Bernie Marsden sustain..

[Gary Thompson]

Hi all. Looking for possible answers.. my 2017 Bernie sounds very dull and is hard to play especially unplugged. String height seems ok? Neck looks ok has no string buzz either., Has 10s on it as standard. Compared with my Epiphone les Paul it just feels a total effort.. any ideas? Upgrades?? Thanks

 

[bodia]

I had the exact opposite experience with my Bernie. It was loud and resonant when played unplugged, and the short scale made bending a breeze. As a matter of fact, the day I bought it I actually was at GC to buy a Les Paul. I played every single Gibson and Epi LP that they had in stock, that was less than $3k, and didn't find a winner in the bunch. I was ready to walk when I noticed the Bernie on the other wall. Associate got it down for me and I played it for about 10 minutes, unplugged, and walked out the door with it.

 

[WEDGE]

Usually when a guitar is dull it is the setups fault. Given that the strings are.mot dead.

 

[kevin65]

Never had this issue with my Bernie, but replacing the original bridge with a Mannmade adjustable stoptail bridge was a big improvement in sustain. It's not cheap, but you pay for quality.

 

[AP515]

Put 9's on it.

 

[ScottR]

Never had a Bernie but...I've owned a few 245s and they all have/had KILLER sustain. I'm gonna have to agree, it's most likely a set-up or dead string issue.