Dead Top E string

[markbrai]

Although I finished building my tele a while ago i have only just got around to posting this as ive been away......anyway....

Now that I have set my Tele copy up and it is intonated properly and the action is great etc, the top "E" when played open is very dead sounding. Whereas all the other strings ring nicely when played open, the E has a very muted note with no sustain whatsoever. If I play it fretted it is a lot better but not great and as you go higher up the neck it gets better.

I have absolutely no idea what the hell is causing this as everything else on the guitar is fine.

Any ideas????

[Searcher]

Sounds like the angle over the nut isn't sharp enough to properly "break" the string at that point.  Play your E string while pushing the string down behind the nut and see if that improves the clarity of the note.  If it does you will possibly need a string retainer or some other way of lowering the string up there.

[WezV]

i would normally change the string before i did anything else... you never know.  I would also check the pickup isnt too close and that the nut is properly cut.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I'm with Wez - stick a new string on first

If no improvement :

Have you got a string tree behind the nut for the E and B strings?
Is the nut slot cut too deep - does the open E play cleanly
Is the nut slot lower at the back (headstock side) than it is at the front (fingrboard side) so that the string passes through at an angle?


Is it a thru stringing tele?
If not what is the angle over the bridge like?

[markbrai]

Its definitely not the fact is a dody string. I put a "set-up" set of strings on that to faff about with the intonation etc and then once that was set I put a new set on and have just put another new set on (tahts what I thought initially at first) and its happened on all three....so unless I'm VERY unlucky!!!!.

I've got a string tree and tried pushing down on the string behind the nut and that did nothing so i presume its the nut itself.

I'll have a gander at it tomorrow and see what it looks like.

Oh, its string through aswell so no worries about the bridge.

[WezV]

no its not the string then, but tis always worth checking first!!  Dud strings out of the packet are a lot rarer than they used to be, so much so that its not something most people consider, but they do crop up occasionally.  I had a d sting the other day from some dadarrio's that was double wound for most of its length!!

[markbrai]

Frpm looking at the nut, it does look like the front is higher than the back of the slot for the high E so it looks like it could be that.

What is involved in sorting that out? Is tehre special files or anything?

If I have to change the slot, is it worth putting a new, decent nut in there instead? If so, whats best - bone, graphite or something else entirely?

Cheers'an!

[markbrai]

Jut had another thought:

I've got 10's on the guitar at the moment, but thinking about it i never actually knew what size the nut was cut for (it was from ebay not Mighty mite themselves).

If the nut was cut for 9's, could that explain it?

Either way, it looks like a recut/replace is on the cards!

[FELINEGUITARS]

It may be one reason - certainly if the string is not seated well and lying right as I detailed above it may seriously affect how the string sounds

Does it creak as you tune it up?

I wish I was there as I would be able to tell at a glance

If you are eventiually changing nuts there are a few suggestions - we do like Graph-tech - both the Graphite trem-nut and the Tusq versions

Our latest favourite and for very good reason (I will probably go on at length about it elsewhere) is the Earvana nut which makes the guitar sound more in tune than it ever has before

Check out here for more info:  http://earvana.com/

[Muzzzz]

is the nut too low? this might make the strings buzz against the first couple of frets.