Members emcrae Posted July 13, 2009 Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 I've been restoring/partially relicing a 72 thinline tele for a while now. Just piddling with it a little along when I felt like it. Over the last couple of weeks, got a fire under my ass and decided to jump back on it and finish it up. Converted it to dual humbuckers with SD59 in the neck and an SD JB in the bridge....wired them in last night. So......spent most of the day today putting it all back together, adjusting truss rod, setting action, adjusting pickups, etc. I had some cheap new Rogue electric strings in my studio and decided just to use them to string it up and get it set up and play a little bit. I can always change later. Just didnt wanna screw up an expensive set of strings going back and forth with setup adjustments. So....here's my dilema. All setup with nice action.......but the bottom (high) "E" string has got a terrible twang/wang to it when struck open.....and ONLY open. Fret it from the 1st fret on down and it sounds fine. So, at first I naturally thought the maybe the nut was too low or that string had settled down a little too deep into the nut and was barely buzzing on the 1st fret. So...I shimmed the nut and raised it up to make sure it couldnt hit the 1st fret and it's still doing it. It's not fret buzz and it's not that the nut is too low. What else could this possibly be? Thanks for any suggestions. This one is driving me crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members emcrae Posted July 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 Oh...and to maybe help clarify the sound this is making.......it sounds sorta like the way a string will sound if you get a piece of lint or thread on it while playing. Anyone who wipes their strings regulary will know what I'm talking about there because you sometimes wind up leaving a piece of fuzz or two from the towel on your strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted July 13, 2009 Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 It's only happening when you are playing the string open? I'd check your nut. I'm thinking it isn't seating properly in the grove and you are getting some freaky vibrating. Also make sure you don't have anything loose on your headstock, like a string tree or a nut on your tuner, but I'm really leaning toward something with the nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike42 Posted July 13, 2009 Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 I believe I would try another string on there before I did a bunch of other stuff - even if it was the wrong gauge it would confirm the problem, or let you know the string might be the prob.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alex9152 Posted July 13, 2009 Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 When my Tele had that same problem, I figured out it was the nut. How can the string cause that? I took nail polish and filled the slot with it while the string was still in. I worked but I wouldn't recommend doing it because it's crazy. It might have worked because it filled the nut slot and probably kept the string from vibrating in the slot causing the wang-twang noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members emcrae Posted July 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 Yeah...thanks for the input. I had basically come to the same conclusions myself figuring that maybe the nut slot was too big or too deep and causing some crazy vibrations. But I had wondered as well if a bad string would do that. That's why I was specific about what strings I used when I wrote the original post. The strings were new in the package but I've had them in the studio for a few years. I've just never run into a "bad string" issue before so I wasnt certain if that could even be a viable cause for this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members emcrae Posted July 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 When my Tele had that same problem, I figured out it was the nut. How can the string cause that?I took nail polish and filled the slot with it while the string was still in. I worked but I wouldn't recommend doing it because it's crazy. It might have worked because it filled the nut slot and probably kept the string from vibrating in the slot causing the wang-twang noise. LOL!!! Thanks for that suggestion. Decided to give that a try but didnt have any clear nail polish so I used a drop of super glue and I'll be damned if it didnt work!!!!!! I never woulda thought of that in a million years. So now I know where my problem is. Think I'll just get one of the Graphtechs to replace it......but for the time being, the superglue is working. Thanks again.Thank you all for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted July 13, 2009 Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 LOL!!! Thanks for that suggestion. Decided to give that a try but didnt have any clear nail polish so I used a drop of super glue and I'll be damned if it didnt work!!!!!! I never woulda thought of that in a million years. So now I know where my problem is. Think I'll just get one of the Graphtechs to replace it......but for the time being, the superglue is working. Thanks again. Thank you all for your input. It's probably just that the lead edge of the slot is worn, meaning that the last place the hits isn't the very front edge of the nut, but slightly inwards. You could probably get away with just binging the slot down a touch to match the lead edge. If that takes it too low, it can be filled with superglue and baking soda. Fill the slot with soda and then put a drop of glue in. It will harden instantly because those two react with each other chemically. Then recut the slot. Also it doesn't surprise me that your superglue experiment didn't work. CA cures by bonding with microscopic droplets of water on the surface of what you are gluing and water in the air. It will take forever for a drop that size to harden in the middle with out an accelerator. That's why baking soda is used when filling slots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members emcrae Posted July 13, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks for the baking soda tip. I'll have to remember that one. But the superglue did work......and I've been playing it for over an hour now straight and it's still holding up fine. I'm probably gonna step up to 11's when I restring it anyway and I'm thinking that larger string may solve the problem in itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Harlem Posted March 24, 2020 Members Share Posted March 24, 2020 I had the same “sitar twang” on the e string. On a piece of cardboard I mixed the baking soda and crazy glue. Using the sharp edge of a pen knife I put a very small amount into the fret groove. A very small amount. Hardened instantly and solved the problem. I cannot emphasize enough that only a tiny, tiny amount is needed in the slot. Problem solved. Thanks MrBrown49!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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