Epiphone Dr500Mce

[Cobalt]

I have had this Epiphone for about 4 years now and overall I have been very happy with it. After living in California all my life about one year ago we moved to Nevada. The climate is different here, that's for sure as it seems dry as we live in the desert. I keep all my guitars in cases when they are not being played and until recently I have not noticed any changes. So today I was playing my Masterbilt and I have been working on a song that has a few lead lines up around the 12th fret and gradually I have been noticing a drop in volume up there. So today I really paid attention to it and what Ive noticed is that only on the High E,B and G strings from the 11th fret to the 14th fret the sound is almost dead. It starts at the 11th fret and is at it's worse at the 14th fret. You can fret those three strings and it's almost muted. At the 15th fret it starts to ring out like a bell again. Ive turned the truss rod both ways and one way did nothing and the other way made the lower stings buzz but not change in the issue I mentioned so I put it back where it was. This seems like a weird deal to me. Why only on the three high strings? I carefully looked at the bridge and I can see no sign of lifting at all. I guess I need to find a good tech but i wanted to post here and see if anyone else has had this happen as I know a lot of you own the Masterbilt Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE. Thanks.

[Irish_Rover]

You say that the guitar is kept in its case but you don't mention keeping it humidified?

 

https://www.taylorguitars.com/sites/default/files/10_UsingaGuitarHumidifier.pdf

[Cobalt]

You say that the guitar is kept in its case but you don't mention keeping it humidified?

 

https://www.taylorguitars.com/sites/default/files/10_UsingaGuitarHumidifier.pdf

 

I don't but I am researching it now and I will be doing that. After watching a couple of videos by Bob Taylor I can see how important it is. I may get the 2 way humidifier by Planet Waves but before I want to do that I have made my own case and soundhole humidifier in order to get the guitar back to where it needs to be. Should take about 5 days. Then I will buy the 2 way and the packets should last a few months. I don't want to put those packets into a dry guitar because in 3 days they would need to be replaced and they are not that cheap. I will let you guys know in a few days if re-humidifying helped.

[olie]

If you get the Planet Waves or something that you hydrate yourself it's a lot cheaper, Cobalt.Even if you use distilled water from a drugstore it'll be less expensive.I'm planning on getting a hygrometer for inside the case to monitor the R.H.as well.Better to prevent cracking and other nasty stuff from happening. Good luck!

[Mik Neville]

Where I live is not as dry as Nevada but we do not often see the humidity above 35%. I keep my DR500MCE in the case when not in use at all times use two Oasis Plus humidifiers one in the sound hole and one in the neck ( made a little hanger to hang it from the side of the case) also at all times. They work great use distilled water fill them once every 10 days have had no problems now for 3 years .Mik B)

[Irish_Rover]

There's no guarantee that the original problems will be cured by re-humidifying (?) the guitar. It just seemed to me that it wouldn't hurt to try the simplest option first before rushing off to a luthier. Keeping my fingers crossed for you (except when playing my own DR500MCE, obviously).

[Cobalt]

Thanks for the replies guys. My homemade humidifiers did not change anything. It's a really weird thing as it's only frets 11-14 and only on the 3 high strings. There are no cracks in the guitar and the bridge seems fine. Eventually I will find someone up here to look at it. I have ordered a humidifier and will go the distilled water route. Hopefully I can get it fixed soon.

[olie]

Thanks for the replies guys. My homemade humidifiers did not change anything. It's a really weird thing as it's only frets 11-14 and only on the 3 high strings. There are no cracks in the guitar and the bridge seems fine. Eventually I will find someone up here to look at it. I have ordered a humidifier and will go the distilled water route. Hopefully I can get it fixed soon.

Have you checked to see if your (the guitar's) neck is twisted? Since the problem seems to be on one side perhaps there's a torquing action.

[Irish_Rover]

Bummer. The only other things I can think of are worn or loose fret wires or, as olie says, a twisted neck. Hope you manage to get it sorted soon.

[Cobalt]

The neck actually seems good to me. I have gotten some advice via email from a guitar tech and he says it could be a few things but none of them really serious. His most probable fix would be a truss rod adjustment and then a saddle shim to raise the action a bit after the truss rod adjustment would lower it. I think this is something I may be able to do myself and not hurt anything. I found a guy online who sells saddle shim kits and they are only $15 so I may give it a try. It comes with everything to apply a little strip of ebony to the bottom of the saddle with super glue and then you can sand that to adjust it as needed. Really not much I can screw up and it's worth a try.

 

Is there a reason to use distilled water in the humidifier? No big deal but Im just curious.

 

Thanks guys.

[Irish_Rover]

Distilled water is recommended for the electric humidifiers you would use to humidify a room due to the mineral content of tap water which, over time, can leave a build up of deposits that are a breeding ground for bacteria. For your homemade dehumidifiers that will sit inside your guitar and/or case there is no real reason to use distilled water as long as you keep them clean.

 

Good luck with the repairs and let us know how you get on.

[Cobalt]

Distilled water is recommended for the electric humidifiers you would use to humidify a room due to the mineral content of tap water which, over time, can leave a build up of deposits that are a breeding ground for bacteria. For your homemade dehumidifiers that will sit inside your guitar and/or case there is no real reason to use distilled water as long as you keep them clean.

