[sisass]

so i got a takamine about 9 months ago, and i loved it and still do. its really bright sounding which is something i really love the problem is this, i have noticed that on some of the strings at some of the frets i get almost an harmonic like sound when im fretting normal notes. i do not remember this happening in the first few months that i had the guitar and it seems like its gotten worse ( started happening in more places ) telling me that it may be a problem that has just sprung up.

im wondering what ideas you guys may have as to what could be causing this? the action is fairly high and i have a feeling it could be attributing to this problem but i honestly have no clue.

again, its not the normal bright sound...like if i play the same string in a different spot i get the desired bright tone but then in some other spots it goes straight to this harmonic like sound which is really taking away from the overal sound.

its gettin to the point where im considering taking it back if i cant get it resolved or if thats not an option just selling it.

any help or ideas would be awesome.

[ninjato]

You may be suffering from dry guitar syndrome. Get yourself a DAMPIT humidifier and stick it in the soundhole.

Check these FAQ sheets out:

http://www.taylorgui.../dry_guitar.pdf

http://www.taylorgui...ng_humidity.pdf

http://www.taylorgui...winter_tale.pdf

[dadfad]

You may be suffering from dry guitar syndrome. Get yourself a DAMPIT humidifier and stick it in the soundhole.

Check these FAQ sheets out:

http://www.taylorgui.../dry_guitar.pdf

http://www.taylorgui...ng_humidity.pdf

http://www.taylorgui...winter_tale.pdf

Ninjato is very possibly correct. A too-dry guitar will sometimes get vibrations from dry wood inside (bracing, kerf, etc) that is starting to vibrate sympathetically with certain notes (I might have also guessed strings too near the frets in some areas, not close enough to really buzz, but close enough to vibrate. But since you said you have high-action that's not likely in this case). Also check any part capable of movement on the guitar... the tuner-buttons, the little bushings around the pegs, sometimes even loose string-ends inside that are not firmly against the underside of the top. There are several posssible causes (more than several! ) but I would try Ninjato's suggestion first. A too-dry guitar can also have neck-issues starting to happen. A damp-sponge in a loose plastic-baggie will work similarly. If you use snuff or know someone who does, the round plastic snuff box, with a piece of cut-up circular sponge placed inside and dampened, with a bunch of small holes punched through the top is also a good (and relatively inexpensive) humidifier. Try Ninjato's idea first.

[sisass]

thanks guys, ill try out the humidifier and see if that fixes it, if not i think ill bring it in to the store and have them really look it over to see if they can find any problems.

again, thanks alot.

[ninjato]

The high action is due to the top sinking, which causes the bridge to "hump" where the bracing is while the reat of the top sinks. At the same time, the joint at the 14th fret will hit the strings causing that harmonic issue because on most traditionally built guitars, the part of the fretboard that is glued to the top has no reinforcement and when the top sinks from drying out, it takes that part of the fretboard with it causing a small hump at the 14th fret. Looking down the fretboard from the headstock, you can actually see the hump at the 14th fret and the run-off. I never new about this issue and always attributed it to crappy guitars, but when it happened to my Takamine LTD2000, I was pissed. When I took it to the shop, the first thing my luthier told me was that it was too dry. That was pretty much the first time I ever heard anything about humidity concerning acoustic guitars. After you see so many "hanging out to dry" in stores, I never thought it would be an issue. It took 3 weeks of re-humidifying the guitar and a full fret dressing and setup to get it back to playing properly.

This happens to guitars when it just sits on a stand. ALWAYS put your acoustic in it's case when you are done with it. In the winter time, use DAMPITS and check it at least every 3 days.

Keep in mind that acoustic guitars are built in an environment where the relative humidity is around 45%-50%. Once it hits stores, it starts drying out.

Taylor guitar really emphasizes keeping your guitar humidified. They are actually the ones to bring the importance of acoustic guitar humidity to the general public.

This post has been edited by ninjato: 26 May 2006 - 12:49 AM

[sisass]

thanks for the info ninjato. i looked down the fretboard and couldnt make out any noticable humps, not sure if that means this isnt the problem or it is but just hasnt progressed to a really dramatic degree yet. i did notice a very, very small bump on the body of the guitar near the spot where the neck joins the body which made my heart nearly jump out of my body.

im going to get a humidifier this week and check everything out. i hate to say it but im really hoping this is the problem at least then ill get it taken care of, if not im going to have to get it looked at cause its a fairly noticable harmonic like ringing. maybe its just the way the guitar sounds but i really doubt that as it seems to my ears at least like its gotten worse.....its such a bummer but at least im gettin some ideas on what it might be/how to fix it so thanks again you guys.

also, did your tak start the harmonic like ringing? was that what brought it to your attention if so do you remember where on the neck it was happening? or was it the hump on the fretboard that made you notice something was off?

[ninjato]

also, did your tak start the harmonic like ringing? was that what brought it to your attention if so do you remember where on the neck it was happening? or was it the hump on the fretboard that made you notice something was off?

It was the harmonic like ringing or imo what we fretting out. On a perfectly setup guitar, the fretboard should be a flat as possible w/ a little bit of relief, meaning that there is an oh so slight underbow. This keeps vibrating strings from buzzing on frets. What happens when the top dries, is now when you look down the fretboard, you'll see the slight underbow up to the 14th fret where it seems to be a little high then it runs-off down towards the saddle.

So what happens is that sometimes, on certain frets, the string is too close to the 14th fret, and frets out. A little bit may cause that harmonic sound, and a lot would pretty much kill the sound of the string. It was only after being told and shown what a dry gutar looks like did I start looking for these issues.

9 months is not long enough for frets to wear to the point where it would cause this issue.

If re-humidifying doesn't work, you may need to get a setup done.

Have you changed string gauges? Going to a lighter gauge may also cause this. If you did go to a lighter gauge, switch back to the stock original gauge it came with.

This post has been edited by ninjato: 28 May 2006 - 02:57 AM