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New 61' Reissue


Harrybob

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Hey everybody, so about a week ago I bought a new/used '61 reissue, which I think was made in 2001. The serial number is 017870499 and I have sadly been having some problems with it. So heres the backstory.

 

I went into a local used guitar store planning on spending around 700 dollars for a new guitar. I had been playing a squire strat for three years (I was lucky enough to get one of the much better squires or I would have likely jumped off a bridge having to play it every day for three years) and was intent on buying a new guitar of my own. My dad owns three awesome guitars, and I'm lucky enough to have the ability to play a 56' LP jr. whenever I want along with two other acoustics. However breaking out in a nervous sweat while playing a guitar of that level which technically is not yours can be a bet nerve wracking, and I was almost afraid to have fun with it so I set out to buy my own.

 

I eventually wound up shelling out a lot more cash than expected buying a 94' PRS CE 24 and returning it a week later for the gibson, for me only a gibson is good enough I suppose[biggrin]. Its just my favorite guitar, I knew I wanted an SG as just everything about them is perfect for me, from the skinny body to the weight to the way it looks and feels. After bringing home the 01' 61' reissue I've been having a great time playing it every day, the thing looks flawless and feels great, however both I and my dad have noticed the darn thing never sounds in tune as much as it feels amazing to play. It has brand new strings on it and was professionally set up the day we bought it, and even though the tuner says it is in tune we both know something sounds off. I figure this is something that can easily be fixed by bringing it into the shop, but I figured I'd ask here as well as make this a sort of introduction to the forum. Heres the only picture I have of it on my computer.

 

th.5e43e3230f.jpg

 

Edit-sorry for the monster size pic haha.

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Hi, and welcome to the forum.

 

This is a common problem and can be hard to spot with some guitars and some guitarists and could be what you are experiencing.

My '61 SG RI can do the same if I don't watch how I play it; it is caused by the hight of the frets and when you finger a note/chord if you use to much pressure it can cause the note(s) to go sharp and sound out of tune.

I normally like to have 10 - 30 thou taken off new frets before I am comfortable with the feel of a new guitar. I am one of the people who like to feel the fretboard under my fingers so I prefer low wide frets as opposed to thin tall ones.

 

Hope this helps

 

T21

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Yea, that sounds like it could be the problem because I notice it sounds more out of tune when my dad plays it than when I do. I was assuming it had to do with us accidentally bending the strings since they are .09 and I'm used to .10 as well as my dad who is used to pressing down harder on the fretboard, and besides the sound I'm really liking the feel of .09. Would switching back to thicker string possibly have an effect on this odd problem? Thanks for the quick reply[biggrin] Also I was wondering if I was right about the 01' date? I suck at serial numbers haha.

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I use 9's on everything except my 12 srting and my acoustic... 9's are good but not everyone likes 'em.

 

10's would go some way to lessening the problem and 11's would probably get rid of it at the expense of bending notes... But if you can afford it, have the frets taken down by a decent Luthier/Guitar Tech, it shouldn't cost much and the improvement would be well worth the cost in my opinion.

Just explain your problem to them, show them what is happening and let them take the frets down and I always have the crowns a little flater rather than totally rounded.

 

As for your serial number : -

Your guitar was made at the

Nashville Plant, TN, USA

June 27th, 2007

Production Number: 199

 

Cheers

 

T21

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I bought a '61 reissue about 8 months ago and have some experience on the issues. These guitars are great but they are not like others and you need to learn how they work.

 

1) mine would always seem to go out of tune . I tried everything and after about 3 months of trying this and that and I finally figured out why. Always tune up to the note. I haven't had to remember that since I was a kid (not for 30 years now). This ain't no strat. If you tune down then you the headstock angle will cause some of the string between the nut and the tuner to be looser than the string between the nut and the bridge. And then when you bend a note you will pull that loose string back over the nut and go out of tune. I suppose filing the fret would work too but I won't trust anyone on that just now.

