Having a small problem setting up my tele

[Psinatra]

I just built a partscaster with a bigsby b16. I shaped the nut myself, but it was the first time.

Anyway, everything is great except for the high E string. It has this little pinging noise and it's about half the volume of everything else (even when unplugged). It almost sounds like a tiny 12 string. It's restricted somehow.

It's probably the nut, but could it be the bridge?

Thoughts?

 

[DeepDangler]

Check your string trees up top.

EDIT

Lightly depress the short string areas behind the bridge and past the nut. Sometimes those ring too.

 

[Psinatra]

Check your string trees up top.

EDIT

Lightly depress the short string areas behind the bridge and past the nut. Sometimes those ring too.

I have staggered tuning machine pegs so supposedly I don't need any string trees.

Maybe that's my problem

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

When a string is "sitaring" it's just a matter of finding it. It's somewhere between the bridge and the nut. Try loosening up the tension, tightening it. Try stuffing up the nut slot with business card material to raise it....try bringing up the action at the bridge...and keep tinkering till you isolate.

Then find your solution.
Good luck.

 

[GGardner]

I just built a partscaster with a bigsby b16. I shaped the nut myself, but it was the first time.

Anyway, everything is great except for the high E string. It has this little pinging noise and it's about half the volume of everything else (even when unplugged). It almost sounds like a tiny 12 string. It's restricted somehow.

It's probably the nut, but could it be the bridge?

Thoughts?


View attachment 923413

Ping aside, it looks great!

 

[Psinatra]

When a string is "sitaring" it's just a matter of finding it. It's somewhere between the bridge and the nut. Try loosening up the tension, tightening it. Try stuffing up the nut slot with business card material to raise it....try bringing up the action at the bridge...and keep tinkering till you isolate.

Then find your solution.
Good luck.

It pretty much only exists when the string is open. But it isn't vibrating against the first fret. So my thought is that it's in the nut somehow. Is that possible? If adjusted the truss rod and the bridge a fair bit. And it's always been there. Perhaps it does need a string tree...

 

[Blue Bill]

If the nut slot is too deep, it can cause this kind of problem. The string should not be buried; about one-half of the diameter of the string should be clear of the nut slot. Also, the slot should be a bit wider and a bit deeper on the side of the slot closest to the tuners, a parallel-wall slot can ping and bind.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

I have staggered tuning machine pegs so supposedly I don't need any string trees.

Maybe that's my problem

I always use string trees regardless. My 2 Teles both have "staggered" tuners AND string trees and they both sound great and stay in tune. Don't believe everything you hear on this board and elsewhere.

 

[kbold]

Perhaps use a feeler gauge to check the angle the nut is cut at the E string: it should slope down slightly from the front of the nut.
This may need to be reset with a nut file.
IMO it's either the cut angle or the downward pressure behind the nut (as mentioned above).

 

[RickyRicardo]

I sometimes get the sitar/pingy noise on the E string before I put on a string tree. Staggered tuners don't always do the job. However, check the nut first would be my guess.

 

[Fenderbaum]

Could be the nut. Sometimes a little passover or two with the nut file should do it (if you have anything left on the nut to sacrifice that is)
Try a straight passover (file is level with fretboard).. not an angled one.
Could be the slot is too slanted, as you do not want the nut slot to be more slanted than the angle of the string.

 

[Nick Fanis]

It's probably the nut, but could it be the bridge

Place a capo at the first fret and find out.
If the sitar sound disappears it's the nut, if it doesn't it's the bridge.

 

[Jay Jernigan]

If the problem goes away when you fret the string, 9 times out of ten, it's the nut.

 

[RogerC]

I vote for improperly cut slot in the nut. You need to be sure there's a slight angle from the fretboard side of the nut down toward the tuners. Only the front edge of the nut should be contacting the string.

 

[Festofish]

Beauty!

 

[Boreas]

Any nut pix? (Keep it clean)

Almost certainly the nut. Pix will allow us to assess break angle. You could temporarily try adding some nut lube, but it doesn't fix the problem, only helps with the symptoms.

 

[Boreas]

I vote for improperly cut slot in the nut. You need to be sure there's a slight angle from the fretboard side of the nut down toward the tuners. Only the front edge of the nut should be contacting the string.

Agree. Not only do I like a downward roll-off toward the tuners, I also like to splay the nut slot out slightly toward the tuners. I don't like a parallel nut slot - just a slot that keeps the string in place with minimal contact. Contact=friction=poor tuning stability - especially with whammys and big bends.

I do much of the fine-tuning with abrasive cord instead of files.

 

[crazydave911]

Use a fine sharp pencil and mark some graphite in the slot. If the sound is gone, refile the slot

 

[guitar_paul1]

Try putting a capo on the tuner side of the nut. (Pretend it's a string tree.)

 

[kbold]

Try a straight passover (file is level with fretboard).. not an angled one.

Straight cut IMO is not a good idea.
At some moments of the strings chaotic oscillations, it will be oscillating vertically (i.e. up and down the cut).
If the cut is horizontal, then at this moment the string is changing from contact at the front to contact at the rear of the nut.
This will cause this 'sitar' effect. This can occur independent of nut break angle (string tree fitted or not).