Hodsonics Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Greetings. I have a 1970 ES 335 TDC which I have had since 1980. I have always had a love/hate relationship with it. When the open G string is plucked, the neck vibrates and the note feels and sounds unpleasant! I recently replaced the trapeze tailpiece with a stud which has helped a bit but even with that and a LARGE block of brass screwed to the back of the headstock, it is still not right. I could never bring myself to part with it though because I am left handed and mainly a bass player and it is now a part of the family. I am considering removing the fingerboard and putting in a couple of graphite rods in the neck. I've done it before to my equally bad '72 Precision bass with great results but would obviously prefer not to! Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Before you do anything drastic, take it to a good repairman for a look and a setup. It will be worth it if he can diagnose and fix the problem, which may be something as simple as a badly cut nut or a loose truss rod. I suspect the brass block is not making any difference. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodsonics Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 On 8/27/2020 at 12:08 AM, jdgm said: Before you do anything drastic, take it to a good repairman for a look and a setup. It will be worth it if he can diagnose and fix the problem, which may be something as simple as a badly cut nut or a loose truss rod. I suspect the brass block is not making any difference. Best wishes! Thanks for your reply. I'll try tweaking the truss rod to see what happens. In all these years I haven't adjusted it because I've never needed to! It's very stable in that respect. The brass block has made a noticeable difference and if I grip the headstock firmly it gets even better! It also needs a fret job. It was from that period when the rage was wide, flat frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 8 hours ago, Hodsonics said: ......and if I grip the headstock firmly it gets even better! I had the same thing on a guitar I bought 2 years ago; if I held the headstock or any of the tuning keys the vibration/buzz stopped. Turned out to be a machine head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 I'd look at the tuning machine for that G string. If the problem was in the neck itself all the strings would buzz or make an odd vibration noise. Probably not a serious problem, but a stock 50 year old tuning machine could easily have worn out or worked it's way loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodsonics Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 On 8/29/2020 at 8:10 PM, jdgm said: I had the same thing on a guitar I bought 2 years ago; if I held the headstock or any of the tuning keys the vibration/buzz stopped. Turned out to be a machine head. Thanks, I check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodsonics Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 On 9/14/2020 at 10:43 AM, Hodsonics said: Thanks, I check that out. Well thanks for that tip! The tuners are 50 years old and hardly smooth and with no rattles so I figured that the problem was somewhere else. I swapped the high E tuner for the G tuner and there was an instant improvement! I have ordered a new set of Kluson tuners. Now for a refret! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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