I have a '92 Custom 24 that has what seems to be an overly responsive neck when it comes to pitch deflection when playing. This particular guitar is so easy to change the entire pitch with very little pressure on the neck. I was wondering if this could be an indicator of some more serious problem with the guitar/neck. Has anybody had a similar experience?
Neck seems overly responsive to pressure?
- Thread starter CE-man
- Start date
I have a nice AP hollowbody and it's the same way. I have/had several high end guitars and that it the answer. A quality instrument is more difficult to play.
justmund
Plank Spanker
Are you talking finger pressure on the strings causing them to go sharp when fretting a note/chord?
veinbuster
Zombie Three, DFZ
My old swamp ash will do the same if I'm not paying attention.
markie
Zombie 27 - DFZ
Just use the neck as a trem.................. good enough for ace frehley :biggrin:
veinbuster
Zombie Three, DFZ
Funny thing is I can control it better with the neck than a whammy bar.
No this is just from fretting chords for example. The pitch can fluctuate with just a minimal amount of movement. This particular guitar has remained unplayed for the last ten years or so. For those of you familiar with the old Gibson SG's, this is even worse. It's amazingly touch sensitive, more so than any other PRS I've ever owned, and this includes bolt-on's like my CE's and a Johnny Hiland. I just hope this isn't an indicator of something more insidious.
Just a theory:
Maybe the trem is pitching forward and moving as you fret with your hand, and not the neck, and that's what's causing it to go out of tune.
After all, it's a free floating device that uses simple springs to keep it in place, and therefore in tune. Metal springs will inevitably lose some of their ability to resist stretching over a period of many years. As you move your hand on the fretboard, this puts pressure on the springs as the strings move toward the frets, and if they have lost some of their tensile strength, you could be unknowingly pulling the trem out of its normal tuned position.
If your guitar has tremolo springs that came from the factory, I could imagine the springs needing some adjustment, or even replacement, after 22 years.
Maybe the trem is pitching forward and moving as you fret with your hand, and not the neck, and that's what's causing it to go out of tune.
After all, it's a free floating device that uses simple springs to keep it in place, and therefore in tune. Metal springs will inevitably lose some of their ability to resist stretching over a period of many years. As you move your hand on the fretboard, this puts pressure on the springs as the strings move toward the frets, and if they have lost some of their tensile strength, you could be unknowingly pulling the trem out of its normal tuned position.
If your guitar has tremolo springs that came from the factory, I could imagine the springs needing some adjustment, or even replacement, after 22 years.
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justmund
Plank Spanker
Are the notes going sharp or flat (or both)?
Do you have a Tremol-no or blocks of wood to take the trem out of the equation?
Also the statement that "A quality instrument is more difficult to play" is a bit of a generalization and I don't think it's is the answer. Of the guitars I've played, PRS are the easiest to play, due to action/fit/finish/etc. I also haven't noticed any difference in playability between PS/AP/Core/S2.
Do you have a Tremol-no or blocks of wood to take the trem out of the equation?
Also the statement that "A quality instrument is more difficult to play" is a bit of a generalization and I don't think it's is the answer. Of the guitars I've played, PRS are the easiest to play, due to action/fit/finish/etc. I also haven't noticed any difference in playability between PS/AP/Core/S2.
It might be at least worth a try to block the trem just to see.
markie
Zombie 27 - DFZ
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