P20E, really loud overtones ringing

Lehik

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2018
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8
Hello fellows,

I recently noticed that when I play certain chords on my P20E, especially the ones where the high e and b strings are open (like Asus2 for example), I'm hearing quite loud "howl" of overtones/harmonics over the chord. There's a huge difference between different chords, for example a G major sounds very balanced and it doesn't seem to have any such frequencies that would come over too loud. The problem is very audible especially when using the piezo mic, but is noticeable unplugged too.

I had changed the strings about a month ago and I think I noticed the problem like few weeks ago. As I was looking for a solution, I swapped in a new set of (different brand, same gauge) strings, but it didn't fix the problem.

Can changes humidity cause such problems?
 
Can you post a sample? That might help.

A couple things I'd check - tune down a half step, capo the first fret and see if the problem recurs. Does it happen w/the B and E strings alone? If so, does it happen when you play those same notes in different positions on the neck?

I'm thinking it's some kind of sympathetic vibration coming from somewhere on the guitar. You could try snugging the truss rod (not enough of a turn to adjust it, just enough to make sure it's snug. Check the tuners, saddle, etc. to see if you can figure out if it's coming from a specific area on the guitar. It's hard to do when you're playing it, but you may be able to record and move relative to the mic to see if anything jumps out at you.
 
Thanks for your suggestions.

Sure, here (recorded with a phone mic, but at least I can hear it on the video too):

I tried tuning down a half step. The same phenomenon was audible right away even with the Eb tuning (albeit with lower sound, naturally) and also when capoing the first fret to "make it back" to standard tuning. The noise can be heard also when playing the E and B notes from the 9th fret of the D and G strings (while muting the other strings), so it's safe to stay that it happens all over the fretboard.

I'll check the other stuff (truss rod, tuners etc. next).
 
Thank you. Based on your results, it definitely sounds like you've got some kind of sympathetic vibration going on (thus the tuning and playing over the neck). Finding it is going to be the hard part. If you can hear it on the phone, it actually might be easier because w/the camera, you'll have a visual reference of where it seems louder.

Since that A chord rings out pretty nicely, you should be able to hit it and touch various parts of the guitar to see if you can make the overtones go away - saddle pins, the guitar top. Headstock's a little tougher, but anything you can do that helps narrow it down would help.

I feel your pain, though - those sounds can drive you crazy. I had an acoustic that was making a buzzing noise sometimes when I played, and I talked to a guitar guru about it and he looked at it and couldn't quite find it. He handed me the guitar and said, "Can you make it happen?" I played a little bit and there it was, and he said, "Yeah - it's you. It's the way you're hitting it." Sure enough, slight technique change, and it doesn't happen very often anymore. But that was an easy one.
 
Thanks for your insights.

Adjusting the truss rod or the tuners didn't have any effect on the....effect. Some screws on the tuners could be easily tightened a bit, but no difference on the sound.

It sounds as if the sound is coming somewhere around the saddle, but I'm not sure (yet). Will check with camera + mic at some point.
 
Just to add to what Alan said. It may be something as simple as the wiring in the body, resonating against to the top or sides (sympathetically or unsympathetically, you choose).

A luthier friend had an ES175 in his workshop, with a similar problem. He got me to play it to try and diagnose the problem, whilst he listened. Turned out to be the wiring, but only at certain frequencies.

Best of luck troubleshooting it.
 
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