Sympathetic Vibration - Help!

[The Bone]

Just bought a new MIM Tele. The Low E string has what my guitar tech calls "sypathetic vibration". I have done some research and understand that amplification of the guitar can cause the other strings to vibrate unintentionally. My guitar tech says his set-up will have no impact on this, nor would a different bridge. Can this be true? He says it is almost 100% in the body of the guitar. Why would my MIM Tele have this issue, but my MIA Strat and G&L Asat not have this issue? :?

[boogaloo]

in a solid bodied guitar. Not saying it can't happen, I just never heard of it. A Taylor acoustic I owned had it bad on the A string. A sound hole cover cleared it up pretty much. Some questions: does proximity to the amp have any effect on the problem (or proximity to monitors)? Along with that- does it happen at higher gain settings? I'm sure that the good folks here will have some help for you; I can also ask a guy I know locally for help if you get stuck. I can experience something similar to this- feedback from strings in simpatico- if I up the gain on my compressor / sustainer and distortion boxes, but again just a feedback issue at high volumes.

[Kevin]

I've noticed that different guitars feedback easier on different notes (i.e., some of my guitars will feedback easily on a 'G', others on 'E', etc.), and I've always attributed that to the resonance of the bodies.

I've never had what you're describing, though...

[Jakedog]

A resonant frequency. From rocks to glass to your car fender, everything has a frequency that will cause it to "vibrate" under the right (or wrong) circumstances. This sounds to me like an extreme case of resonant frequency vibration. If it is, it is a natural property of that piece of wood, and cannot be remedied without changing the guitars resonant freq., which would involve changing the body mass/shape. Return the guitar if you can, cause I don't think there is a feasable way to make that go away. As for why your MIA and ASAT don't have similar problems, first of all, this is probably a VERY rare problem. Second of all, superior quality control due to price point and reputation would probably have caught it before it left the factory and sent it to the bandsaw.


Of course, I'm not a physicist, I could be wrong, but I do know a little and this is my take on it.


Jake

[Dacious]

Do you mean you hear something rattling or buzzing, or is it the string just vibrating in sympathy with an E played somewhere else. If it's a rattle or buzz, something is loose on the guitar. It may be a tuner or even the trussrod inside the neck. Check all the components bolted to the guitar, including the neckplate and bridge.

Here's something to try:

Is the trussrod adjuster loose? Try tapping it with a screwdriver. If you replicate the rattle, or it moves or seems not tight, try putting a small clockwise 1/8 turn on it. If it is not tight and turns freely, tighten until you feel resistance. I bet your vibration goes away. The difference in adjustment can be as small as backed right off to 1/4 turn for correct neck relief, and often necks need almost no tension to assume the cirrect position, so you can get a buzz from the trussrod, often on low notes.

If you can't resolve the issue, return the guitar for repair or replacement. It is not normal for something to vibrate, and it will drive you batty playing it like that.

If the string vibrates open, but not fretted, the nutslot on that string may be cut too low i.e. the string has no clearance on the first fret and is buzzing against it.

[The Bone]

To clarify, the issue that I am having has been diagnosed by my guitar tech as something called "sypathetic vibration". It is supposedly caused by the tonal qualities of the body. It is not a rattle. The low E string actually sounds a note (a low humming note), when a chord is struck on the five higher strings (a standard A chord, for example). The low e string also has this resonance when the b string is plucked by itself. My tech mentioned that this "sypathetic resonance" happens to some extent on all guitars, but some more prevalently than others. I tried my Strat and G&L, and if you put your ear right up to the strings, you can hear the exact same thing, however, this sypathetic resonance is not "picked up" and amplified as it is on my MIM Tele. Anyway, he's doing a set-up and we'll see if that has any impact. Thanks to all! 8)