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String / fret problem


gothsloth

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Hi, I have a sg-400 goth. When I fret the top (skinny) E at the fifth fret it produces a very muffled, almost dead tone. The fourth fret is similar though not nearly as bad as the fifth fret. It doesn't do it at any other fret or string.

 

I have checked the fret for looseness and it seems ok. Was thinking maybe if I raised the action a touch it might help. Any ideas or help solving this would sure be appreciated. :P

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Hi' date=' I have a sg-400 goth. When I fret the top (skinny) E at the fifth fret it produces a very muffled, almost dead tone. The fourth fret is similar though not nearly as bad as the fifth fret. It doesn't do it at any other fret or string.

 

I have checked the fret for looseness and it seems ok. Was thinking maybe if I raised the action a touch it might help. Any ideas or help solving this would sure be appreciated. :P [/quote']

 

I think you got a high fret, raising the action could help but leveling the frets by a tech is a better idea.

You could tap the high fret in with a rubber hammer if you know what you're doing.

 

Peter

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If you have a couple of uneven frets, they were either never properly levelled and dressed ...or they've since moved in transit and/or storage.

[Not unusual with new Asian guitars. It's all the environmental and climatic changes they experience between the factory and the customer ;^) ]

 

It's likely that the whole fretboard is less level than it could and should be.

Take it to a decent tech and get a good fret level and dress done. Won't cost a fortune and the guitar will probably play much better than you ever thought possible when it comes back #-o

 

It's not possible to overestimate the importance of good fret preparation. It's the heart of a good set up and is the difference between a guitar playing like a boutique beauty and a two by four !

Once the frets and the nut are right...everything else is really just turning screws to taste ;^).

Such is the basic constructional quality of today's "budget" instrument that with a little care and attention, most can be made to play just like the real deal. It's just a shame that many [most?] low cost guitars never get that care.

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Hey thank you Smokestack. I'll try to look at the 6th fret as suggested by daneman and try a little very light tapping with the rubber hammer....nothing to loose at this stage I would think. Then if that is successful or not, I will take it to a luthier and see if something can be done.

 

It could well be that the problem will effect the whole fretboard, in which case it is way to much for me to fix.

 

Your advice is taken onboard and I thank you very much for your advice. I look forward to playing what is potentially a very good guitar. #-o

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What Smoke said is probably right. You also may have a slight back bow that a truss rod adjustment could hide. Fret at the 1st fret and 15th fret and look at the clearance under the 8th. You should have at least .015 there. If you have perfectly level frets, you can get away with less, but not likely unless the axe has had a fret leveling job.

 

You can also fret each fret in succession, and then press on the next fret with your other hand. There should be roughly equal clearance under the next fret all the way up the neck. A high fret will be the one that doesn't have clearance. You can also prove this by sighting down the neck from bridge to toward the neck. A high fret will appear brighter than the others. Dane's playing card check will also reveal a high fret. It will rock when centered over the high one.

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Thanx Dave. I used a steel ruler to look at the fret heights and found the 1st and 2nd fret were higher. To my old eyes the rest looked ok. I am going to gently tap down on those two and see what difference it makes, but I will prob do what Smoke suggested and go to a guitar tech.

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Yep take it to a tech. Don't go hammering at those bottom two frets !

 

It's quite common for the first fret and possibly the second to be a gnat's higher. This can fool us into making inappropriate relief adjustments and doing all kinds of silly things if we don't properly understand the guitar's mechanics and geometry !

 

A guitar neck can be a slippery customer. Most can be made to behave... but we first have to understand what it's getting up to

 

 

 

O:)

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OK, my guitar is with the technician .... all the advice received from here has proven to be spot on ! Thank you all. The tech says he'll dress, level and set my guitar for $80 (australian), I thought that was a good deal. I'll pick it up on Monday and let you know how it is. :-({|=

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