5th fret harmonics dead

[DustyCat]

Got a Warmoth custom parts strat build, chambered with f hole and 2 Tek bridge.

The guitar plays great but the natural harmonics at the 5th fret are just dead, nothing.

A couple of these features are new to me, the chambered body and the 2 tek Bridge, but does anybody know why these harmonics are dead?

All my other guitars ring out just fine even when unplugged....even with old/dead strings.

How to bring them to life?

 

[TBurst Std]

Have seen it quite a few times with fender styled pickups.  It’s affectionately know as ‘stratitus’.

The magnetic pull of those slugs are deadening.  Do you have Fender style pickups? If so simply lower them to the deck and see if your problem persists.  If so, then adjust them back to an appropriate height that works.

Let us know.

 

[swarfrat]

24 fret extension?

 

[mayfly]

+1 on the Stratitus.  Lower the pickups as much as you can - especially the middle and neck - and see if the problem persists.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Is this specific to the neck pickup? If the 5th fret harmonic is dead to the neck pickup but rings normally on the others, then this is actually pretty normal for a Strat. The neck pickup is physically located at a "dead spot" on the wave generated by that harmonic.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

  I'm just learning about this stuff so I am hesitant to offer an opinion. Could it be the break angle on your bridge saddles is too shallow?

 

[TBurst Std]

99% of the time it’s stratitus. Of the remaining 1%, half the time it’s they are new to a strat and aren’t familiar with the fact that the neck pup won’t pick up a 5th harmonic in a Std Strat setup

 

[BroccoliRob]

yo, my bloods, i never heard of stratitus. my strat with the conversion neck on it sure doesnt have any dead harmonics but i never tested it with the OG (short for original) neck. maybe i'll put it back on and give it a try, but my pet rock died recently and ive been pretty sad about it so motivation is low rip balboa

 

[swarfrat]

If anyone else said "my pet rock died" I knew it would mean a humorous way of describing their low motivation. But you...my condolences

 

[BroccoliRob]

Balboa was a great pet rock but i came home one morning and he wasnt moving any more so i gave him a #viking funeral and threw him in a quarry to be with his kin. i then thought about having a human bbaby with my gf (girl friend) but then i read those can live up to 100 years and I dont think I want to care for something that long. i have things to do, yknow??

NEway sory for the derail lets get back to talking about dead notes not dead roks

 

[mayfly]

So dusty,

you got that strat sorted now or what?

 

[DustyCat]

So dusty,

you got that strat sorted now or what?

Oh hey bro, thanks for checking up on me.

Well friends, I guess I wasn't specific enough in my original post.

I have 3 strats, 1994 squire, 2005 Warmoth and 2017 Warmoth.

The 5th fret natural harmonics on the 2017 are dead WHEN UNPLUGGED (and consequently when plugged in).

Now, since the other 2 don't have this problem (1994 has emg's/hard tail and 2005 has duncans/Floyd rose) i feel like this may not have anything to do with the pickups (emgs/2 tek bridge), but what do I know.

That's why I brought my question here, but I plan to take her in for maintenance/setup sometime 1st quarter next year (what's the rush at this point?)

 

[mayfly]

Hey Dusty,

stratitis (if that's what you got) affects the guitar when it's unplugged as well.  The reason being is that the force of those super strong strat magnets dampens the vibration of the string at particular frequencies.  Does not matter if it's unplugged.

 

[TBurst Std]

It matters if the pickups have slug magnets or just pole pieces.  The infor you have is insufficient to know.
Slug magnets are the perps. Neck and middle position the more common offenders.

 

[Rick]

Lower the pup as low as you can see what happens.  Remove it even.  It might be something weird about the magnets.

 

[DustyCat]

Hey friends, thanks for your patience.

Here's the verdict:

It absolutely is NOT "stratitus."
1st and foremost, like I mentioned before, the pickups are active EMG's which have very little draw on the strings.

2ndly, I did lower the pickups like you guys mentioned and it made no difference. Again, Active pickups: very little affect on the strings.

3rd I found a time when the neighbors were away from home and plugged in for the first time in a long time and A/B tested the natural harmonics between the aforementioned chambered black korina/Gonzalo alves strat and solid body (H2) and here are the results.

The natural harmonics of the chambered strat feel different when unplugged. They feel and sound "fuzzy" or "blurry" or I dare say dead as they fall woefully short of my expectations. In contrast, the natural harmonics of the solid body guitar "pop" or "chime" and ring out much as one would expect from any guitar.

When I plugged them both in (with the height of the active pickups restored back to normal height) however, the natural harmonics "pop" and "chime" and ring out on both of them.

My conclusion is that the clambering affects the natural harmonics when unplugged but thankfully ring out just as well as any of my other guitars.

But again, there is a noticeable difference in sound and feel when unplugged.

Thanks every one for your patience and input.

 

[Rick]

Ok, I'll bite .... What's clambering?

 

[bagman67]

Ok, I'll bite .... What's clambering?

A typo.  Pretty sure DustyCat meant to type "chambering", as referred to earlier in the post.

 

[TBurst Std]

Hmm. Not sure I’d consider chambering as the issue.  Owning 4 chambered, 1 true hollow, and 2 true semi hollows, I have never encountered this.

Look to nut and bridge would be my next step.

 

[Rick]

I have to agree with big T here ... That's why clambering did not compute.  To me clambering is scrabbling over rocks, but I don't know where people live so maybe clamber means something different like closed up like a clam.