General Music Chat

Well It was bound to happen sooner than later...

On my High E (1st) , there are two frets in the upper positions, where the string now mutes, when pressed, and has lost its resonance. The neck doesn't 'appear to be warped, but that is prolly deceiving... Its starting to happen on the B (2nd) string as well.

Any ideas as to what's going on?

Nope . . . did you change the strings?

Nope . . . did you change the strings?

Maybe 6 weeks ago. They sound fine everywhere but on those two frets.. Me thinks its a warp. It could be in the bridge. When I line up the strings from the side view, thay are all even but for the 1st one, which is dropped a little lower/closer to the fret board.
But the neck doesnt appear to be warped

It does not take a visible warp to throw things a few thousandths out I'd be inclined to raise the saddle a hair and then check everything with some feelers.

Could be one of two things.

The nut needs to be recut, or you have grooved the fret.

Its interesting to take the strings off of a guitar and look at what chords you play mostly, in my case E, A and D!

Nope . . . did you change the strings?

Maybe 6 weeks ago. They sound fine everywhere but on those two frets.. Me thinks its a warp. It could be in the bridge. When I line up the strings from the side view, thay are all even but for the 1st one, which is dropped a little lower/closer to the fret board.
But the neck doesnt appear to be warped

Grant, as a guitar ages and gets played a lot you get fret wear. There is a process called leveling the frets. That is where an experienced repair guy takes a straight edge and a file works with the frets until they are even. They usually do that with buzzing frets. Now that you have been playing a while I would seek out a trusted guitar repairman. I only let 2 people other than myself work on my guitars. I have purchased new guitars the salesman says you get a free setup with that. I say no thanks I'll take it to my guy!

what kind of guitar are we talking about?
what gauge string do you use?
how old is it?
what kind of case do you keep it in?
is often subjected to changes in temp or humidity?
how much did it cost when it was new?

what kind of guitar are we talking about?
what gauge string do you use?
how old is it?
what kind of case do you keep it in?
is often subjected to changes in temp or humidity?
how much did it cost when it was new?

Its a Martin DX 1
Med Gauge
STandard Hard case
Dry , arrid env
Cost? Dunno , it was a gift from the Nordic Dove...

ok so it's a low budget Indonesian and or Mexican acoustic that has about $200 worth of name on it
basically 1/2 the price of the instrument.
not that's real bad but it is a beginners guitar.

dry is worse than wet but that might not be the actual cause but most likely contributing.
sudden change is a real bad sign, it could mean parts are separating.
but lets hope not.

was the guitar set up when it bought?
have you adjusted the truss rod?

ok so it's a low budget Indonesian and or Mexican acoustic that has about $200 worth of name on it
basically 1/2 the price of the instrument.
not that's real bad but it is a beginners guitar.

dry is worse than wet but that might not be the actual cause but most likely contributing.
sudden change is a real bad sign, it could mean parts are separating.
but lets hope not.

was the guitar set up when it bought?
have you adjusted the truss rod?

Have not adjusted truss rod... I WOuldn't know what I';m doing... Whats the truss actually do for the guitar?

ok so it's a low budget Indonesian and or Mexican acoustic that has about $200 worth of name on it
basically 1/2 the price of the instrument.
not that's real bad but it is a beginners guitar.

dry is worse than wet but that might not be the actual cause but most likely contributing.
sudden change is a real bad sign, it could mean parts are separating.
but lets hope not.

was the guitar set up when it bought?
have you adjusted the truss rod?

Its low budget I think, but says it was made in USA

I owned a "Mexican Martin" D-15 "re-issue" made entirely out of the cheaper mahogany woods available in today's market, the good mahogany I hear is extinct (Honduran?) ..even the soundboard was mahogany since most soundboards for flat-top acoustics is some sort of spruce, (Sitka), as classicals are cedar soundboards .. but (sorry for rambling) the mahogany dried out and caused structural issues that caused "buzzing" it had ladder bracing, but Martin covered the repairs since they still give lifetime warranty..re-glued the "bracing blocks" and good fix.. the wood was "green" when they assembled it and after 3 years or so it started to shrink when it cured out..

It would not be the nut since it is on the upper two Frets. What position exactly are they towards the upper end? if it were the frets I would imagine that they would buzz as opposed to being dead. Check the bridge to see if the strings have cut into it. If at all possible raise the bridge slightly. Put a thin shim him under the bridge on that end. If it is like a lot of other flat tops it may already have shims under the bridge. A lot of them lift out so you can make height adjustments. It shouldn't take much to solve the problem.

I think this a good site for first time operations.

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/repa ... ss-rod.php

well it may indeed be a USA made guitar.
the low cost seems to be, that it is a composite guitar,
the body is plywood and the fretboard is some sort of resin composite.
so bonding is suspect.

you need to loosen the truss rod a might and see if this makes a change.
it should raise the action some
if it dose not, do not continue.

you will find this inside the sound hole at the base of the neck

the truss rod puts reverse tension on the neck, that opposes the tension of the strings.

also, try to raise the humidity level to 35%
you should be able to get a cheap humidor that goes in the case at a music store
if the neck dose not respond to any of these changes for better or worse,
this may not be repairable.

it is likely that the neck wood is shrinking as it drys and the composites are not moving, pulling the bow out of the neck.