Re: Strange tone on my A Course
I have had similar eerie experiences a few times. There are several possible sources :
1) String vibration above the nut (solved by using a leather dampener strip).
2) String vibration between the bridge and tailpiece. Pluck the strings below the bridge; if any happen to be pitched at "A", they will resonate when you play your A strings. (Solved by using a leather dampener strip).
3) Vibration of the tailpiece cover, or the strings against the tailpiece cover.
Even if there is a felt strip glued to the underside of the cover, the tip of the cover often touches the strings. Arm contact with tailpiece can make this noise come and go. (Also solved by using a leather dampener, or making sure the cover is on firmly).
4) Gunky A-string nut slots (solved by cleaning and lightly burnishing the slots).
5) Nut slots that have worn too low; this causes a buzz at the first fret, and would not solve itself magically.
6) A last possibility I've encountered is a piece of loose hardware that is vibrating and creating a mystery tone. Two examples I've seen are a loose bridge thumbscrew (because my bridge was adjusted all the way down), which actually sang out a little high-pitched whine, and a loose bit (collet or peg) on a tuner, which was more of a buzz.
Notice that dampening the strings above the nut and below the bridge, and checking the tailpiece cover, eliminate a lot of eerie noises. The fact that yours came and went suggests it is string or tailpiece resonance. Fret buzz could be the cause, but often those noises (buzzing, or a sour, muted tone) are different from the "mysterious tones". Another clue is whether you get the noise only with the open string (A pitch), or with fretted notes on the same course.
Last edited by acousticphd; Sep-30-2016 at 10:44am.
Reason: addition
Jeff Rohrbough
"Listen louder, play softer"
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