Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

IB Texan Too Bright, Too Brittle


Leonard McCoy

Recommended Posts

Acoustically the voice of my 2014 IB Texan sounds all too bright and brittle, not warm and mellow at all. This is especially true when strumming with a pick where she sounds extremely tinny in comparison to my other guitars.

 

I tried switching strings, from Martin Lifespan SP (very bright) to the usually rather mellow J-200 Phosphor Bronze Lights, which helped somewhat.

 

Does anyone have any similar experiences with their Texan? Any good advice?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used D'Addaro 12's and never had a problem. Mine had great tone...very Gibsonesque. I was a 2014 model as well.

What D'Addario .012 were you using? The standard EJ-16? Or the coated EXP?

 

Has it always sounded brittle or is it something that you've just noticed recently?

As far as I remember she's always sounded like that. I've even treated her to a new handcarved vintage bone nut and a professional setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The one I had was certainly not Gibsonesque. The tone was somewhere between the Aj220s and the AJ45me. Which considering the construction is where it should be. Coated strings may take away some of the brittleness. Older strings will also sound more mellow. But to get that effect you need to wait a while and play it a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

As far as I remember she's always sounded like that. I've even treated her to a new handcarved vintage bone nut and a professional setup.

Then all I can suggest is to keep experimenting with strings and maybe a different pick (thickness/material).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to sound judgmental, but why people put lights on an IB'64 Texan is beyond me. The guitar (as with most dreads) is built for mediums, and you really need mediums to get the top vibrating like it should. Bite the bullet and string it with mediums. You won't lose anything and you'll probably gain something.

 

Also, if you've got the original bridge pins, give some thought to switching them out with something better.

 

Lastly, go with a heavier-gauge pick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to sound judgmental, but why people put lights on an IB'64 Texan is beyond me. The guitar (as with most dreads) is built for mediums, and you really need mediums to get the top vibrating like it should. Bite the bullet and string it with mediums. You won't lose anything and you'll probably gain something.

 

Also, if you've got the original bridge pins, give some thought to switching them out with something better.

 

Lastly, go with a heavier-gauge pick.

Medium strings aren't a bad idea - my suggestion would be to get it set up for mediums, since it came with lights. Doesn't mean mediums have to stay forever; some luthiers suggest breaking in a new guitar with mediums to get the top going properly and then switching to whatever you prefer later. Better pins never hurt - not sure what kind would work best. Heavier picks are usually best, and the variety of shapes and materials out there allows for lots of experimentation which is a lot of fun for relatively little $.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think any guitar you buy off the shelf deserves a trip to your friendly local repair guy (or gal) for a proper set-up with YOUR preferred guage of strings. It never hurts to have them go over the guitar and make sure everything is as it should be. And, again, even if the IB'64 is shipped with lights, if you want to move the top and get it vibrating like it should, you need mediums. Lights are just, well, too light.

 

Another suggestion I would make -- and it is a pricey one -- is to get a ToneRite. Or find a luthier who has one. Or get some of your guitar-playing friends to pool their money for one you can share. Yes, I know it can be a controversial device, but I will say this: I used one on my IB'64 Texan and it improved the tone. Did it turn it into an early '60's Texan? No. But it improved it, and the improvement was noticeable. The ToneRite has had enough big-name luthiers climb aboard the bandwagon that it isn't some snake-oil device.

 

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Accessories/ToneRite/ToneRite_for_Guitar.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My guess? It should work. The notion, although in more primitive form, has been around for many years. Set the guitar, in its case, against a refrigerator so vibrations go through it even when you're not playing. As a kid, I thought people were just setting me up for a cheap joke at my expense when I was told to try it, but it gets more results than I had expected. Could be a good investment in the more evolved form.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My guess? It should work. The notion, although in more primitive form, has been around for many years. Set the guitar, in its case, against a refrigerator so vibrations go through it even when you're not playing. As a kid, I thought people were just setting me up for a cheap joke at my expense when I was told to try it, but it gets more results than I had expected. Could be a good investment in the more evolved form.

 

In the alternative, I've set guitars on stands in front of a stereo speaker, tuned in an FM classical station, cranked up the bass and left for the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the input.

 

I will probably make another attempt at a new set of strings. This time it's gonna be coated strings, being very mellow, as if broken in already, from the get-go. However, I have little faith it'll improve the overall tonal character of the guitar in a drastic way towards a warmer spectrum.

 

I find the Texan's voice to be overly bright, brittle, outright unbalanced in terms of treble, mid, and bass proportion. And when being strummed she's overly tinny and echo-y on top of that. I'm currently considering selling her off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I remember she's always sounded like that. I've even treated her to a new handcarved vintage bone nut and a professional setup.

 

Did you try pulling the saddle and seeing if it's flat? If the ends or the center of the saddle aren't in contact with the bridge that could create the problem you're having.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My experience is 80/20 Bronze Martin SPs are a lot darker sounding/less bright than Phosphor Bronze, which are much brighter.

That corresponds to my experience, too, but apparently there's some confusion/disagreement that's not making sense to my aged/1970's-impaired brain. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you try pulling the saddle and seeing if it's flat? If the ends or the center of the saddle aren't in contact with the bridge that could create the problem you're having.

I just checked that. The saddle is dead-flat and beautifully carved, no technical issues there.

 

My suggestion is to try 80/20 Bronze strings by Martin or Martin SPs. Not phosphor bronze, just bronze.

 

Hope that helps.

As stated in my original post, the Martin SP were brighter than the sun and only made an already bright voice even brighter.

 

Just a thought, but if you still have the original saddle it might be worth dropping it back in just to see if that makes a difference.

The current saddle already is the original bone saddle the guitar came with. I checked it thoroughly for technical issues, but alas there were none.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sell it! You obviously aren't enthused about it's tone, and balance!

They are reasonably priced, and you can probably find another one, that

has all the missing tonal, and balance properties. Did you check out

several "Texans" when you bought yours, or did you get it from an on-line

dealer? I would never buy an acoustic (and very seldom an electric)

guitar from an on-line dealer, due to not being able to try out several

of the same model, in order to find the "right" one. But, that's just

Me! [biggrin]

 

I remember a time, in the "acoustic room," at a Guitar Center, in L.A.,

where I was trying out, different Gibson J-45's, and they ALL sounded

different! Some were very bright, other's more mellow/warm sounding,

and one was a total "dud!" So...??? And, no, it wasn't just the stings!

 

CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you check out several "Texans" when you bought yours, or did you get it from an on-line

dealer? I would never buy an acoustic (and very seldom an electric)

guitar from an on-line dealer, due to not being able to try out several

of the same model, in order to find the "right" one. But, that's just

Me! [biggrin]

This advice always cracks me up. If I wanted to check out "several" examples of any guitar it would involve traveling between at least four different cities at opposite ends of the country and probably having to cross over the border into Germany as well. Travel costs aside, how could I be sure that the guitar I'm testing today in Hamburg is better or worse than the two I played yesterday in Eindhoven and Den Haag? [biggrin]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...