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Sitar sounding hi E

dmraco

Master Member
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The high E string on my LP has a sitar sound when playing it open.  It does not make the sound when fretting the string.  It must be an issue with the NUT.

Thoughts??
 
The back of the nut, the tuner side, is high.  This causes the string to rattle and make the sitar sound.  Make the channels angle back towards the tuning pegs by sanding/filing that part a tad bit lower that the front (fingerboard) side.  You can color the channel with a pencil, and watch were you are removing the pencil mark to keep track of your filing.
Patrick

 
I was having that problem, kinda like a flanger sound but on strings 6,5 and even 4. One of my Strat's I installed a new bridge and an thick aluminum trem block, got some new strings, strung it up and started playing. I noticed this weird sound and it would do it whether the string was fretted or not. I thought maybe there was some strange mojo happening with the new aluminum bridge and trem block. There had been no modifications to the nut and I was using the same string gauge.

I then got my brass bridge completed and installed on another Strat. Strung it up and wallah....it was doing the same thing on that guitar.

So two different guitars with no modifications to the the nut, saddles or string gauge, just one with an aluminum bridge and trem block and the other with a brass bridge and MIA trem block. HOWEVER, the one thing these guitars have in common is they're strung up with strings I've never used before (Ernie Ball Cobalt) Since this noise was starting to wear on me after a while I went and purchased my usual strings and no more funky noises :dontknow: Needless to say I wont be buying those strings again.

But.....it sounds like you have a nut problem :laughing7:
 
scartozi said:
But.....it sounds like you have a nut problem :laughing7:
TBurst Std said:
Nut issue

:dontknow:  last time I looked at my nuts, they were all ok  :icon_jokercolor:

:icon_scratch:  Interesting I haven't stuck this problem ............... YET !!
Thanks for the advise thou  :icon_thumright:

I can get a sitar sound with my Roland VG-99 & GR-55, dose that count  :laughing7:
 
That's what my G string did on my MIM neck.  The OEM nut cracked (plastic). A replacement Graph Tech Tusq XL fixed everything up better than new.
 
AutoBat said:
A replacement Graph Tech Tusq XL fixed everything up better than new.
That's what I always use.  :icon_thumright:

:icon_scratch:  Wonder what type of Nut the OP is talking about here  :dontknow:
 
You can get crud, from the filing in there, and the same thing will happen.  You can also have the angle the string sits on wrong at the bridge saddles, and it will rattle.  If you have a set of cheap dental picks, try to clean the area out after working on it.  I try to get a paper towel vertically in there, and then pull the pick through to sweep anything out.  It doesn't take much to cause it to happen.
Patrick

 
I've had the same issue with my VIP (Graph Tech Black Tusq XL nut) since I got it.  At least I know how to fix it now.
 
Street Avenger said:
I have the same problem with a FR locking nut. 'Been meaning to fix it, but too busy with other things.

Me too.
Picked up some locking nut shims, and it solved the problem.  Oddly enough, the only string that "sitared" (it wasn't really a buzz) against the 1st fret was the high E.  The others were fine.
 
Be forewarned: 0.010" is very small. It's the one single slot that's most needy of a tool narrow enough to reshape the slot without being too wide. I have a couple of specialty saws that will do, the thinnest blade on a "Zona" saw, supposedly the saw in an X-acto set; but I have one of those and it seems too wide. There are of course also nut files available from Stew-Mac, LMII etc. also. The point is, it's a lot easier to use the narrowest implement on all your slots first, then widen as needed. I'm a big fan of "cowboying" it when it comes to tools; most of my favorite files had no idea they were guitar tools, but that one little slot...

Now, in theory, your slot doesn't even need to be that narrow, if it's shaped perfectly the backside of the slot will ramp all of the way up to the top of the slot, which will have a rounded bottom so the string doesn't have anything extra to vibrate against; when you can do these, you get a gold star.

It's fairly easy to visualize exactly what a nut slot needs to be shaped like, but you're getting into tiny stuff here, at 54 my most important nut tools are my Optivisor, and a handheld 10X magnifying loupe. And bone and silica-hardened delrin ("Tusq") are really SOFT stuff in the greater picture, one too many overly-enthusiastic strokes with the saw or file -
oops. :sad1: :sad1: :sad1:

http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=Knives+%26+Saws&NameProdHeader=Zona%99+Saw

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Special_tools_for:_Nuts_and_saddles.html?gclid=CO2E6pTWgrACFUZN4AodayxoGg

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Special_tools_for:_Nuts_and_saddles/Gauged_Saws.html

http://www.doneganoptical.com/optivisor.php
 
>> I'm a big fan of "cowboying" it when it comes to tools; most of my favorite files had no idea they were guitar tools, but that one little slot...

I know what you mean. I bought a set of ceramic files that are intended for sharpening cutting tools that do exceptional fine work on frets...

400F.jpg

They're too fine for shaping and too coarse for polishing, but they're great for that interim step where you just want to get rid of tool marks.

The place actually has quite a selection of files, cutters and abrasives - you might want to check 'em out. It's called "Highland Woodworking".

One thing I wish they offered, but it seems nobody does, is individual grades of micro-mesh finishing pads...

Micro-Mesh_Soft_Touch_Finishing_Pads_sm.jpg

Everybody wants to sell you full sets for a million bucks. The things are magical, but you rarely need full sets.
 
:headbang1: :headbang1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xB_X9BOAOU

:headbang1: :headbang1: :headbang1:

Tread lightly, Western Weenies - these guys have been working on it for 5,000 years, give or take a few. On her "Breathing Underwater" CD, Anoushka has progressed to soloing over regular pop music chord changes playing her standard-tuned sitar. "World Music" or "East/West Fusion" music really mean some white guys sticking a sitar on top of their ordinary goo, and it's almost always lame. But when the Eastern guys with 5,000 years of practicing use Western motifs, watch out. I have the eerie, prescient feeling that "the next Jimi Hendrix" will be bopping out of Bombay or Rajasthan.
 
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