Crisis averted

[AnneS]

Thurs evening I changed my strings in preparation for a 3-hour gig (on the patio of my favorite bar/grille in town, where you sit 10 yds from the railroad tracks) scheduled for last night. You know the drill--change out the battery, tighten things, wipe everything down. No problem.

 

Everything seemed fine...until I strummed the first chord. The g string (not a euphemism, btw) sort of...well, quacked. We're not talking "buzz;" but something else--something I'd never before heard from a guitar. Perplexed and alarmed, I detuned the string, examined it, re-tuned, checked how it was seated, etc. Could not, at first, spot anything amiss.

 

Eventually, I saw it...an miniscule, almost microscopic, abnormality on the saddle--right where the string cuts across it. And then, with a sinking feeling, I recalled brushing off a light piece of something from the bridge, which I only noted because it was bigger than dust (not by much) and I had already been over that area with my cloth. I assumed it was lint.

 

(Note: I use a phospher bronze blue-grass blend on my maple J-100--DR Rares or D'addario EJ-19s. These were the DR Rares; specifically, the g string on that set is .24. The EJ-19s use a .25, and the typical medium g-string is .26.)

 

So now I'm sure it's the saddle, sure that nothing can be done in time for the gig (much less in time for the practicing I planned), sure that I'd have to borrow some Takamine or whatever else I could rustle up from a friend, sure that I'd be way off my game, sure that it might be better to re-schedule, etc.

 

Next morning, I call the fix-it shop, tell 'em what I think is going on, ask if it's worth bringing it in, just in case I'm wrong. The guy tentatively agrees with my diagnosis but we decide I should bring it in anyway. And on the drive over, I imagine all the ways that you can't fix this w/o replacing the saddle and w/o some interval of time in which to get it done, etc. But then...Waiting at the last stoplight before turning in to the shop, I wonder "What if I put on a heavier gauge? Would its bite prevent it from being affected by that e'er-so-slightly damaged area?"

 

Long story longer, the boys in the shop (who also marvelled at the odd quacking sound the string was making) agreed that the saddle was the culprit. Almost simultaneously, I and one of the guys said "Let's try a heavier string," so they dug up the only medium single g string in the shop-- .26 gauge nickel wound--and we all waited breathlessly (well, I exaggerate a bit) while it was tuned up to pitch. Ta-da..it worked!! Totally.

 

So, I practiced as planned and went to my gig last evening. Great fun was had by all. (Booked again for an August Sat night-- ) Drove my lovely jumbo as hard as I could, playing all the train songs I know.

 

With 5 bronze stings and 1 precious nickel. (A new bone saddle and nut are in my near future...)

 

Okay, now your turn: What's your best "the gig that almost didn't happen" story??

[QuestionMark]

Things happen all the time. Such as at the last moment the acoustic guitar pickup didn't work. This happenned at least twice (the next day both times I found the wiring in the jack of my guitar pickup had become unsoldered.) I now carry and extra pickup or guitar a pick up with me. Then, of course, I've also had the batteries in the the pickup go dead, so I always carry and extra set. Extra guitar and sound system cords are always extras to also bring with as the ones in use can (and have at times) decide they didn't want to clock into work that day or something (when I've least expected.)

 

By the way...your buzzing story was of interest to me as...on one of my guitars a buzzing that sounds like what yours was experiencing started happenning about two weeks ago. On the third string. For the past week in my spare time late at night I had been focusing on slightly raising the saddle (with a very thin plastic shim underneath), plus very slightly sanding down a little ridge in it...none of which stopped the buzz on the string. This morning I had a little bit more time to figure the thing out and determined that though the buzz sound was coming from the saddle, it really was derived from the third string groove in the nut having been worn down ever so slightly. I put a little bit of crazy glue in the third string nut groove to re-fill it (a pretty standard procedure) and sure enough when I put the string back on it...voila, no more buzz by the saddle.

 

These things can be temperamental. Likely, its the change in the weather or humidity which slightly changed the top of the guitar and the angle the saddle sits or something...or, slightly changed the neck angle to the top causing the action by the nut to slightly change...causing the string to just not get its proper tension over the nut and/or saddle. Filling in the nut groove a bit compensated it back to the proper angle.

 

In your case, putting on a heavier string (or strings) likely slightly increased the tension on the neck and the nut, slightly changing its angle...putting the proper tension for the guitar's set up in place. When you took the strings off to change them, the neck angle probably ever so slightly changed. (Possibly in combination from the strings being off and the existing humidity conditions...who knows.)

 

Another fix I could have done in lieu of slightly filling the nut groove, was to have adjusted the truss rod to slightly change the bow in the neck. But, on that particular guitar the nut (not the neck nut, the actual nut) on the truss rod is really worn (this is a pretty old and used guitar I had bought), so I was saving that option as a last resort.

 

On your guitar...a simple set up/truss rod adjustment might be all the guitar needs to stop its buzzing with lighter gauge strings.

 

Just thought I'd share...

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

[E-minor7]

Little tuft (almost) overturns big load.

 

Thanks for the story, many fine observations. Amazing sensitivity in a strezzed situation like that, and what a good thing you made it. 3 hours under the lights are quite something.

