Got a guitar with a "jangly" high "E" string....any advice???

[onewilyfool]

Guitar (shall remain nameless) has wonderful sound across the top 5 strings, even, but the high "E" string sounds louder and somewhat jangly to my ears....I do have some tinitus so I am completely open to this being about my own ears, lol, but any strange methods you guys want to offer (like wrapping the ball end of the string in rubber...lol) anything to tone down that pesky "E"string? Note, short scale neck, plastic pins, d-Addario EJ 16 strings PB, bone saddle...any help appreciated...Wily

[milod]

I always look in a deal like this for anything "loose" that might allow the string to be a bit odd in its behavior or inside the box, and technically that could include nut, bridge, any electronics/wires if it's AE...

 

I'll never forget the brain-wracking time I had with a buzz from a hollowbody jazz box and it drove me nuts, went through the amp even as well as acoustic. Literally ages later, I discovered it was the pick guard barely touching the pup ring on the bridge pup. A little bit of felt between the guard and the ring and voila! But it's one of the last things I would have imagined...

 

But in this case I'd tend to wonder more about the nut...

 

m

[dchristo]

do a youtube video and we will be able to tell if its you or your guitar

[Guest J-Doug]

wire cutters...?

[RusRob]

I just switched to using D'Adderio custom lites from Martin lites and noticed the same thing on my Gibson LG-0 and Martin D-18.

 

I first switched them on my Gibson and thought it was a saddle issue so I polished up the saddle but the jangle was still there... I just put a new set of the same strings on my D-18 and it has the same thing.

 

Have had them on the LG-0 for a couple of weeks now and the strings are going dead I notice it doesn't ring as much.

 

I am now thinking it is the D'Adderio strings.

[merseybeat1963]

Try a different brand of strings maybe.

[mountainpicker]

The more I think about this one the more I think it's the way the high E nut slot is cut or has worn or if a fret is starting to have a wear groove which might allow the string to "rattle" around in the groove minutely getting that sound. Does it only jangle when the string is unfretted? If so I'd get a magnifying glass and compare the nut slot for that string with ones on your other guitars that don't have the problem. Maybe the slot has gotten so big that the string can move around more than it should (or, conversely, you've gone with a lighter guage string creating the same effect?). Also, I seem to recall Frank Ford mentioning something in frets.com under "looking for buzzes" about putting something in the nut slot to alleviate a buzz but I haven't taken the time to investigate there for you. The other thing I was thinking was that sometimes I get a jangly sound out of my high E string when I change the angle of attack on certain songs and am trying to be more percussive or when I'm messing around just seeing what kind of different sounds I can get. Another thought is a lifting fret somewhere above the fretted note. Just some thoughts. I sure am interested in what it turns out to be. Good luck finding it.

[RusRob]

@mountainpicker,

 

You raise some good points about buzzing and odd noises. It very well may be the issue with onewilyfool's problem, however I just switched out the high E string on my Martin with a Martin string from a new set of M530 Extra Lite (10-47) set and the "jangle" is gone. The offending string was from a set of D'Adderio EJ15 Extra Lite (10-47) So in my case I am pretty sure it was the string. I have the same D'Adderios on my Gibson LG-0 (bought at the same time) and it also had the same "Jangle". It wasn't nearly as annoying on my LG-0 so I didn't swap them out and now that the strings are dulling down the noise is not there anymore.

 

I just finished this Martin with a neck reset, re-fret, new bridge, new bone saddle and nut so it is pretty fresh. I am also very picky about my work and am very confident the nut is slotted correctly and the guitar is set up correctly for lite strings. It has only been about 8 months since I finished my LG-0 so that is also pretty fresh.

 

One thing I did do was try putting an extra ball end on the first string on my martin. thinking it may have been where the winding was going through the bridge. As soon as I put some tension on the string the string snapped right were it is wound around the ball end. So that makes me think that the D'Adderio strings have a defect in them. Since Both sets I bought had that same noise it may a bad run of strings.

 

I have used D'Adderio's for years now and have always preferred them over others. I do think Martins are great sounding strings but they go dead really fast.

 

Anyway, that is what I found out in my situation.

 

 

 

@onewilyfool.

 

Have you tried swapping out that string for something else or did you find the source of your "Jangle" I did try smoothing my saddle using some 600 grit sandpaper but that didn't help any (my sound appeared to be coming from the lower end of my guitar but I couldn't pinpoint it to a specific location.

[onewilyfool]

I'm trying different strings and.....TONERITE!! see if I can shake that jangle out!!!