78 posts
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Post by doktorsteve on Feb 5, 2018 10:21:25 GMT
Hi, I was convinced that the pad holding the cables to the soundboard was killing the sparkle of the top strings (Some mass coupled through a foam pad blah blah blah.....), and sometimes the cables rattled. I spent half an hour with my hand inside my CLG414 last night removing the cable tie/pad from the soundboard and sticking it to back of the guitar. I removed the wound strings but only slacked off the the B and E strings. When I put the strings back on and tuned it I could hear an increase in the sparkle. Job done.
but...
I think that just slacking off the strings and retuning gives a brighter tone - like new strings.
Maybe the saddle settles in a different position.
And expectation bias also makes the guitar brighter ( I have done some work so it must be better...).
I might even have started playing better!
Anyone else noticed a change in tone when you slack off strings and retune?
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1,110 posts
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Post by dodger on Feb 5, 2018 12:38:20 GMT
doktorsteve - I read somewhere that an old blues player used to slacken his strings when they were old and hit them really hard and then tune them back up. Said that slackening and hitting them removed the dead skin and whatever else gets into the string to kill it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2018 13:45:30 GMT
Bass players boil their strings to melt away all the dirt!
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78 posts
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Post by doktorsteve on Feb 5, 2018 15:32:09 GMT
I am not looking for an explanation, only some indication that I am not alone in my observation.
If the tone retains it's bite for a while then I will conclude that moving the pad was worthwhile.
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78 posts
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Post by doktorsteve on Feb 13, 2018 10:54:37 GMT
After a week where the tone has stayed pretty bright I have to conclude that it was moving the pad that has changed the sound. I would say that sticking the cables to the top is a design fault on the CLG414 and something to watch out for with other electro acoustics. I knew that the cable was stuck to the top for quite a while and had an inkling that it could absorb some high frequencies but never bit the bullet and attacked it with a knife. I got the idea that the damping was a real possibility when I was trying to tune a snare drum. Normally I have a control ring on the top (Millenium Sound Control Ring Set Std) and that really kills the edge harmonics. Now the rings are not very massive but have huge effect at high frequencies. Although the pad is not massive relative to the mass of the top, combined with the cable it seems it was enough to kill some harmonics of the B and E strings..
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398 posts
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Post by easyrider on Feb 24, 2018 11:24:13 GMT
Bass players boil their strings to melt away all the dirt! Boiling with potatoes is most effective, starch gives good sound back.
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Feb 24, 2018 11:58:07 GMT
Bass players boil their strings to melt away all the dirt! Boiling with potatoes is most effective, starch gives good sound back. ...and the dirt adds a certain piquant flavour to the potatoes.
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398 posts
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Post by easyrider on Feb 24, 2018 15:23:24 GMT
Probably, if you suppose to eat these.
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78 posts
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Post by doktorsteve on Apr 2, 2018 20:43:22 GMT
Here is the next chapter in my search for brightness- as if anyone cared!
Well I broke another string by messing about ( there are only so many times that you slack of your strings before they break ) so I had to buy another set. This time I bought Roto 12s or whatever they are called. That was probably a mistake as I know that they are not as sparkling as 11s but I thought that I could get away with it with my new found brightness. So top end was lacking again. Where the heck was it going?
I had an idea that there was not enough transmission of vibration from the unwound strings. I checked that the bottom of the saddle was dead flat. After a bit of sanding I checked again. Maybe a little more sparkle. I then looked into split saddles and found a reference to a saddle that was split to even out the pressure on a Piezo pickup. I cut the saddle between the G and B strings using a very fine saw. That produced the biggest difference in tone so far. Far more agressive sometimes but also I am becoming much more aware of the effect of the right hand position. I am hearing much more richness and suatain.
I think that the pickup cannot be perfectly flat but cutting the saddle into sections improves the contact. Cutting between A and D strings did not make any difference as far as I can tell but at least it did no harm.
Sorry about the long spiel. Steve
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2018 21:20:31 GMT
doktorsteve - I read somewhere that an old blues player used to slacken his strings when they were old and hit them really hard and then tune them back up. Said that slackening and hitting them removed the dead skin and whatever else gets into the string to kill it. This danish lad slaps the s h i t out of them to make them sound fresh and new
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