a bit of extra space at the nut can in theory cause a "tinny" sound - but given how light a set of strings I use without that problem, I dunno. That's why I'm wondering about something internal that might be just a tiny buzzing at higher registers. Still... a possibility could be something funky at the nut. I dunno. m I'll definitely be going back to the lighter gauge- the heavies were just an experiment, I thought they might give a little more relief and lift the strings away from the frets a little to see if that was any problem. It's possible my over-active imagination may be at work. Could have been something to do with the old strings, as soon as I get around to a shop ( none close ) I'll buy some 9- 42's. I actually went into town a couple of days ago to buy a Yamaha thr10c modelling practice amp ( unbelievably good, but that's another story! ) and in my excitement forgot to get strings . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 The DR Zebras are the only ones I know of that are for AE playing in 9-42 - although I've purchased polywebs "by the string" as well. I've not seen the Zebras in that gauge in a store, and it's a long trip for me even to look. So I get 'em "mail order." (Okay, from MF or whatever...) m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starpeve Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 The DR Zebras are the only ones I know of that are for AE playing in 9-42 - although I've purchased polywebs "by the string" as well. I've not seen the Zebras in that gauge in a store, and it's a long trip for me even to look. So I get 'em "mail order." (Okay, from MF or whatever...) m I'm not overstressing this little box with these big strings, am I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I dunno... I wouldn't do it myself, but then I don't care much for heavy strings either. The lam top on the PR5e may help keep it from the nastier potentials, but... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starpeve Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 I dunno... I wouldn't do it myself, but then I don't care much for heavy strings either. The lam top on the PR5e may help keep it from the nastier potentials, but... m Although I must say she sounds very nice with the heavies, I prefer the feel of lighter strings, and I'll go lighter just to be on the safe side. I may go a little heavier than I was, however, probably just 10's. Ps- given the space of a couple of days, the tinniness HAS gone- must have been the old strings ( which had a plain g ) and me looking for ghosts in the woodwork! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I think there are a lot of factors "we" tend to ignore in our regular maintenance of a guitar of any sort. I'll never forget how one rather expensive archtop of mine had this horrid buzzing whether played acoustic or electric. I dunno which was worse, 'cuz neither was very good. Drove me nuts. I messed with the bridge, the nut... did every check I could think of on the fingerboard and... Finally I figured I'd see if the screws and/or springs holding the pups might be loose or have some metal part causing a problem. It was that the plastic pickguard was just barely hitting the bridge pup. A piece of felt such as one puts on curios to add to a curio cabinet was stuck to the back of the pickguard where it met the pup. That lifted it enough - perhaps 1/16 or an inch or a tad less than a millimeter and, voila! End of the problem. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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