Suitarish sounding fretless.

Heft

Junior Member
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144
I have a lined fretless (arcade) neck from Warmoth. It has an ebony fretboard and is right hand reverse. The B and high E string sound Suitarish close to the nut. There is no string tree.
Any Ideas? I'm using D'addario #14 Chromes.
Thanks
 
Adjust your bridge height? Turn your trus rod nut? Look at your nut slots?
 
Might be the nut, it looks like it was cut on a slight angle on the high e. This issue is specifically bad on the first fret and goes away on the 5th.
 
Sitar type sounds are usually caused by a nut slot that is not cut correctly. If you press down on the string between the nut and the tuners and the sitar sound goes away it confirms it is the nut. The solution is to slot the nut correctly or if it is too worn to have it replaced.
 
Would a work around be to install a string retainer? This is a tiltback neck but there's space for a bar type string retainer.
 
Bob Hoover Ross said:
Just so I'm clear on what's being described, does "Suitar" = Sitar?

Yes it does. Good spot I corrected my earlier post and I am surprised I ended up using the spelling of "suitar" following the subject.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but i'm also experiencing "sitaring" on the 2nd string of my newly built Partscaster. It only happens when the string is played open; fretted, there's no sitaring to be heard. It's also most evident when using a pick. I believe the neck finishing process leaves a buildup of finish on the nut slots, and i believe that's what's causing the sitaring on mine. I still need to decide how to go about removing the finish buildup from the nut slots without removing any nut material.
 
adrianb said:
Not to hijack this thread, but i'm also experiencing "sitaring" on the 2nd string of my newly built Partscaster. It only happens when the string is played open; fretted, there's no sitaring to be heard. It's also most evident when using a pick. I believe the neck finishing process leaves a buildup of finish on the nut slots, and i believe that's what's causing the sitaring on mine. I still need to decide how to go about removing the finish buildup from the nut slots without removing any nut material.

Something like this.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/supplies/sanding-and-polishing/sandpaper-and-finishing-papers/mitchell-abrasive-cord/

 
stratamania said:
adrianb said:
Not to hijack this thread, but i'm also experiencing "sitaring" on the 2nd string of my newly built Partscaster. It only happens when the string is played open; fretted, there's no sitaring to be heard. It's also most evident when using a pick. I believe the neck finishing process leaves a buildup of finish on the nut slots, and i believe that's what's causing the sitaring on mine. I still need to decide how to go about removing the finish buildup from the nut slots without removing any nut material.

Something like this.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/supplies/sanding-and-polishing/sandpaper-and-finishing-papers/mitchell-abrasive-cord/


Thank you for the idea. As with Stewmac's other products', the prices on these gave me a shock.

I was also toying with the idea of getting a stock, pre-cut nut from Graphtech, seeing how high the slots are on mine -- i checked by pressing down on the 3rd position and looking at the string height over the 2nd fret; there's quite the gap where i've heard expert luthiers recommend a tiny gap. A stock nut might be cut better and lower.
 
adrianb said:
stratamania said:
adrianb said:
Not to hijack this thread, but i'm also experiencing "sitaring" on the 2nd string of my newly built Partscaster. It only happens when the string is played open; fretted, there's no sitaring to be heard. It's also most evident when using a pick. I believe the neck finishing process leaves a buildup of finish on the nut slots, and i believe that's what's causing the sitaring on mine. I still need to decide how to go about removing the finish buildup from the nut slots without removing any nut material.

Something like this.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/supplies/sanding-and-polishing/sandpaper-and-finishing-papers/mitchell-abrasive-cord/


Thank you for the idea. As with Stewmac's other products', the prices on these gave me a shock.

I was also toying with the idea of getting a stock, pre-cut nut from Graphtech, seeing how high the slots are on mine -- i checked by pressing down on the 3rd position and looking at the string height over the 2nd fret; there's quite the gap where i've heard expert luthiers recommend a tiny gap. A stock nut might be cut better and lower.

If the slots are too high the nut also needs filing. Nut files are not inexpensive, although the abrasive cord you may be able to source elsewhere.

If you get another nut it is unlikely to just drop in without needing any adjustment or fitting at all. If you don't want to invest in tools etc for a one off job it might be better to pay someone to do the job for you.
 
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