 

The almost cancelled circus event. He's a tale :

 

After a long drive arrived at the fairly big club in the right hour for 'get in' - No one was there ! Played the place a year before and everything had worked fine. Now faced the naked void. We split up and began searching alternative doors. Didn't know the venue that well, but eventually got inside and established contact with an common employee. He knew and could explain nothing !?

 

"We are supposed to play here this evening."

"I can't say anything."

"We have to talk to Rocky-Nelson - the boss himself."

"He's not here."

"We'll wait for him then – let's call him on his phone."

 

Here things dissolved in some kind of haze. Some phoned the booking agency others Nelson and even the Union. Band-members sat disorientated in the bus staring into thin air or trying 'do something' in this vacuum. It was before mobile-phones and mini-computers and no one could walk too far away in case a solution occurred. I sneaked around inside the building and found myself on the upper floor when suddenly vague music came ooozing from the DJ-speakers. Tiptoed to the balcony and gazed down upon the bar area like a phantom. There I saw a smaller boxing-ring sat up on the middle of the dance floor. And in the middle of it, an impressive black strip-tease dancer, who most elegantly was doin' her jive. Nobody else in the room 'cept the pimpernelish E-minor7 and, , , a very serious looking manager type. The girl was in purple, he wore a hat. Admit my jaws dropped - what the heck was goin' on. . . Then after 10 minutes or so the show stopped and the 2 of them retreated out of my eyesight. Can't remember what happened next, but at some point I returned to the scene, went to the backstage chamber (also located upstairs) and opened the door. Here I saw the rather offensive manager standing in front of the still purple dressed dancer, who had her back pressed against the wall. In a state of half chock, I immediately closed the door and backed off. Guess I went down to the bus to call the others who didn't know the slightest thing about what was goin' on here. In the meantime some from our tripe had entered the building and were on their way up the stairs. Not to the backstage room, but to an locked and 'silent' office, , , with someone fumbling with a drawer inside. Remember we stood on the gangway and began talking through the wooden door.

"We know you are in there – we can hear you."

After a while – and some threats of police and union involvement, the boss gave in and started communicating.

"Yes yes, we do as planned – you can play tonite." He said, , , and eventually came out – (had club-foot, I'm sorry, but he had).

 

And so it turned out. The gear was arranged, we went through sound-check and came back to start the 3-set gig 6 or 7 hours later - between 11 and midnight. Found out in the meantime that a huge name was performing on the other side of the street and that the boss might have been afraid no one would come to our show before later.

A theory - maybe right, maybe wrong.

 

The strip show ? An afternoon afterwork offer for people on their way home to celebrate weekend. Not a soul seemed to know – and what a bloody shame the girl had to put up with a jerk like that hat-man. . .

 

 

 

[EuroAussie]

Thats a good story and good thinkin' 99 !

 

For me the gig that almost never happened was actually our last gig at a new venue.

 

We were playing through a PA so i took with me the SWD, fishama aura spectrum and two boss pedals that i use: chorus and EQ.

 

For some strange reason at soundcheck I was just getting a very faint signal when this rig plugged into the board. First gave them a an XLR out, the 1/4, same thing. Unhooked the boss pedals still same issue.

 

Last chance was forgoing the Spectrum and Boss pedals and just plugging the SWD direct with a 1/4 into the board. Finally that worked, luckily, and the sound was still very good with the inbuilt prefix plus pup.

 

Still dont know what happened, tried this rig again at home and all seemed fine next day ..

[TommyK]

I had a similar situation where a string got a quack or croak in it's voice just after a wipe down. Close examination revealed a bit of fuzz from the wipe-down cloth had attached itself and encircled the off-voiced string. It spun around the string like a hula hoop when the string vibrated. Carefully I picked it off, problem solved.

 

Bottom line, though, get the saddle replaced as soon as practical. Eventually, the, apparently, disintegrating saddle will be further gouged by the heavier string, not to mention the saddle underneath the other strings is just as old and brittle and given to failure at the least convenient moment. How many heavier gauge strings do you carry with you? A saddle replacement shouldn't be that expensive. The part is only a few dollars. Half a hour of shop time to fit and shape the new saddle. New strings are a necessity, so add the cost of your favorite brand and weight of strings.

 

 

An aside: "Not To Mention" is a curious turn of phrase. We use it to refer to something which we intend to not mention, then we mention it... curious. :huh:

[AnneS]

Half a hour of shop time to fit and shape the new saddle. New strings are a necessity, so add the cost of your favorite brand and weight of strings.

 

 

An aside: "Not To Mention" is a curious turn of phrase. We use it to refer to something which we intend to not mention, then we mention it... curious. :huh:

Yup, will have the saddle (and nut, it being essentially of the same age and material) replaced very soon.

 

Also curious turns of phrase, suffering from the same symptoms you point out, are:

 

"Certain" (when used to sound as if we're being more specific when, in fact, we're being pointedly NOT specific, as in: "So I turned to a certain friend of mine...") and

 

"It goes without saying." (I like, when walking around a bustling city with a friend or two, to point at passing articulated buses and say this aloud. Wouldn't suggest trying this while crossing a busy street however, as your friend is likely to stop dead in his tracks for a moment, which can be dangerous...)