D String Weirdness

[rjoxyz]

Some may recall my dissapointment with the tone of a Morgan Monroe M-50 dread I picked up awhile back. I described it as a compressed, boxy, nasally tone. Last thing I expected with a guitar of this design and construction.

I have played around with strings and the tone has improved to some degree.

 

Here's the really weird part: The D string when played open, has a very boxy and nasally/honking kind of tone that is very different than all the other open strings. When fretted anywhere on the neck, the D strings sounds fairly normal. Chords which leave the D string open are dominated by the objectional tone of the D and sound very odd. Chords with the D string fretted, sound relatively normal.

 

I am stymied by this D string mystery. Could it be something to do with a bone nut of uneven density (given it sounds normal fretted)? Has anyone encountered one string that sounds like it is from an entirely different guitar? Any thoughts at all?

[Treborklow]

Well certainly bone is not always uniform in it's density and there could be a "bad" spot where the D sits on yours. But before replacing with Tusq or something else, I would try a few different brands of strings and see if that may be the problem. You might just find a brand that works well with that guitar as it is. Could it just be the D slot needs attention, like cutting?

[Cripes]

Yep. I had a Larrivee OMV-09E that had a B string doing exactly the same thing. I also experimented with "fixes" such as a new B string from various makes and of varying gauges, different bridge pins in that position, inspections of tuner, saddle, nut, braces, my ears, room humidity, yada yada...

 

Sold it.

[garthman]

Could be the D slot in the nut is the problem?

[rjoxyz]

Well certainly bone is not always uniform in it's density and there could be a "bad" spot where the D sits on yours. But before replacing with Tusq or something else, I would try a few different brands of strings and see if that may be the problem. You might just find a brand that works well with that guitar as it is. Could it just be the D slot needs attention, like cutting?

 

 

So far, I have tried about 5 different sets of Mediums on it. Some imroved the overall boxy sound. So far, Martin phos/bronze SPs (have never been a fan of them, actually) have given it the best tone overall. However, the obnoxious D string, when played open, dominates every chord and colors it with the objectional tone I described. Can't understand why one string would be so different in general tone and be so dominant and dischordant with the others.

[DeepEnd]

I have a similar issue with the G. Open, it just sounds different from the other strings--louder, more harsh. I'm currently using d'Addario PB's.

[Cripes]

Can't understand why one string would be so different in general tone and be so dominant and dischordant with the others.

 

That particular frequency range has got to be the thing causing the guitar to give more than the others and it's because of the guitar itself. No expert here, but after trying various things to cure my dominant B string, and failing, I gave up. It was probably that way when I bought the guitar but GAS can be an impediment to sound (literally) judgement. Since then, I'm very careful to ring out each string up and down the fret board.

[Hudman]

It sounds like you have a nut slot issue or a saddle issue.

 

Nut: Remove the string and use a piece of an old D string like a file in the D slot if you don't own a small file. Use it like dental floss in the slot (pull it back and forth). That will help shape the bottom of the slot and clear out any debris that may be there.

 

Saddle: Remove the saddle and make sure there is no splinters or other debris in the saddle slot. Also make sure the saddle slot surface is flat. You can use a small flat head screw driver to scrape the slot surfae. Just use a light touch. You can use compressed air to clear debris.