 

2) other thing I figured out is that it's top heavy and so if your hands let the neck go (even a little) the guitar will shift and your finger will land on the wrong place on the next note. The fixes for that are quite important

a) for up and down movement -

i)use a wide leather strap for extra friction

ii) i opened the back plate and used some electrical tape to put in about $2.00 worth of quarters there to keep the weight down. Some recommend adding a bigbsby instead (a vibramate will let you get a bigbsy on in a flash without irreversable mods/holes). Remember these guitars were made to have the maestro tail piece. Without it you need to do "something" in my opinion.

 

[biggrin] for side to side movement which is very imporant- adjust the height so that the part of your arm just below the elbow adds enough pressure to keep the neck forward where you expect it to stay. Too low and your arm will need to work to keep it in position and it will feel awkward. Too high and it's just goofy. There's a middle spot that's just right and you won't even notice your arm is filling this role.

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... it is caused by the hight of the frets and when you finger a note/chord if you use to much pressure it can cause the note(s) to go sharp and sound out of tune. ...

 

Yep.

 

Also - even sometimes when setup by a pro, some (or one) of the nut slots are't cut deep enough. When you finger a chord, particularly below the 5th fret, the fingered string/s get stretched enough to go a bit to sharp and sound out of tune with the strings that aren't fingered.

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Just went out and bought some regular slinky Ernie Ball strings, I'll be sure to tell everyone if they fix the problem. I'm pretty sure it is pressing too hard, because as I go up on the fretboard, or down depending how you look at it (towards the body) it sounds better.

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Also - even sometimes when setup by a pro' date=' some (or one) of the nut slots are't cut deep enough. When you finger a chord, particularly below the 5th fret, the fingered string/s get stretched enough to go a bit to sharp and sound out of tune with the strings that aren't fingered.

 

[/quote']

Exactly right.

 

And also with the nut slots you need to lubricate them (NOT WD40) get a proprietary lubricant especially on a new guitar so that the string will return back to its original place after bending.

 

...Clicky Here for slippy stuff to stick on yer nut...

 

If the strings are all still in tune after you have been experiencing the out of tune thing while playing then it's fret height and finger pressure and if they are out of tune when you have finished playing then either sticking nut slots, new un-stretched strings or strings not on the machinehead posts correctly and are slipping.

 

Well, apart from “trem” problems that just about covers all aspects of strings out of tune after playing.

 

 

T21

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I may have missed it, but one VERY important thing not discussed here is body/neck bend. A lot of people don't even know they do this, they're aware of it when they grab the headstock and push it in for detuning effects, but you can do this to much slighter (yet quite discernible) degrees just by being lazy and letting the neck support your arm while your hand is holding it. SG guitars lend themselves well to this problem since they are so thin. I would give this some serious thought and attention, you may have to adjust how you play a little bit. I'm a 30 year Tele player and have a couple of Les Pauls as well as an SG and the SG is by far the most susceptible to this issue.

 

I play 11s on my guitars and don't suffer any on my bends and neither does Gregor Hilden, he uses 11s on his stuff and you see by watching his stuff on YouTube that he has no trouble getting the bends/vibrato he wants. It takes a few weeks+/- to get used to the heavier strings and some set-up tweaking, but the tone and tuning stability are more than worth the effort.

 

Good luck!!

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Exactly right.

 

And also with the nut slots you need to lubricate them (NOT WD40) get a proprietary lubricant especially on a new guitar so that the string will return back to its original place after bending.

 

...Clicky Here for slippy stuff to stick on yer nut...

 

If the strings are all still in tune after you have been experiencing the out of tune thing while playing then it's fret height and finger pressure and if they are out of tune when you have finished playing then either sticking nut slots' date=' new un-stretched strings or strings not on the machinehead posts correctly and are slipping.

 

Well, apart from “trem” problems that just about covers all aspects of strings out of tune after playing.

 

 

T21

 

 

[/quote']

 

I have to go with T21. 11's are a little hefty. I use hybrids 9 tops & 10 bottoms and they work great on my SG's. I would have a hard time doing a 1 1/2 step bend with 11's. I already use 3 fingers w/ 9's IMHO P.S. My SG's came stock with this ga. strings and the nuts are cut accordingly.

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