rubbertherightway Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I have recently purchased 2 Gibson’s- 1 les paul standard and an SG standard. Both are beautiful guitars Flawless except one issue… The high E string rolls off the frets onto the binding when doing hammer on’s / pull-off’s. It makes a very annoying “click.” As a blues and classic rock player this is unacceptable. The high e string also has a tendency to slip off onto the bindings during regular play as well. While I only play guitar as a hobby, I have been playing for some 20 years and have never had this issue on the countless guitars I have owned. Is there any “easy” fix for this problem via routine adjustments? I have been doing a bit of research on this issue, and many players have gone so far as to re-fret the guitar. What a shame! Any advice??? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xuestor Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Does is pop out of the nut aswell, or does the string only get caught beneath the binding? Gibsons have a narrower fretboard compared to Ibanez and other guitars. It might only be something you will get used to and it won't happen after a few plays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I had that problem with a Fender once, but never a Lester. hmmmm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Happens to me no matter what the brand or model it is, if you get too heavy handed or heavy vibrato. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubbertherightway Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 Thanks for all of the quick replies... The string does stay in the nut, it just slides off of the fret onto the bindings resulting in a "click" It could be something I just need to get used to...? Has anyone else had this issue? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarjunky Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I've had this problem. Happened a couple of times. I play Fender Strats also. Just learn to press up slightly. You need to adjust to different guitars. They aren't all prefect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 This can happen on both sides of the fretboard, but you only notice it on the 1st string as the string is thin enough to snag on the tiny gap between fret end and the binding. The thinner the string, the more likely it will happen. I always used a set of 9s on my Custom, and I used to find it annoying but it's a case of adapting. If you like to use a lot of vibrato on the 1st string, you can change the more normal 'wide' vibrato to more of an upward bend / release / upward etc. Some people have refrets that overlap the binding like a Yamaha SG2000. This removes the problem, but of course it loses that classy looking Gibson style binding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compodude Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 this sometimes happens on my epiphone les paul, the high e goes off the fretboard and gets trapped on one of the frets(3rd i think) is there any solution to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 this sometimes happens on my epiphone les paul, the high e goes off the fretboard and gets trapped on one of the frets(3rd i think) is there any solution to this? Sounds like the string is getting stuck under a loose fret that has raised off the edge of the fretboard - A good Fret Level and Dress by a local luthier can correct this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRom Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I had a custom shop 336 that tended to do that but I was able to adjust my playing style a little bit and it wasn't an issue any more. When the SG fadeds first came out I got one and I thought the fret were a little sharp feeling on the ends so I brought it to a luthier to have them filed 'down a little bit. He took just a little too much off and the high E tended to slip off afterwords. That was a live and learn experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bol316 Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Does is pop out of the nut aswell' date=' or does the string only get caught beneath the binding? Gibsons have a narrower fretboard compared to Ibanez and other guitars. It might only be something you will get used to and it won't happen after a few plays?[/quote'] Ironic (to me) that you bring up Ibanez. I was at a Satriani concert and he did something, pulled off too hard I think he said, and the high e got under one of his frets and completely pulled it out of the board mid-song. He got mad and just walked off. We had no idea what the problem was til he walked back with a different guitar and explained what happened. I used to have an Ibanez RG but i really struggled with the neck. I liked the rest of it and the sound of it though. Great guitars for the right person I suppose you could say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britabe Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 i have this same problem on my 2008 Traditional. really kind of odd and sad. eventually i will have my luthier cut a new nut that compensates for this anomaly as i did on my tele. the good news is that it is a 50's style neck so i have plenty of room to close down the spacing at the nut. in the meantime i too have had to adjust my feel for it and isnt a tremendous problem but as i said, when i am ready to go to a bone nut i will have it compensated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantplayyet Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I dunno, I'm pretty new to playin, but if youre bendin so much its goin off the fret board, bend UP. Ya have a whole inch and a half there to bend the E string. I dont think its got nuthin to do with your nut. I would think that youd kink a string and like Joe Satch did, pull out a fret wire.. How bowt just goin up a few frets so ya dont have to bend off the fretboard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubbertherightway Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 Well I have gotten used to it a bit after 8 hours or so yesterday. Of course I bend upward on the top string - the issue is when doing hammer/pulls. I guess I was just a bit sloppy before. My strat makes similar movemoents seem easy. I guess I am still a bit dissapointed in this one aspect - it seems that with a little more effort gibson could have really made these things flawless. Anyways - thanks for all of the of your thoughts. I am gonna take it to my local tech tomorrow and have her dialed in a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ics1974 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 This happens on my SG as well from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneil Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 sometimes the grooves on the saddles of the tunomatic bridge are not in the perfect place . you can see on the picture that my guitar has been modified slightly.... mine had the opposite problem to yours, it was to close to the b string causing the string to choke to choke when bending due to the curvature of the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar232007 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I had the same problem with my Strat, because the fretboard was made too narrow around the 17th fret, but to compensate, I had my guitar tech slide the nut just slightly to the bass side (a little less than a milimeter), that helped, A LOT! But for an LP, bigneil has the best solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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