Question for Experienced Luthier...or Cliff

TremoloFan

TremoloFan

Inspired
I need some help. Just as a guitar speaker cab has a resonate frequency, I've been told that a guitar body and/or neck have a resonate frequency. If a fretted note is too close to the body and/or neck's resonate frequency, the fundamental note will die out prematurely and the overtones/harmonics will sustain a bit longer after the fundamental has fully decayed. Often this occurs on the D or G string near the middle of the string's length (12th fret-ish). All other notes in the same area of the neck ring out just fine with clean sustain of the fundamental note.

The two hours of googling I've done on this confirms that many other players have experienced this phenomenon, particularly on Gibson SG models, but no one has offered a fix for it other than clamping something of great mass onto the headstock. Anyone here have a fix for this?

I am dealing with the issue on a 2018 Gibson ES-339, the G note on the G string at the 12th fret dies about 60% faster than any other fretted note in the same area of the neck. I am almost certain this is not a fret, nut, bridge, pickup, amp, etc. issue. I believe this is a resonate frequency issue as best as I can tell. Please tell me how to fix this. Thanks!
 
I'm not sure there's an actual fix for this, given we're talking about the resonant freqs of tonewoods in the instrument itself.

Do you get the same dead note behavior when leaning your headstock firmly against a heavy piece of furniture? If not, the issue likely isn't with resonant frequency.
 
shemihazazel said:
I'm not sure there's an actual fix for this, given we're talking about the resonant freqs of tonewoods in the instrument itself.

Do you get the same dead note behavior when leaning your headstock firmly against a heavy piece of furniture? If not, the issue likely isn't with resonant frequency.
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No, when I lean the headstock against something firm (the wall, side of heavy wooden desk) the note rings out clear as a bell and sustains just like the any other note in that area of the neck. This tells me that this is a resonate frequency issue because I am changing the mass of the neck by "connecting" it with another heavier object. I found an interesting video online where someone with a cello had this issue on the G string (near the middle of the string, G#, I believe) and the solution was to clamp a heavy brass sleeve on the string behind the bridge, problem solved. Not sure how to apply that info to an ES-339. @FractalAudio, I know you're very busy but I'm curious what you would do in this situation. If you have time, please share some wisdom.
 
Michael Pickens said:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FatFingerG--fender-fatfinger-sustain-enhancer-for-guitar
Click to expand...
@Michael Pickens, thank you for that link! Won't this cause some sort ripple in the time/space continuum if I clamp a "Fender" fat finger on a "Gibson"? ;) Seriously, I was hoping there would be a known solution like changing the saddle material, or the string gauge or something that didn't require clamping an object to the headstock. But if this solves the problem, then I'll take it, ordering one now.

Any other suggestions from the forum?
 
Hmmm, stiffness should affect the vibration amplitude. If you yard on the neck a bit when striking the problem note does it reduce the resonance?
 
TremoloFan said:
I need some help. Just as a guitar speaker cab has a resonate frequency, I've been told that a guitar body and/or neck have a resonate frequency. If a fretted note is too close to the body and/or neck's resonate frequency, the fundamental note will die out prematurely and the overtones/harmonics will sustain a bit longer after the fundamental has fully decayed. Often this occurs on the D or G string near the middle of the string's length (12th fret-ish). All other notes in the same area of the neck ring out just fine with clean sustain of the fundamental note.

The two hours of googling I've done on this confirms that many other players have experienced this phenomenon, particularly on Gibson SG models, but no one has offered a fix for it other than clamping something of great mass onto the headstock. Anyone here have a fix for this?

I am dealing with the issue on a 2018 Gibson ES-339, the G note on the G string at the 12th fret dies about 60% faster than any other fretted note in the same area of the neck. I am almost certain this is not a fret, nut, bridge, pickup, amp, etc. issue. I believe this is a resonate frequency issue as best as I can tell. Please tell me how to fix this. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I had this happen with a PRS CE many years ago. I set a capo at the fret, installed my e-bow and let it the note play till the battery was gone. Fixed it to 90%
 
Hubertus said:
I had this happen with a PRS CE many years ago. I set a capo at the fret, installed my e-bow and let it the note play till the battery was gone. Fixed it to 90%
Click to expand...
Very interesting, thanks for sharing this idea! @Hubertus, do you have a theory as to why this "fixed" the problem? I am trying to understand this issue with my severely limited knowledge of physics, acoustics and tone woods.
 
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