 

Good luck with the repairs and let us know how you get on.

 

 

I wanted to add one more thing that has been brought to my attention. The last time I changed strings I put my hand in the soundhole to push up the pins and I pretty hard caught the wire for the pickup that sits under the saddle. According to a guitar tech I have been speaking with he is pretty certain that by doing that I changed the saddle. So it looks like it may not be a humidity issue at all although I do intend to get the Planet Waves Case Humidifier. As soon as I get new strings I will very gently get my fingers under there and see if I can change anything but if not then I will drop it off to a tech. The beat goes on!

[Irish_Rover]

I wanted to add one more thing that has been brought to my attention. The last time I changed strings I put my hand in the soundhole to push up the pins and I pretty hard caught the wire for the pickup that sits under the saddle. According to a guitar tech I have been speaking with he is pretty certain that by doing that I changed the saddle. So it looks like it may not be a humidity issue at all although I do intend to get the Planet Waves Case Humidifier. As soon as I get new strings I will very gently get my fingers under there and see if I can change anything but if not then I will drop it off to a tech. The beat goes on!

Now you tell us! I would never have thought of that.

So did the problem present itself immediately after the last string change?

 

That's a pretty radical method of removing bridge pins you have there

[Cobalt]

Now you tell us! I would never have thought of that.

So did the problem present itself immediately after the last string change?

 

That's a pretty radical method of removing bridge pins you have there

 

Yes it was pretty close to that actually. I would never know about the problem because don't play on the high frets that often but I have been working on a song that plays a few passages up there and all of a sudden I noticed how badly it sounded. Would you believe that I am still waiting on my new strings as Paypal shipped them to my old address and I have no idea what happened to them as there are two scans and one says undeliverable and the next one says forwarded. Well it's been 8 days. I was a letter carrier for 35 years so I know it should have been forwarded but who knows what happened. It needs a good setup anyway.

 

One question for you guys. Have you ever pulled out the saddle for this model? I did it a few days ago and then put it back in to see of that would fix it and I noticed that out came a little strip of material that is almost like foam or felt. I didn't look like a good material to use to raise the saddle with but that was in there from the factory. Anyway, i put it back but nothing changed.

[Cobalt]

 

That's a pretty radical method of removing bridge pins you have there

 

I just saw that :) It is. I have presentation pins but the two or three string pullers I have just don't get under them and most of the time I would use a butter knife but that's probably not the best way either.

[Irish_Rover]

I just saw that :) It is. I have presentation pins but the two or three string pullers I have just don't get under them and most of the time I would use a butter knife but that's probably not the best way either.

Ironically, a couple of days after posting that I was changing the strings on my Sigma OMR-1ST and for some reason the ball end of the low E string was stuck solid against the bridge plate, I ended up having to cut the top off the bridge pin and push it through into the body. Some kind of poetic justice at work there .

Generally, after slackening off the tension, you can push the strings, from above, down into the body which takes the tension of the bridge pin and makes it much easier to pull out.

 

As for the DR500-MCE there was nothing under the saddle on mine.

[Cobalt]

Ironically, a couple of days after posting that I was changing the strings on my Sigma OMR-1ST and for some reason the ball end of the low E string was stuck solid against the bridge plate, I ended up having to cut the top off the bridge pin and push it through into the body. Some kind of poetic justice at work there .

Generally, after slackening off the tension, you can push the strings, from above, down into the body which takes the tension of the bridge pin and makes it much easier to pull out.

 

As for the DR500-MCE there was nothing under the saddle on mine.

 

 

I should have strings in a day or two and when I change out i will take a photo and show you what is under there.

[Cobalt]

I have not got my strings yet but I was a bit bored today so I loosened up the strings and removed my saddle again and I feel pretty stupid. That strip of material that sits under there is the pickup. I really had no idea that a pickup could look like that.

[Irish_Rover]

I have not got my strings yet but I was a bit bored today so I loosened up the strings and removed my saddle again and I feel pretty stupid. That strip of material that sits under there is the pickup. I really had no idea that a pickup could look like that.

Ok I'll rephrase my last sentence:

Apart from the pickup there was nothing under the saddle on my DR500-MCE

 

Don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure we've all done dafter things, I know I certainly have.

[Cobalt]

So my strings came yesterday and I replaced them and adjusted the truss rod a bit and everything is pretty much back to normal. There is one dead spot on the G string 14th fret but compared to what I had before, it's nothing. I think I really need a good setup and maybe a little nut work but that's in the future.

 

That being said I have been talking with a guitar tech and he pretty much thinks that what happened is that the last time I changed the strings I did remove them all and then by pushing up the pins I most likely caused movement in the saddle that caused things to be off. He said I was very lucky that the under the saddle pickup even still works because they are very very touch and fragile. Ive noticed that of all my strings even the open G strings sometimes sounds a bit flat so maye some nut work is due. Anyway, it sounds very good again. Hopefully others can learn from my experience :)

 

I am ordering case humidifiers today.